The Secret Sauce Podcast

What's your definition of success? C-suite title? A house in the neighborhood everybody wants to live in? Blue check mark by your Instagram? Hitting your revenue target? $ amount in your bank account? None of these things are bad, but anyone who's chased and attained them as their end game would tell you they're incredibly fleeting. But what if there were a different kind of success? One that gave you the sense of satisfaction and fulfillment that none of these other things could. Well, it exists, and there's no better person in the world to talk about it than Tim Schurrer. Tim joins us to share transformational stories from his own life and the lives of others in the secret society of success.   Get your copy of The Secret Society of Success.   Stay Saucy!

Danny Klein is the Editorial Director of QSR and FSR magazines. He's also host of one of the leading QSR conferences in the nation - QSR Evolution Conference.   Listen to hear new industry insights on what makes the most successful brands tick and the underlying leadership principles that make or break a company.   Connect with Danny Klein on LinkedIn.   Connect with your host Josh Swing.   Stay Saucy!

Thanks for tuning in to this bonus episode from a recent conversation I had on the Kingdom Reflections podcast.   If you are looking to grow in your faith, take a moment to click the above link and follow that podcast.   We'll be back in two weeks with another original episode of The Secret Sauce.   Stay saucy!

The conclusion of our 5-part series on why aren't you winning?   Listen as we discuss the culture of apathy that can easily creep in if we are not intentional about holding things with the gratitude and reverence they deserve.   Stay saucy!

Comparison traps are everywhere. They're in every conversation we have, every swipe of our thumb on social media, and right outside your window as you drive down the road.   If we're not careful we can find ourselves in a place without joy and gratitude and a false definition of success.   Listen to this episode as we discuss 4 questions to combat against comparison to live a life of joy, fulfillment, and gratitude!   Stay Saucy!

Are you looking at the right scoreboard or scoreboards of life?   In this episode, we'll unpack a framework to evaluate life's most important scoreboards - Being, Balance, Body, and Business.   Lean in for insights to shape how you focus your efforts to dominate 2025.   Stay Saucy!  

We get into trouble when we try to run an endurance race at a 100m pace.   Listen as host Josh Swing asks questions to help you evaluate your current pace in life and create new habits to introduce more margin in your life.   If you're a Chick-fil-A Operator, Director, or Shift Leader and you'd like to hear more about the special offering for your team, schedule time to chat with Josh here.   Happy Thanksgiving and Stay Saucy!

Everybody's been there - we've all had the feeling that we just can't win. No matter how hard we try, we can't seem to stay on top of all the things at work or at home.   Follow along on this 5-part series to discover how we can win this game of life.   Our first stop will be defeating the "we can do it all" mirage that leaves us thirstier and more unfulfilled than before.   We'll focus on the stories we want to be told about us and how they can serve as our daily compass toward a life of fulfillment.   Stay saucy!

Angela Reed is a Chief Connectioneer - connecting people to their purpose and to each other through speaking engagements, events, and her work as Senior Project Lead at Chick-fil-A for the Together Fund.   She's joining me today to help us discover and own our original like only we can.   Lean in as we discuss imposter syndrome, growth mindset, clarifying what's next, and serving others.   Connect with Angela here.   Connect with your host - Josh Swing.   Stay saucy!

Listen as Jacob Karnes Owner of Waves Business Coaching and Author of Master Your First Job shares his secret sauce for creating an environment that allows new hires to thrive.   Want higher levels of engagement, connection, inspiration, and ownership on your team? Then you're going to want to hear this.   Connect with Jacob on LinkedIn.   Connect with your host Josh Swing.   Stay saucy!

Founder and Executive Leadership Coach at BRDGE Coaching Elise Moore joins the podcast to share insights, challenges, and successes she's seen through countless coaching conversations with high-impact, high-drive leaders.   She'll share how discovering and leaning into who God designed you to be is the best way you can show up as a leader.   Listen along as Elise shares intentional, thought-provoking questions to unveil the core values you might not know you have.   Connect with Elise.   Connect with your host Josh Swing.   Stay Saucy!

What got you where you are will not keep you there, and it certainly won't get you to what's next.   The one thing that every leader who's achieved lasting success understands - is the need to continuously improve.   Alex Seale Operating Partner at Chick-fil-A in Houston, TX, and Owner of The Pivot Experience joins me to discuss his secret sauce of tinkering and constantly making things better.   Connect with Alex.   Check out The Pivot Experience.   Connect with your host Josh Swing.   Stay Saucy!

Chick-fil-A Owner/Operator Lauren Nelson from the New Orleans market joins the podcast to discuss her vision of positively influencing others while challenging them to be the best version of themselves.   How approachable are you as a leader?   What's it like to give you feedback?   Answering these questions is a critical step to realizing your full potential as a leader and helping others realize theirs.   Growing yourself, asking for feedback, and protecting time for consistent 1-on-1's are all key ingredients in the recipe for a lasting legacy Lauren is leaving.   Connect with your host Josh Swing.   Stay Saucy!

Mariah Millner - Sr. Experience Lead, Field/Elevate/G.O. Supervisors - joins the podcast to breakdown 3 levels of encouragement:   Level 1 - Your presence Level 2 - Verbal and physical affirmation Level 3 - Acts of service   She'll also share some powerful wisdom on maximizing the opportunity you've been given while staying hungry for what's next.   Connect with Mariah on LinkedIn.   Connect with your host Josh Swing.   Stay Saucy!

This episode is an opportunity to reflect on some of the key principles from my conversation with Harris III and inspire action.   Stay Saucy!

Harris III is an author, communicator, illusionist, and story guru. He specializes in helping others live a wow-level life.   Are you childlike? That's probably a question you haven't thought much about.   Harris joins the podcast to share why being a leader is impossible if you do not possess childlike wonder.   Wonder fuels our why and our why drives our actions.   Learn about the negative stories you need to subtract from your life to uncover the childlike wonder you once had.   Learn more about Harris III.   Learn more about Istoria.   Connect with your host Josh Swing.

Joe Anderson Chick-fil-A Owner/Operator at 45 & Almeda in Houston, TX joins the show to share how the most impactful leaders met him where he was at during challenging seasons. He'll also share the practical ways he strives to pay it forward with his team - attending every orientation, caring for people beyond what they can accomplish, and having massive amounts of empathy for the tragedy that someone could be going through. Lean in to learn how Joe doesn't have to recruit leaders because of the magnetic pull his team has created. Connect with your host - Josh Swing. Stay Saucy!

Josh Huesser Owner/Operator of Chick-fil-A London, Ontario joins to share why he doesn't have a secret sauce!   None of us do - every ingredient in your sauce is a gift from our Creator, and we are responsible for stewarding those gifts.   We'll evaluate levels of belief, unpack a "burn the ships" mentality, and lean into the value of feedback.   Here are the books Josh referenced on this episode: Know What You're For Your Next Five Moves   Connect with Josh on LinkedIn.   Connect with your host - Josh Swing.   Stay Saucy!  

Colleen Pamphile - Owner/Operator at Chick-fil-A 1960 and Eldredge Pkwy in Houston, TX has an incredible perspective on building culture.   She'll unpack her RACI Matrix:   Who's RESPONSIBLE? Who needs to be held ACCOUNTABLE? Who needs to be CONSULTED? Who needs to be INFORMED?   Also, we'll discuss the value of celebrating, appreciating, and encouraging your team JUST BECAUSE!   Connect with your host Josh Swing.   Stay saucy!

We'll walk through 5 powerful exercises to help you define and maximize your secret sauce for leadership.   Step 1 - Reflect on your story   Step 2 - Leverage assessments   Working Genius DISC Enneagram Myers Briggs Leadership Behavior DNA   Free: High5   Step 3 - Get feedback   Step 4 - Clarify your purpose   Step 5 - Summarize and name it   Connect with your host Josh Swing.   Stay Saucy!

Most business leaders will achieve success at the expense of their marriage, very few will be successful as a result of their marriage.   Lantz Howard is an Executive Coach who helps men create a passionate marriage and a killer business without losing their souls.   Listen as he shares practical leadership principles applicable in the bedroom and the boardroom.   We'll cover key items like...   Handling rejection Self-regulation Dating your spouse Measuring success Addressing the heart --- Resources from this episode: Free guide to jumpstart your marriage at - lantzhoward.com   Connect with Lantz Howard on LinkedIn   Connect with your host Josh Swing --- Stay Saucy!

This is a follow-up episode from my conversation with Eva Daniel where she challenged me to re-tell the story of how I met Erin.   Thanks for listening and stay saucy!

Listen as owner of The Speak Shop and master speech coach Eva Daniel shares how to turn your boring, everyday communication into a compelling message that inspires others to take action.   She'll discuss critical speaking factors like: Preparation Content creation Storytelling …and what you should never do as a communicator.   Whether you're communicating at a Monday morning meeting, team huddle, conference, or simply sharing a story at the dinner table you're going to want to hear this one.   Check out Eva's 12 Questions To Ask for a Killer Speech here.   Connect with Eva on LinkedIn.   Connect with your host Josh Swing.   Stay Saucy!

“Our ability to lead is directly proportional to who we follow.”   Dan Stanko - Owner/Operator at CFA Macedonia in the Cleveland, OH market joins the podcast to share how his secret sauce starts with faith and who he follows.   He'll also discuss valuable lessons from the ups and downs of life and the Be Attitudes to stay grounded through it all:   Be Thankful Be Content Be Generous   Lastly, Dan discusses his super power of vulnerability and authenticity.   Connect with your host Josh Swing.   Stay Saucy!

This is a bonus episode from a conversation I had on my good friend Hampton Dortch's podcast - Wake Up and Lead.   Apple Podcasts Spotify   If you're a driven young leader and aren't already go follow that podcast.   It'll be the best thing you do all day!   Stay Saucy!

“All the good things we want in life are a byproduct of creating value for other people.” - Dr. Randy Ross Do you create more value than you extract?   As a…   Friend Spouse Brother Parent Coworker Sister Coach Neighbor Teammate   Dr. Randy Ross is an author, speaker, consultant, and culture influencer.   In this episode, he explains how we create relationally rich cultures by being value creators for others.   Listen as he unpacks the key maxims and questions to evaluate the value we are adding to the people in our lives.   Make sure you pre-order your copy of the 3rd edition of Remarkable! available April 1st.   You can also connect with Randy by visiting his website.   Connect with your host - Josh Swing   Stay saucy!

Mark Miller has spent decades driving a high-performance leadership culture for Chick-fil-A. Listen as Mark unpacks the true purpose of leadership and what makes teams great.   Check out Mark's most recent book: Culture Rules   Pre-order Mark's upcoming book: Uncommon Greatness   Utilize the free leadership assessments at Lead Every Day   Call/text Mark on his cell: 678-612-8441 Email Mark: mark@leadeveryday.com   Connect with your host Josh Swing   Stay saucy!

This is a recap from my previous episode with Amanda Finnigan.   Listen for a refresher of the 3 biggest takeaways I walked away from our conversation with.   Connect with your host - Josh Swing.   Stay saucy!

If you're a leader who could benefit from taking more action in your life (that'd be all of us) this episode is a must listen.   My guest Amanda Finnigan is a Chick-fil-A leader in the Houston, TX market and she is one of the most intentional, growth-minded leaders I've met.   Listen as Amanda shares about...   -Her perspective on showing grace and kindness to others -Embracing empathy and humility -Having a bias towards action   If you'd like to connect with Amanda you can simply give her a call/text at 832-472-7582 and reach out to her on LinkedIn.   If you'd like to learn more about Wildsparq or connect with the host click here.   Stay Saucy!    

Leadership Consultancy's Jodie Hylkema joins me to discuss what it looks like to lead from both/and.   Life is full of extremes and while social media and politics would like us to live in those extremes Jodie challenges us to live differently.   She makes a strong case for why we should all be leading from the messy middle of...   Grace and Truth Now and Not Yet Steady and Ambitious Results and Relationships   Hope you are ready to get out of your comfort zone with this one!   Reach out to Jodie Hylkema about leadership coaching: jodie.hylkema@leadership-consultancy.com   Reach out to Josh Swing about Wildsparq: josh.swing@wildsparq.com   Stay Saucy!

This episode hits a little closer to home for me as I welcome my brother Jordan Swing to the podcast.   Jordan would describe his love for Chick-fil-A as an obsession. He's going to share some of the highly applicable lessons he's learned from over a decade of professional basketball and how it could apply to any leader in any environment.   If you want to connect with Jordan you can do so through Instagram and LinkedIn.   Connect with your host - Josh Swing   Stay saucy!

Erin Franklin is the Owner/Operator at Chick-fil-A Ford City in the Chicago market and she's never listened to a podcast before!   That's all about to change now that she's a member of The Secret Sauce Family. Listen as she shares about leading out of your authentic self, the importance of community, and choosing to do hard things.   Send me an email if you'd like to connect - josh.swing@wildsparq.com   Stay Saucy!    

This is the podcast version of my keynote from the CFA Indy Operator Retreat.   If you'd like to discuss opportunities to speak at your next retreat or leadership conference please connect with me here or send me an email:   josh.swing@wildsparq.com   Stay Saucy!    

This is a recap episode discussing my biggest takeaways from the conversation with Daniel Andrews - Owner/Operator Chick-fil-A S. Colorado & Yale + Chick-fil-A Broadway and Dartmouth.   Stay Saucy!

Owner/Operator Daniel Andrews out of Denver, CO shares his passion for building brighter futures both professionally and personally. This starts with the belief that every person has unlimited potential to do beautiful things. Be prepared to listen to this one a couple of times because of how many practical takeaways there are. Here's a list of the books Daniel referenced: Essentialism Chop Wood, Carry Water Love and Work Ruthless Elimination of Hurry Connect with your host Josh Swing Stay Saucy!

If you've only got 5 minutes to consume a podcast this is for you.   This is a recap episode from my full conversation with Leo Chan.   There were 3 big takeaways that I walked away with. Listen in to here what they were.   Stay Saucy!

Leo Chan is the former Senior Innovation Lead of Chick-fil-A Inc. and the current Chief Creativity Officer of Abound Innovation.   Much like Chef Gusteau of Ratatouille who believes "everyone can cook" Leo believes "everyone can innovate"!   (If you're looking to kill some time check out the first-ever TikTok musical of Ratatouille Leo references from our conversation here.)   Listen as Leo unpacks a clear definition of innovation that we can all relate to. He'll also expand on the importance of environment when innovating. We'll wrap up the conversation with a practical way to generate great ideas.   Connect with Leo on LinkedIn, Instagram, or by subscribing to his newsletter.   Stay saucy!        

This is a version of the keynote I delivered at the CFA Houston Leadership Conference this week.   Shoutout to all the leaders I got the connect with at the conference! I hope you'll share this with your teams and can have a meaningful conversation about the growth mindset.   Connect with me here.   Stay Saucy!

Michel Harding is the Owner/Operator at Chick-fil-A Cantrell Road in Little Rock, AR. He joins us on this episode to discuss 5 nuggets of wisdom from over a decade of experience with Chick-fil-A.   Whether you're new in your journey as a leader or you've racked up decades of leadership experience yourself, you're going to want to lean in for this one!   5 Nuggets of Wisdom: 1) Create The Best Version of Your Team Member 2) Create Opportunities, Not Systems 3) Create The What, Then Find The Who   4) Strive to create space.. in your schedule, brain, and for your team. 5) Zero distractions come at 4 AM.   Connect with Michel on LinkedIn   Connect with your host Josh Swing   Stay Saucy!

Know. Be. Live.   Listen as John Basie (Director, Residency at the Impact 360 Institute) unpacks these three simple, yet powerful words and what it means for how we approach creating more leaders.   The Impact 360 Institute was founded by John and Trudy Cathy White in 2006 and Chick-fil-A's roots still run deep through the entire campus.   Click here to learn more about the Impact 360 Institute.   Click here to purchase Basie's book: Know. Be. Live.   Stay saucy!    

Does your leadership development strategy feel like it came straight out of the '90s?   Unfortunately, when it comes to building our team's leadership capacity most approaches are dated, boring, and inconsistent.   Kat Hudgins focuses on leadership development for Chick-fil-A Morton Ranch and for the Houston market as a whole.   She's sharing some of the innovative ways she approaches creating a relevant, rotating, and consistent strategy for positively influencing others.   If you're in Houston don't forget to register for the conference coming up on July 26th.   Click here to register   Chat with your host - Josh Swing  

Dave Koepsell - Owner/Operator of CFA Celebration, FL joins me to discuss trust, transparency, vulnerability, and honesty and why it all goes back to a personal commitment to glorify, steward, and influence.   Dave is pioneering the way we care for people by the way we practically invest and view peoples' time.   Lean in because you're not going to want to miss this one. Stay Saucy!   Connect with the host

Ryan Leak is an incredible speaker, author, coach, podcaster, and content creator.   He'd attribute much of what he's been able to accomplish to the fact that he's willing to fail at stuff most people aren't willing to try.   Listen to Ryan unpack his perspective on failure and how he relentlessly pursues the art of getting better.   You can purchase Ryan's books (which I'd highly recommend), book him as a speaker, or sign up for his free encouraging texts on his website here:   https://www.ryanleak.com/   Connect with your host Josh Swing

How do you get a team to buy into a bigger vision and embrace it personally?   Stephanie Witte - Operator at CFA First Colony Center in California, Maryland - shares how she turned her vision statement into more than just words on a wall.   Stephanie's team is more committed than ever to the pursuit of excellence and living out what it means to CARE through teamwork.   Click here to learn more about Wildsparq.   Schedule time to connect with the host here.   Stay saucy!  

Listen in as Kathleen Spangler from Chick-fil-A's Corporate Social Responsibility team shares her passion for connecting people and communities, how that connects to CFA's purpose, and how playing can unlock up to 70% more of your brain's capacity!   If you want to connect with Wildsparq the same way Kathleen and her team did click here.   I'd love to chat with you!   Stay Saucy!

Fresh off Kayla Smith's powerful time on stage at NEXT as part of a dynamic Operator panel we revisit her previous episode.   Kayla talks all about designing the culture you want through systems that build relationships. Here are 2 resources to help you execute what Kayla shares: New Team Member Questions 1-on-1 Guide   Stay Saucy!

Listen as the Wildsparq team shares their most impactful moment and conversations from the last two days of Chick-fil-A NEXT!   If you didn't get the chance to connect with us in San Diego but you'd like to here's the link: CFA NEXT x Wildsparq Connect Call   Stay saucy!

Listen as the Wildsparq team shares highlights and shoutouts from the most impactful moments of Chick-fil-A NEXT 2023 in San Diego.

Listen as the Wildsparq team shares moments of impact and Operator shoutouts from day 1 at Chick-fil-A NEXT in San Diego!

We can't wait to see all of you in San Diego! Come by and see us at the Wildsparq table in The Hub.   Mention The Secret Sauce Podcast and get some exclusive Wildsparq socks.   Also if you or one of your friends signs up for a demo of Wildsparq we'll sponsor your coffee for the whole week with a Starbucks gift card.   See you soon and stay saucy!

Listen as Terrell Daniel of Chick-fil-A Tech Road delivers the 7 key ingredients to his secret sauce for leadership: Know yourself, lead yourself - gain self-awareness, invite feedback, then apply self-care Lead by example - don't ask anybody to do something you aren't willing to do yourself Know your team, lead them differently - there isn't a one-size fits all leadership strategy Blame the process, not the person - be easy on the people not on the problem Constant gentle pressure - it's our job as the leader to keep putting the salt shaker in the middle of the table  Fail fast - get comfortable with making mistakes - if you're not messing up you're not trying hard enough Be purpose-driven - relentlessly tie everything back to the "why" Connect with the host here.   Stay Saucy!