Shawn Walchef led this Rising Tides Live  conversation focused on a question every business has to answer: How do you measure quality? Restaurant operators, entrepreneurs, and hospitality leaders shared how they define quality through consistency, customer expectations, value, relationships, and the overall experience. From asking customers what success looks like before the work begins to understanding how expectations can change from person to person, the group explored why quality can’t be defined by one standard. The group agreed that businesses need to understand what quality means to the people they serve, then build the consistency and relationships needed to deliver on those expectations.

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Shawn Walchef led this Rising Tides Live conversation focused on what a modern CRM should look like, where restaurant operators, entrepreneurs, and hospitality leaders shared how they manage customer relationships across their phones, email, social media, and business systems. From bringing disconnected data together and using AI to build better workflows to personalizing communication and turning customer information into meaningful action, the group shared different approaches to making their data more useful. The group agreed that a CRM is only as valuable as what you do with the information, and that better data should ultimately help businesses build stronger relationships and create better hospitality experiences.

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Shawn Walchef led this Rising Tides Live conversation on the power of word-of-mouth sales and marketing, joined by restaurant operators, entrepreneurs, and hospitality leaders who shared the experiences that turn customers into advocates. The discussion focused on creating remarkable experiences worth talking about, documenting authentic customer stories instead of manufactured case studies, and using digital storytelling to amplify real-world relationships. From community involvement and grassroots marketing to online reviews, branded experiences, and memorable acts of hospitality, the group agreed that the most effective marketing isn't something businesses buy, it's something they earn by consistently giving people a story worth sharing.

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Iano Dovi filled in for Shawn Walchef to lead this Rising Tides Live conversation on the invisible audience every leader creates. Joined by a panel of restaurant operators, entrepreneurs, and hospitality leaders, Iano guided a discussion on how leadership extends beyond the workplace through the stories employees share with their families and friends. From creating cultures built on empathy and respect to understanding that every interaction shapes a company's reputation, the group agreed that the stories employees tell after every shift become one of the most powerful reflections of a leader's impact.

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Scott Kleckner led this Rising Tides Live conversation on the power of saying no. Joined by Shawn Walchef and a panel of restaurant operators, entrepreneurs, and hospitality leaders, Scott guided a discussion on the difficult decisions that help leaders protect their time, values, and long-term goals. From setting stronger boundaries and using AI as a strategic thinking partner to defining a personal North Star, the group agreed that every yes comes with a cost, and the right no creates space for the opportunities that matter most.

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Shawn Walchef led this Rising Tides Live conversation focused on the value of little improvements over time, where restaurant operators, entrepreneurs, and hospitality leaders shared how small, consistent changes create lasting results. The discussion explored improving workflows, leadership, storytelling, and business systems while embracing feedback, reducing friction, and publishing before you're ready. The group agreed that meaningful growth doesn't come from one big breakthrough but from small improvements that compound over time.

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Iano Dovi led this Rising Tides Live conversation focused on building better leaders in the AI era, where restaurant operators, entrepreneurs, and hospitality leaders shared how technology is changing what leadership looks like. The discussion centered on using AI to make teams more efficient without losing the human connection, strengthening interpersonal skills and empathy, and giving emerging leaders the tools and confidence to make better decisions. From adapting communication to individual employees and challenging AI to push back on ideas to creating clearer goals and more personalized training, the group agreed that AI does not replace leadership. It raises the standard for how leaders show up, build trust, and connect with their teams.

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Shawn Walchef led this Rising Tides Live conversation focused on mid-year planning, where restaurant operators, entrepreneurs, and hospitality leaders shared how they evaluate the first half of the year while preparing for the months ahead. The discussion centered on using AI as a strategic thinking partner, simplifying priorities instead of adding more work, and creating plans that balance business goals with personal growth and family commitments. From whiteboards and vision boards to leadership lessons, financial planning, and accountability, the group agreed that mid-year planning is less about setting new goals and more about making intentional decisions that create momentum for the rest of the year.

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Jasper de Vries, CTO and Co-Founder of YourBI, explains how restaurant operators can turn disconnected data into actionable business intelligence by creating a single, trusted source of truth across their technology stack. Instead of relying on spreadsheets, manual reports, or isolated systems, YourBI connects data from POS, labor, finance, scheduling, and other platforms to deliver real-time operational insights. Jasper shares how restaurant groups are using AI-ready data to improve upselling, automate financial reporting, identify operational opportunities, and give leaders faster answers through natural language tools like ChatGPT and Claude. By validating and organizing data before AI analyzes it, YourBI helps restaurants make smarter decisions with confidence while building a stronger foundation for future growth.

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n this episode of Rising Tides Live, Shawn Walchef is joined by Jordan Boesch, CEO of 7shifts, to discuss what restaurant employees want from their jobs in 2026. Drawing from 7shifts' latest employee report, the conversation explores why understaffing remains the industry's biggest challenge, what motivates restaurant teams beyond pay, and how operators can build stronger cultures through better leadership, recognition, and listening. Hospitality leaders from the Rising Tides community also join the conversation to share their own experiences and practical ideas for improving the employee experience.

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