Podcast: Brian Schultz, CEO of Studio Movie Grill, on 'Leading the Way'

In this week’s episode of Leading the Way, Brian Schultz, CEO and Founder of Studio Movie Grill, a rapidly growing in-theater dining chain, talks about leadership traits, talent retention, and overcoming resistance to radical ideas.

Kevin Martin, i4cp's Chief Research Officer, also joins the broadcast to discuss the importance of aligning talent with purpose.

Key soundbites

• On leadership philosophy: “It goes back to creating a positive wake in the world that really exists to open hearts and minds, one story at a time. So I try to be open to perspectives and find out exactly what the team member, the guest, any of our stakeholders thinks really matters to them, and then deliver on that promise.”
• On overcoming resistance: “When you know you’re doing the right thing, it just doesn’t feel like work. I mean, you just have to do it. You can’t stop thinking about it, whether it’s first thing in the morning or the last thing at night. It really is a labor of love for me.”
• On talent retention: “Making sure our servers have a living wage and then we started getting a higher-quality applicant and much less turnover. We were able to take care of them financially, stress-wise, and be more consistent with their schedules. All those pieces play into an increasingly positive guest experience.”
• On technology integration: “I really try and be careful about some of the new technologies that are coming out. Making it seamless and being able to customize the experience for the guests more and more, whether that’s from our content platform or our culinary platform.”
• On rapid growth: “Most leaders have more ideas than the organization can digest so I recommend keeping it simple. The test that I really like to use is with my own kids; I try to explain some of these more complex business processes to the kids and if I can’t pass that test, then I need to keep on editing, making it clearer and clearer.”
• On process effectiveness: “Using the tools so that the service staff is making a living wage and the better and more seamless that process can be the more effective they can be and the more time they can actually spend providing hospitality to the guests.”

About Leading the Way

Leading the Way is a weekly radio and podcast series that highlights influential business leaders and leading people practices from i4cp. Hosted by Emmy-award winning radio host Scott Murray and i4cp's Angel Carlton, the show feature interviews with respected business leaders, from Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt to "Shark Tank" investor Mark Cuban.

The show airs live each Sunday at 4pm CT on KLIF 570 in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, and debuts on the i4cp website the following week.