Restaurant Unstoppable Ep. 1249 Summary

Guest: Sam Caucci, CEO of 1Huddle and Author of Wasted Talent
Host: Eric Cacciatore
Release Date: February 2, 2026

Overview

In this episode, Eric Cacciatore welcomes Sam Caucci back to discuss his new book, Wasted Talent: How Greed, Exploitation and the Promise of the Future of Work has Failed the Front Line and a Plan to Fix It. Drawing from his experience as the founder of workforce training company 1Huddle and his exposure to varied industries (including hospitality), Sam makes the case that the current approach to talent in restaurants—and beyond—is broken. The conversation digs into the roots of these issues, their social/economic context, how business owners can do better for their teams, and practical steps restaurants can take to build a people-first culture.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Opening and Success Mantra

• "You don't have to be sick to get better." – Sam stresses that businesses should constantly pursue improvement, not just wait for something to break. ([03:56])
  • "The best brands are always thinking about what's the next innovation, what's the next step, where is the market going?" ([04:04])

Sam Caucci’s Background and the Genesis of Wasted Talent

• Career Path: Initially in sports/high-performance training, not restaurants. Ran athlete prep facilities; started 1Huddle to gamify workforce training. Clients range from small sales teams to top-tier brands (Nike, TAO, Lowe’s Hotels). Book emerged from frustration at seeing squandered frontline potential. ([06:37]–[08:47])
• Unique Perspective: 1Huddle’s work exposes Sam to real employee experiences across industries, showing frequent failure in developing in-house talent and over-reliance on buying new talent. ([09:14])

Talent is Wasted: The HR and Management Problem

• Frontline Disconnect: Too many companies treat staff as replaceable or “unskilled,” instead of building from within. Example: A head of HR laughed at the idea of a minimum wage retail worker training to be a manager. ([11:35])
  • "That's a person who's supposed to develop, coach, make people better—and she laughed at a retail worker upskilling. That's embarrassing. It's disgusting." ([13:15])
• Management vs. Coaching: Managers control, leaders show, coaches inspire; thriving orgs switch from control to capability-building. ([23:18])

The Three Lies About Frontline Workers

1. People Are Unskilled ([17:34])
   • "It’s easy to call workers unskilled when you aren’t investing in assessing or developing their skills." ([18:40])
   • Training is treated as a one-off event; workers' real capabilities go untapped.
2. Workers Are Lazy
   • Most disengagement is because employees don't feel seen or challenged. True coaching addresses personal/professional growth, not just job skills. ([25:05])
3. We Can't Find Workers
   • The problem is not labor scarcity, but unappealing, low-investment work environments. Today's workers seek jobs that care about them before clocking in and after clocking out. ([34:00])
   • "Workers have skills; they just choose every day whether to give them to you or not." ([34:30])

The Origins and Problems with Work

• Work Was Built to Extract, Not Develop
  • Management and HR systems (originating from Frederick Winslow Taylor’s scientific management) are designed for extraction and efficiency, not for human growth or capability building. ([36:54])
  • "HR's original purpose was always extraction, not development." ([37:48])
• Capitalism and Consumerism
  • Sam points out that modern capitalism fixates on maximizing profit and executive compensation, often at the expense of frontline workers’ growth and reward. ([44:12])
  • Wealth gap statistics highlight escalating inequality.
• Fragmenting Community
  • Industrial/consumer capitalism has eroded community reliance, making humans less connected to one another. ([70:01])
  • "We literally don’t need each other anymore... that’s not human. We’ve never lived like this before." ([71:55])

The Restaurant Industry and Systemic Challenges

• Scaling, PE, and Losing the 'Why'
  • The goal of many brands is now to scale to sell, not to build sustainable, people-focused businesses.
• Small Independents Are Squeezed
  • Local, independent restaurants struggle to meet higher people-care standards due to razor-thin margins, often set by broader industry and economic forces. ([48:33])

Workforce, Education, and Training Deficits

• Education System Not Delivering
  • Schools and colleges are not keeping pace with the rapid change needed for today’s skillsets. Workers will have 44 jobs, not 3, in a lifetime. Continuous learning is essential. ([54:26])
• Credentials and Opportunity
  • There is no robust system for certifying frontline skills in hospitality—informal skill growth is unrecognized, especially for workers transitioning between jobs.

AI & Automation

• Technology Use Matters
  • AI and automation can be beneficial or discriminatory, depending on application. Over-used for consumer experience and sorting job candidates, under-used for employee experience and development. ([65:31])
  • "If you're using AI just to make hiring easier, not to build talent, you're hurting workers more than helping them." ([67:36])

The RAISE Framework: Practical Path Forward

Sam’s book proposes “RAISE” as a blueprint for transforming workforce culture:

R — Remove Barriers

• Let all employees access all training, not just the training for their current role.
• Decentralize/democratize information and certify skill achievements.

A — Adopt Continuous Approach

• Training and development must be ongoing, not an event.
• Structure weekly/monthly learning, like a university for your business.

I — Invest in Technology as Infrastructure

• Use dedicated tools for recruiting, onboarding, and continuous upskilling—don’t rely on a single “all-in-one.”
• Prioritize people-facing tech, not just customer-facing tech.

S — Support Community Workforce/Education Programs

• Engage with local schools, colleges, reentry and homeless programs.
• Volunteer, guest lecture, provide apprenticeships.
  • "Business owners have to spill out of their four walls." ([100:54])

E — Elevate Managers Into Coaches

• Move from management (“do as I say”) to coaching cultures (“let’s get you where you want to go”).
  • "The number one reason people stay: a manager who cares about them personally." ([98:29])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On being stuck in extractive HR:
  "What pissed me off was that this HR person, whose job is development, laughed at a worker going above and beyond. That response? Embarrassing. Disgusting." – Sam, [13:15]

• On coaching vs. management:
  "Managers tell you what to do, leaders show you how to do it, but coaches get you to want to do it. That is the difference." – Sam, [23:18]

• On the importance of ongoing learning:
  "A worker born today will have 44 jobs in their lifetime. Are we creating humans who are able to relearn and reskill?” – Sam, [54:54]

• On the essence of restaurants:
  “Restaurants are uniquely placed to solve the public health crisis of loneliness—people come to break bread and connect.” – Eric, [75:49]

Timestamps: Key Segments

• Personal Mantra / Opening Philosophy: [03:56]–[05:54]
• Sam’s Path & Purpose for the Book: [06:37]–[09:14]
• The HR Disconnect & Coaching vs. Managing: [11:35]–[14:44], [23:18]–[27:09]
• The Three Lies: [17:34]–[18:40], [34:00]–[34:30]
• Work—Origins & Broken Systems: [36:05]–[39:18]
• Capitalism and Unequal Outcomes: [39:54]–[44:29]
• Education & Skill Development Challenges: [54:26]–[56:38], [82:06]
• AI, Automation & Tech Stack: [65:31]–[68:15], [89:56]–[92:25]
• The RAISE Framework Details: [78:15]–[98:42]
• Final Reflections—Culture Change / Local Impact: [100:54]–[104:16]

Action Steps for Restaurants

• Actively develop talent already within your organization; don’t just “buy” new talent when in need.
• Integrate continuous training and recognize informal achievements with certifications.
• Adopt people-first technology for assessment, onboarding, and ongoing skills development.
• Partner with local education, nonprofit, and workforce programs to create a wider and deeper talent pipeline.
• Commit to management-as-coaching; consciously choose relationships, not just transactions, with staff.
• Engage in advocacy and systems change, seeing transformation as a personal and collective responsibility.

Closing

"If you are going to open a business in a community, you cannot just operate within your four walls. You have to find ways to spill out and affect others... When people see people, we are better off for it." – Sam, [102:45]

Find Sam and the book at 1huddle.co; continue the conversation at Restaurant Unstoppable.