For Chili’s CEO Kevin Hochman, some of the most important business decisions do not begin inside a boardroom. They begin before sunrise, during a morning run and a walk with his dog.
The chief executive of Brinker International says those quiet hours help him think about the future of the restaurant chain, which operates more than 1,000 locations across the United States and employs over 70,000 people.
Hochman told Business Insider that he usually wakes up between 5 am and 6 am. He checks emails first. After that, he heads outside for a 3.25-mile run. He also takes his dog for a walk before the rest of his workday begins.
For Hochman, the routine goes beyond fitness. He says movement and quiet time help him think clearly about the company’s direction and challenges.
“Between running and walking the dog, you get a lot of ideas on what the things we should be working on are,” Hochman said. “It typically generates a lot of ideas when it comes to thinking about the business,” Hochman told Business Insider.
Hochman leads a restaurant chain with more than 1,000 locations across 49 US states and a workforce of more than 70,000 employees, reported Business Insider. His days often include meetings with executives, restaurant operators and investors. He also spends time reviewing customer feedback, product launches and restaurant performance.
How does Kevin Hochman gather ideas from employees?
Hochman spends part of his schedule inside Chili’s restaurants talking directly with workers. He calls these meetings “listening sessions.” During those conversations, he asks employees what excites them most about the company and what they would change if they were in charge, reported Business Insider.
“A huge amount of the changes that we’ve made at Chili’s have come from sessions like those,” he said.
Some of those ideas led to operational changes inside restaurants. Hochman said Chili’s reduced inventory counting from weekly checks to monthly checks after employee feedback showed the old process took too much time and effort.
The company also uses customer feedback and restaurant-level input to guide decisions on food quality, service and menu updates. Hochman believes workers inside restaurants often spot problems and opportunities before corporate leaders do.
Hochman says direct conversations with employees help the company respond faster to those challenges.
What happens inside Chili’s test kitchen?
Some of Hochman’s workdays take him into Chili’s test kitchen, where teams experiment with menu ideas and product presentation, reported Business Insider. He reviews food trends, tastes new dishes and discusses how menu items can improve before they reach customers.
“We’ll taste some things, like how we can present our fajitas better,” Hochman said. “Or dessert innovation,” Honchman told Business Insider.
The company tests different versions of dishes to see what customers may respond to best. Presentation, flavor and consistency remain major areas of focus. Even with a packed calendar filled with meetings and strategy sessions, Hochman says his daily foundation stays the same.
Honchman told Business Insider that he begins early, exercises, spends time with his dog and uses those quiet moments to think through ideas before the business day fully starts.