Writing / Topic
Build The Machine
- AI Workflow Automations for Multi-Unit OperationsThe AI automations that actually save hours in a multi-unit restaurant operation. Custom GPTs, Zapier and Make flows, POS-triggered agents, and the honest results after 18 months of use.
- Automating Daily Close ReportsDaily close reports take 45 minutes per unit and get rewritten every shift. Here is the automation pattern that gets them into Slack by 6am with the manager's edits still in the loop.
- Building a Vendor Scorecard That Changes BehaviorA field-tested vendor scorecard for restaurant multi-unit operations. Five categories, one page, monthly cadence. The design choices that make vendors actually change behavior.
- A Chatbot for General Manager FAQA custom GPT trained on your ops manual, SOPs, and HR handbook. What it answers well, what it does not, and how to keep it honest.
- CRM for Corporate Catering ClientsThe catering CRM setup that actually retains enterprise clients like Google, Stanford, and Salesforce. Which fields matter, which workflows hold, and why Salesforce is usually the wrong choice.
- Custom AI for Labor ForecastingCustom AI for restaurant labor forecasting. Where off-the-shelf tools fall short, what a custom model can move, and how to build one without hiring a data science team.
- Custom GPTs for Field LeadersThe five Custom GPTs I built for area directors and general managers running multi-unit restaurant operations. What they do, how they were trained, and where they earned their keep.
- The Daily Shift Sync That Runs ItselfAn automated pre-shift brief that lands on every GM's phone at 8am. Yesterday's numbers, today's forecast, staffing gaps, VIPs, red flags. Toast, 7shifts, Resy, weather, Slack.
- The Dashboard the General Manager Opens Every MorningThe five-tile daily dashboard general managers actually open. What to show, what to hide, and why most operator dashboards die inside three weeks.
- Data Hygiene in Multi-Unit OperationsWhy every dashboard in a multi-unit restaurant group eventually lies to you, and the operator playbook for keeping the data clean enough that the numbers still move decisions.
- End-of-Shift Checklist Versus Manager JudgmentDigital shift-close checklists force consistency but breed a checkbox-and-leave habit. Where the checklist ends and manager judgment begins, with real audit numbers.
- Escalation Path AutomationHow to wire trigger-based alerts from Toast and 7shifts to Slack, text, and PagerDuty so problems get to the right person on the right day, not two weeks late.
- Expense Approval Workflow ModernizationHow a $30M restaurant group collapsed the two-week expense cycle to 20 minutes with Ramp, policy rules, auto-categorization, and a QuickBooks sync. Includes the traps.
- Guest Review Triage With AIHow a five-unit group cut guest review triage from three hours a week to twenty minutes, and cut owner response time from four days to same day, using Claude and a small automation stack.
- Inventory Cycle Count AutomationDrop the monthly full-house count everyone hates. Rotate short cycle counts by category, auto-generate count sheets, flag variance drift. Toast, Airtable, Zapier, and a Lean Six Sigma mindset.
- The KPI That Tells You Where to Look TomorrowMost KPIs are lagging. Here is the small set of leading indicators that actually tell a multi-unit operator where to look next, and how to build them into a weekly practice.
- No-Code Tools Every Multi-Unit Operator Should KnowThe no-code stack that lets an operations executive ship real tools without waiting for IT. Airtable, Zapier, Make, custom GPTs, and Power BI. When each one wins, and where they fail.
- Building an Operating SOP That Survives a New HireMost SOPs die inside 90 days of a new hire arriving. Here is how to write standard operating procedures that hold up when the person who wrote them is gone.
- Pilot Versus Rollout Decision for New TechWhen to pilot a new POS, scheduler, or inventory tool at one unit for 90 days versus push it to every location at once. A decision tree, real stories from 21 franchise units, and the exit criteria every pilot needs. (From my earlier Hana Group scope.)
- The POS Data You Are Not ReadingThe reports inside your POS that most operators never open. Modifier drift, void patterns, comp signatures, day-part mix, and the stories your terminal is trying to tell you.
- Predictive Labor Forecasting BasicsHow multi-unit operators move from last year's sales to a real labor forecast. Historical POS, weather, local events, and the reservation book, fed into a lightweight Power BI model that beats 7shifts.
- Scheduling Software Selection for Multi-Unit RestaurantsHow to pick scheduling software for a multi-unit restaurant group. The five features that matter, the three that do not, and the switching cost operators never count.
- Building a Donor CRM in Seven Days : Operator LessonsI built Hope Horizon a donor CRM from scratch in seven days. Here is what an operator learns when you have to ship a working system in a week: what to keep, what to cut, and what nonprofits should copy.
- SOP Audit Versus SOP Adherence : Do BothAuditing SOPs and enforcing adherence are two different jobs. Most operators do one and skip the other. Here is what each looks like and why you need both.
- The SOP Video LibrarySixty-second Loom videos for every recurring task, tagged in Airtable, QR codes at every station. How a video SOP library cuts new-hire ramp from 3 weeks to 8 days.
- Succession of the Operating System , Not Just the OperatorMost succession planning names the next person and calls it done. That misses the harder problem: transferring the operating system so the gains survive the handoff. Here is how to do that work.
- The Annual Tech Stack AuditThe one-day audit that finds the tools you are paying for and not using, the integrations that broke six months ago, and the sacred cows nobody wants to touch. Run it every year.
- Toast, 7shifts, and Power BI: The Field Tech Stack ExplainedThe tech stack that runs a multi-unit restaurant operation. What Toast handles, what 7shifts covers, how Power BI ties them together, and what breaks in the middle.
- Building a Training Manual That People Actually OpenRestaurant training manuals get built once, printed, and never opened. Here is how to build one that new hires actually use, and what to do about the binder in the back office.
- The Weekly P&L Review That Actually WorksA 45-minute weekly P&L review with the general manager, run the same way every week. Format, agenda, artifacts, and the mistakes that turn it into a status meeting.