Build The Kind Of Place People Want To Work.
State restaurant association conventions, multi-unit manager meetings, GM and shift lead sessions, franchisee events, and awards nights.
The restaurants, bars, and coffee shops that hold onto good people are rarely the ones paying the most. They are the ones where a shift feels well run, the standard is clear, and somebody notices the work. That is a leadership advantage, and it is available to any operator willing to build it. Chris Sund has spent two decades leading service teams where the everyday interaction is the whole product.
People remember how the room felt. That is built by whoever is running the shift.
My KC Live, KCTV5 Kansas City →Restaurant people have no patience for filler.
A room of operators who were on the line last night will give a speaker about ninety seconds. Send a clip and let your board decide. Chris has been on morning television in six markets and in Forbes, Inc., and the Midlands Business Journal, all collected in the media hub.
Five things a crew uses on the next shift.
No menu engineering, no food cost, no labor scheduling model, no POS. Your operators know that better than any outside speaker. This is the people layer that decides whether anybody is still there in six months.
On what the restaurant session is about
- Front of house and back of house are one team, badly. Most service failures happen in the pass rather than at the table. A room where both sides hear the same thing at the same time changes something a schedule cannot.
- Why staff leave for a dollar. They usually do not. They leave because a shift was miserable and nobody noticed, and a dollar somewhere else becomes a good enough reason.
- The owner working the floor alone. Most independents are one person carrying the whole business, and nobody says that out loud at a conference full of people quietly doing the same thing.
- Shift leads and GMs promoted off the line. Almost all of them, and almost none were trained to lead. One usable skill changes what a whole shift feels like. See manager development.
- One move, not a program. Every session closes on a single specific action, sized for people who are back on shift tonight.
Eight ways restaurant groups book him.
Associations usually add a breakout to the general session. Multi-unit operators usually pair a manager session with a repeatable all-staff session across locations.
Restaurant Association Convention
General session for a state restaurant, hospitality, or beverage association annual meeting.Multi-Unit Manager Meeting
GMs and area managers across locations. The highest-leverage room in any restaurant group.All-Staff or Pre-Open Session
Front and back of house together, before service or on a dark day. Repeatable across locations.Franchisee Meeting
Franchise owner groups running regional or annual meetings. Franchise details.Bar & Beverage Groups
Bars, taprooms, breweries, and beverage associations with late-night crews and their own rhythm.Coffee & Quick Service
Coffee shops, cafes, and quick service teams running early mornings and young crews.Awards & Recognition Night
Restaurateur of the year, hall of fame, and association awards banquets. Hosting available.Conference Breakouts
Repeatable concurrent sessions alongside a general session at an association convention.Built for everyone who opens for service.
The framework holds across all of them. What changes is who is in the room and what opens tonight.
State Restaurant Associations
Annual conventions, expos, and member meetings. See association speaking.Independent Operators
Single-location owners carrying the whole business themselves. See small business speaking.Multi-Unit Groups
Restaurant groups and management companies running GMs across several locations.Franchise Restaurant Brands
QSR and fast casual systems and their franchisee conventions. See franchise speaking.Bars, Taprooms & Breweries
Beverage associations, brewers guilds, and late-night operations with their own staffing reality.Coffee & Cafe
Coffee shops and cafe groups running early shifts and predominantly young teams.Hotel Food & Beverage
Banquet, outlet, and catering teams inside properties. See hotel and hospitality speaking.Culinary & Workforce Programs
Culinary schools and industry workforce programs bringing new people into the trade. See student speaking.Distributors & Suppliers
Foodservice distributors and suppliers running customer events for operator clients.Four movements. Ten principles.
Every session runs the same architecture as the book, which is what lets an all-staff session and a manager meeting land as one message rather than two.
The Foundation
Ownership and time. What is inside your control when the covers, the costs, and the call-offs are not.The Breakthrough
The comfort ceiling and the inner voice. The section a twenty-year operator goes quiet for.The Standard
Truth over praise, and the hidden gear. What a crew does when somebody finally says the real thing out loud.The Purpose
Finishing, and leaving people better. The close, and why feeding people well is worth the hours it costs.A copy for every person on the schedule.
A keynote gives a crew an hour. A copy gives a whole group the same ten principles and the same language, which is how a message survives past the week the banners come down.
You Are Capable of More: A No-Excuses Guide to Becoming Your Best Self. An Amazon bestseller from Game Changer Publishing, with a foreword by Ben Newman.
Ten chapters across four movements, written plainly and short enough that somebody working doubles will actually finish it. The free companion toolkit includes a discussion guide sized for a pre-shift lineup, a self-assessment, and a thirty day challenge. Nothing is gated behind an email address.
The feedback speaks for itself.
Chris consistently brings knowledge, insight, and practical advice. He led two impactful sessions and left everyone with tools they could use immediately.
Chris was an outstanding speaker and a highlight of our event. He took the time to deeply understand our organization and thoughtfully personalized every moment.
His engaging style draws the audience into the conversation, creating a relaxed atmosphere that encourages learning and reflection. You leave not only inspired but equipped.
Chris is a thoughtful, intentional leader who understands the influence he carries. His message challenged me to think differently about how I lead, serve, and influence others.
Chris would be an incredible addition to any live audience. Each time he finds a unique way to connect on both a personal and professional level, keeping everyone engaged and attentive.
Chris consistently brings knowledge, insight, and practical advice. He led two impactful sessions and left everyone with tools they could use immediately.
Chris was an outstanding speaker and a highlight of our event. He took the time to deeply understand our organization and thoughtfully personalized every moment.
His engaging style draws the audience into the conversation, creating a relaxed atmosphere that encourages learning and reflection. You leave not only inspired but equipped.
Chris is a thoughtful, intentional leader who understands the influence he carries. His message challenged me to think differently about how I lead, serve, and influence others.
Chris would be an incredible addition to any live audience. Each time he finds a unique way to connect on both a personal and professional level, keeping everyone engaged and attentive.
Events already on your calendar.
He led people who could leave any week.
Chris Sund is the bestselling author of You Are Capable of More, a keynote speaker, and an executive leader.
As President and COO of Uniti Med, GQR Healthcare, and Nebula, he helped grow Uniti Med 10x in revenue in two years and earn the number three ranking on the Inc. Regionals list among the fastest growing companies in the Midwest, while the organization earned Fortune Best Workplaces recognition and Great Place to Work certification three years running.
He is a father of three, based in Nebraska, a Maxwell Leadership Certified speaker, trainer, and coach, Vice President of the NATHO Board of Directors, and the founder of Amplify Speakers. He has never run a restaurant and will say so from the front. What he knows is how a leader keeps people in demanding, hourly, high-turnover work where the job across the street pays about the same.
Details your committee will ask for.
Operators and association staff ask these.
He has never run a restaurant. Why does that work?
How much does a restaurant keynote speaker cost?
Our margins are thin. Is a speaker really worth it?
Can you get front of house and back of house in one room?
Does this work for bars and breweries?
What about coffee shops and quick service?
What about our GMs and shift leads?
Can we get books for the team?
How do we start?
Other ways organizations book him.
Same framework, built for the specific room you are filling.