About the Author

BUILT FROM
THE FLOOR UP

I was 14 years old, terrified, and standing behind a cash register at Chick-fil-A. I didn't know anything about leadership. I barely knew anything about work. But I had two managers who did something most leaders never do. They didn't just teach me their way. They taught me the system. They were patient with my mistakes. They saw something in me I hadn't figured out yet.

That experience changed the entire direction of my life. Years later I was an apprentice manager — eager line workers all around me, hungry to do the work but needing someone to show them how. And I realized I had become that person. The one who slows down. The one who teaches the system. The one who sees what someone could become before they see it themselves.

That's 30 years ago. I haven't stopped since. I've built and developed teams inside fast casual restaurants, high-speed go-kart tracks, food and beverage operations, and multiple businesses I operate simultaneously right now. I've watched startups fail not because of bad ideas — but because nobody built the people culture. Nobody addressed the training. Nobody was intentional.

That's why I wrote this book. Play Bigger is for the leader with high expectations and no roadmap for getting their team there. For the operator who knows their people have more in them but can't figure out how to unlock it. For the line worker who is ready — and just needs someone to say so.

And this is just the beginning. We are building something bigger than a book. A self-guided system. A journal. A community for operators and leaders who are done guessing and ready to grow through their people. A movement that starts on the floor and scales all the way to the top.

You don't need a business degree to lead well. You need intention. Structure. And a team that believes in what you're building. We're here to help you build it.