Welcome to another episode of the Hospitality Strategy Lab Podcast, where science meets service! Today, host Jason Littrell sits down with Felicia Shakiba, founder of CPO Playbook, a consultancy specializing in leadership development and human capital for emerging brands. Together, they unpack the challenges and triumphs of scaling restaurant businesses—diving into real-world examples like Portillo’s, where building a strong internal culture powered unprecedented growth and retention.

Get ready for an insightful conversation on what great leadership really means in hospitality, how to design onboarding strategies that set teams up for long-term success, and why aligning your company mission is essential for consistency across multiple locations. Plus, Felicia Shakiba shares her approach to leveraging customized survey tools and even AI to collect meaningful data, drive continuous improvement, and foster memorable guest experiences.

If you’re a bar owner, restaurant manager, or hospitality operator aiming to grow and create habit-forming experiences for your guests, you won’t want to miss the actionable tips and big-picture strategies in this episode.

***

Felicia Shakiba is the founder of CPO Playbook, a leadership and human capital consultancy specializing in executive coaching and leadership development. Through her firm, Felicia partners with organizations to tackle the complexities of human capital—from succession planning and training to HR and people analytics, as well as compensation and total rewards planning. With a passion for helping companies scale by developing strong leadership and effective talent strategies, Felicia guides clients through the nuanced world of people management with expertise and enthusiasm.

***

00:00 "Succession Planning Success"

05:54 "Leadership Drives Workplace Culture"

06:50 Leadership Through Shared Responsibility

12:06 "Prioritizing Guest Experience Alignment"

14:54 "Aligning Vision and Consistent Behavior"

16:24 Feedback and Improvement Through Communication

22:28 Balancing AI With Human Insight

24:31 Scaling Leadership with Technology

27:08 Restaurant Accelerator & Expert Advice

***

restaurant culture, leadership development, executive coaching, human capital consultancy, succession planning, HR analytics, people analytics, compensation planning, total rewards, employee retention, onboarding strategy, guest experience, stakeholder management, hospitality industry challenges, internal leadership programs, training and development, organizational alignment, mission and values articulation, behavioral leadership, staff engagement, continuous learning, feedback mechanisms, data-driven decision making, survey tools, custom assessments, AI in hospitality, technology for scaling, organizational consistency, servant leadership, customer experience measurement, employee churn rate