In this episode, Michael introduces Ruth Jacobs, a registered mental health nurse and founder of Certified Minds, to discuss where mental health efforts in industry have landed and how to create behavioral, cultural, and systems change that builds resilience.

Ruth shares her background in CAMHS and eating disorder inpatient care, her experience managing during COVID lockdowns, and how gaps in pediatric mental health training led her to train UK medical teams, schools, and workplaces using simulations and practical skills.

They focus on hospitality’s risk factors—high emotional demands, unpredictability, staff shortages, long hours, poor sleep, and normalized frontline abuse—and discuss proactive leadership, psychological safety, and embedding resilience and check-ins into inductions.

Ruth distinguishes everyday mental health issues from disorders, highlights early burnout signs, stresses the cost of inaction, recommends better listening and language for difficult conversations, and raises concerns about normalized cocaine use. She directs listeners to certifiedminds.co.uk and previews the Safer Faces app for lower-cost mental health support.

Lodgify is the headline sponsor for the Hospitality Mavericks Podcast Show.

Lodgify is an all-in-one hosting platform built on one promise, minimum hassle, maximum independence. We help independent vacation rental hosts and small-scale property managers run and grow their business with 0% Lodgify booking commissions, an AI Co-Host (COMING SUMMER 2026, early access open now), and direct booking websites built to get found by AI.

For Mavericks listeners, there's a special offer running until July 30th: 60% off on Ultimate and Professional yearly and bi-yearly plans with the code MAVERICKS60.

Learn more at https://lodgify.com/

Connect with Ruth:

https://saferfaces.com/

https://certifiedminds.co.uk/

Book:

https://uk.bookshop.org/a/8596/9780008667290

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In this episdode, Michael welcomes his longtime friend Yazz Abdulla, previously a guest during the pandemic to discuss food delivery and dark kitchens.

They reflect on Copenhagen Street Food’s grassroots style, then focus on founder-led hospitality businesses: founders often stay emotionally attached, operate like self-employed workers, lack systems (ops, HR, marketing, supply chain), misunderstand cashflow, and fail to plan an exit; Yazz advises emotional detachment, self-leadership, discipline, rituals, and valuing time and peace over status.

They discuss the “lost art of hospitality,” arguing technology and transactional service have eroded human connection, while Gen Z is highly influential and brands like Blank Street succeed by designing for Gen Z.

AI is seen as useful for optimization but unable to replace the human element. They compare struggling UK hospitality—blaming poor adaptation and leadership—against UAE hospitality, where conflict briefly crushed tourism but decisive government support enabled recovery.

Lodgify is the headline sponsor for the Hospitality Mavericks Podcast Show.

Lodgify is an all-in-one hosting platform built on one promise, minimum hassle, maximum independence. We help independent vacation rental hosts and small-scale property managers run and grow their business with 0% Lodgify booking commissions, an AI Co-Host (COMING SUMMER 2026, early access open now), and direct booking websites built to get found by AI.

For Mavericks listeners, there's a special offer running until July 30th: 60% off on Ultimate and Professional yearly and bi-yearly plans with the code MAVERICKS60.

Learn more at https://lodgify.com/

Connect with Yazz:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/yazz-abdulla/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/urban-hospitality-group-ltd/posts/?feedView=all

Previous episode with Yazz

https://www.hospitalitymavericks.com/coming-back-stronger-episode-5-with-yazz-abdulla-ceo-and-founder-of-urban-hospitality/

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This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

Michael welcomes Tom James, to discuss winning in a hyper-competitive hospitality market through counterintuitive strategy and team buy-in.

Tom shares his 30-year hospitality journey, joining Bill’s five years ago as operations director before becoming managing director, and describes the shift from an ops-only lens to leading cross-functionally with a two-year plan.

Bill’s distilled 257 actions into one message—“everyone leaves happy”—and made guest satisfaction the core KPI, built from reviews, surveys, and mystery diners, tying incentives to guest metrics rather than financial ones.

He explains how visibility, consistent recognition, and culture drove adoption, alongside behind-the-scenes improvements to systems, booking, website, SEO, and cost controls. The turnaround included difficult restructuring and site closures, followed by renewed energy, cover growth, and a strong Christmas.

They discuss change management, process discipline (why/who/what/how/when), technology and AI’s potential, and Tom’s leadership takeaways: headspace, networking, and investing in team growth.

Connect with Tom:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-james-5388b256/

https://bills-website.co.uk/

Eps 23 Bill Collison - Founder of Bill’s

https://www.hospitalitymavericks.com/videos/23-the-bills-story-with-bill-collison/

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A big thank you to our episode sponsor Monotree.

They help hospitality operators strengthen operations and scale company culture by creating a "Branded Front Door" for your workforce.

Head to their website to sign up.

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

Michael interviews Stephen Logue, an economist and former FMCG marketer who became marketing director at Berni Inns, founded a research-led consultancy, and later owned restaurants.

Logue explains how market research identified five consistent drivers of restaurant success—cleanliness, service, atmosphere, food quality, and value for money—and how redesigning and standardizing Berni Inns (including work with Conran) lifted sales and won a Catey.

He argues hospitality underinvests in service, emphasizing “hire character, train skills,” building staff confidence and self-belief, and using tools like mystery visits and customer research.

He shares “runners and riders” concept testing, a successful Greek concept at Meadowhall, lessons from Wetherspoon’s standards and value focus, and the financial importance of repeat customers. Logue now supports independents via pro bono work and promotes simple cost control, menu margin analysis, and clear service promises.

Connect with Stephen Logue:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-logue-47227757/

https://www.hospitalityblueprints.com/

https://youtu.be/2_E_EBbdXpU?si=_0cECaQouijt_8LS

https://www.hospitalityblueprints.com/masterclass-videos

Book:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Magic-Malls-Incredible-Customer-Service/dp/1910090638/ref=sr_1_3?crid=GEM2XLEJMP0P&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.lw06nq8ML3KTk_rhrQVeIK8X9HSz5KW3t9INoXg7iSTGjHj071QN20LucGBJIEps.bEQQL7nAGqgyohrPiRxbrwgf3N_jm-_O3tqE8QOnVBw&dib_tag=se&keywords=Stephen+Logue&qid=1780948637&sprefix=stephen+logue%2Caps%2C232&sr=8-3

Connect with the podcast

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A big thank you to our episode sponsor Monotree.

They help hospitality operators strengthen operations and scale company culture by creating a "Branded Front Door" for your workforce.

Head to their website to sign up.

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

In this episode, Michael speaks with chef Sam Jett about building restaurants that serve communities, people, and the planet.

Sam shares how he shifted from a planned healthcare path into cooking, credits McDonald’s for teaching standards and systems, and recounts formative time in Copenhagen kitchens including Relæ and Noma.

After years as Sean Brock’s right-hand leader across multiple brands, Sam took over Audrey and refocused it on Appalachian heritage: removing luxury imported ingredients, tightening sourcing “guardrails,” and adopting a zero-waste mindset.

He describes a network of about 26 regional farms/producers supplying roughly 95% of the menu and a CSA-style budgeting approach where farmers send what they choose, including imperfect crops that the team transforms using the restaurant’s lab.

Sam explains making the economics work through circular “mini-ecosystems” and multiple revenue streams, and emphasizes relationships and trust as the core leadership principle.

Connect with Sam:

https://www.instagram.com/samuel.jett/?hl=en

https://www.audreynashville.com/

Connect with the podcast

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Tune in via your favourite podcast platform - here

More episodes for you to check out here

A big thank you to our episode sponsor Monotree.

They help hospitality operators strengthen operations and scale company culture by creating a "Branded Front Door" for your workforce.

Head to their website to sign up.

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

In this episode, Michael interviews Alexander Kjerulf, a former tech entrepreneur who founded a company in 2003 focused on happiness at work and has delivered talks and workshops in over 50 countries for clients including Microsoft, IKEA, IBM, Hilton, and Shell.

They discuss research linking workplace happiness to higher productivity, creativity, retention, lower absenteeism, and stronger company results including profitability, growth, employer brand, and stock performance, alongside an ethical responsibility for leaders.

A central theme is improving customer experience by putting employees first and rejecting “the customer is always right,” which can betray staff and reward abusive customers; examples include a hotel manager enforcing rules, Southwest Airlines “we will miss you” letter, and buying a rude passenger a competitor ticket.

Practical practices include training and culture immersion (Zappos), celebrating great service stories, giving frontline autonomy (Nordstrom, Middelfart Sparekasse), measuring care over efficiency, hiring carefully, and using weekly feedback tools like Heartcount.

Connect with Alexander:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chiefhappinessofficer/

https://positivesharing.com/2006/07/why-the-customer-is-always-right-results-in-bad-customer-service/

https://woohooinc.com/

https://heartcount.com/

Books:

Everybody Matters - Bob Chapman

https://uk.bookshop.org/a/8596/9780241975411

Hug your customers - Jack Mitchell

https://uk.bookshop.org/a/8596/9781401398040

Hug your people - Jack Mitchell

https://uk.bookshop.org/a/8596/9780553820089

Connect with the podcast

Join the Hospitality Mavericks newsletter

Tune in via your favourite podcast platform - here

More episodes for you to check out here

A big thank you to our episode sponsor Monotree.

They help hospitality operators strengthen operations and scale company culture by creating a "Branded Front Door" for your workforce.

Head to their website to sign up.

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

Michael interviews performance mental coach Graziano Cocco about what separates thriving “maverick” leaders from those merely surviving and how to build high-performance teams.

Graziano shares his journey from London hospitality roles (including Head of People) to founding Inside Up, coaching football for 10 years and working at Crystal Palace plus athletes in sports such as tennis and rugby, while consulting hospitality businesses including ARO QD and DRG in Glasgow.

They discuss why mental toughness matters in today’s pressured hospitality environment, reframing “I have to” to “I get to,” and prioritizing self-management because leaders can’t pour from an empty cup.

Key team elements include trust, conflict navigation, commitment, clear goals and accountability, and praising effort. Graciano introduces the “Plan–Do–Review” habit using a plus/Kaizen reflection and recommends setting daily intentions and visualization.

Connect with Graziano:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/graziano-cocco-b6b39158/

https://insightup.co.uk/

Connect with the podcast

Join the Hospitality Mavericks newsletter

Tune in via your favourite podcast platform - here

More episodes for you to check out here

A big thank you to our episode sponsor Monotree.

They help hospitality operators strengthen operations and scale company culture by creating a "Branded Front Door" for your workforce.

Head to their website to sign up.

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

Michael interviews Anthony Collins, founder of Work Better Studio, about applying lean thinking and the service-profit chain in hospitality and service businesses by focusing on processes and resources rather than blaming people.

Collins shares his path from graphic design to founding DirectSki.com, acquiring Ski Beat, and becoming group CEO of Topflight Travel Group, then leaving to advise companies on productivity, quality, and process improvement.

He explains lean’s roots in postwar Japanese quality-first principles and describes using Enterprise Ireland training and Toyota-led practical problem-solving to build capability before crises like COVID.

A key case study shows how small chalet maintenance issues hurt both staff workload and NPS, leading to a preventative maintenance program, revised seasonal hiring, fewer management layers, and improved autonomy.

The conversation covers PDCA, frontline observation, controlled tension, recruitment and training (one-point lessons), and why AI can optimize the wrong work and reinforce silos without system thinking.

Connect with Anthony:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/antocollins/

https://www.workbetter.studio/

Connect with the podcast

Join the Hospitality Mavericks newsletter

Tune in via your favourite podcast platform - here

More episodes for you to check out here

A big thank you to our episode sponsor Monotree.

They help hospitality operators strengthen operations and scale company culture by creating a "Branded Front Door" for your workforce.

Head to their website to sign up.

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

In a Copenhagen podcast, Michael interviews Gregers Knudsen, co-founder of Monotree, about creating a platform that unifies frontline communication, onboarding/learning, checklists, and events on top of workforce management systems to replace fragmented tools like Facebook, WhatsApp, and overpowered enterprise software.

Gregers traces his path from hospitality into tech (via Planday), where he saw multi-site operators struggling with too many disconnected systems, unused spend, and GDPR risks.

He and two senior tech partners began building Monetary in 2018, launched in 2019 with a 1,500-employee customer, stayed self-funded for control, long-term product quality, and customer service, and have grown to nearly 300 customers and about 85,000 users across 18 countries, with UK as a key growth market.

They discuss engagement drivers, manager enablement, using video content, culture as an amplifier, and cautious, practical AI use focused on removing boring work rather than automating human relationships.

Connect with Gregers:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregers-knudsen-9a0a23148/

https://monotree.com/

A big thank you to our episode sponsor Monotree.

They help hospitality operators strengthen operations and scale company culture by creating a "Branded Front Door" for your workforce.

Head to their website to sign up.

Connect with the podcast

Join the Hospitality Mavericks newsletter

Tune in via your favourite podcast platform - here

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This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

Michael interviews Bjarke Just Nielsen, founder of Norrlyst Koncernen in Copenhagen, about building a fast-growing restaurant ecosystem and related tech companies.

Nielsen left corporate roles at Novo Nordisk and TDC, opened his first restaurant about five and a half years ago, then pivoted during COVID—without government support—by keeping staff and launching a deli that succeeded, accelerating his focus on online customer acquisition and data.

Today the group operates about 20 restaurants with roughly 550 employees, serves around a million guests yearly, and runs centralized systems where a small team drives demand using a toolbox of 16 traffic levers while restaurants focus on delivering the promised experience.

He discusses agility over rigid planning, professionalizing the organization through disciplined hiring, pursuing Michelin recognition with intense preparation, leadership role clarity, and upcoming projects including new tech initiatives, convenience stores, and a large all-day restaurant.

Connect with Bjarke:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/bjarke-just-nielsen-6a71445b/

https://norrlyst.dk/

https://freetable.com/

https://eater.dk/

Connect with the podcast

Join the Hospitality Mavericks newsletter

Tune in via your favourite podcast platform - here

More episodes for you to check out here

A big thank you to our episode sponsor Monotree.

They help hospitality operators strengthen operations and scale company culture by creating a "Branded Front Door" for your workforce.

Head to their website to sign up.

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy