Hospitality And The Infinite Game Episodes

Michael interviews Australian dentist Michael Filosi about applying counterintuitive, hospitality-centered ideas to dentistry to break industry norms. Filosi bought a rundown dental practice and, after realizing he couldn’t be the best clinician, pivoted—drawing on Good to Great’s hedgehog concept—toward building the best dental practice by focusing on business ownership, high standards, and patient experience. He gradually stepped off clinical work over 2–3 years (from four days a week to zero...

Michael and Brandon discuss the intersection of AI and culture in hospitality, arguing AI can strengthen culture by removing routine work so teams can focus on human guest experiences. Brandon shares his career path from line-level resort roles to leading Fathom’s hotel management arm within a Maine-based real estate development firm focused on adaptive reuse and “sense of place” upscale soft-brand projects across Marriott, Hilton, and independents. Fathom operates or develops seven hotels, ty...

Michael and Pete Hurley discuss how hospitality organizations may shift away from large full-time head offices toward fractional and project-based senior talent to improve flexibility, innovation, and profitability amid tight margins and job insecurity. Hurley shares his career from launching a hospitality tech startup in 2004 that evolved into a cultural-venue operator business he ran for nearly 20 years and sold three years ago, before moving into consultancy and noticing the growing “fractio...

There is no doubt that ‘Culture’ is a hot topic in business. But what even is it? How do you change a culture? How long does it take to change? In this episode David quizzes Michael with these questions (and many more). We review the ultimate equation of ‘Beliefs x Behaviour = Culture’. Whether you’re a company of one or 100,000 – culture exists in every business, so you need to know whether your culture is built by neglect or conscious intent. Tune in to this episode as we discuss rewarding go...

Creating a green and equal world needs to be a mission for all companies, not a side project. But it’s a courageous mission that can feel overwhelming, so there is a great book that can give you that much-needed direction –‘Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take’ by Andrew S. Winston (Consultant on corporate strategy) and Paul Polman (ex-Unilever CEO). The authors show business leaders how to take on humanity's greatest and most urgent challenges—climate chan...

Throughout this series, we’ve explored the impactful ways of running a hospitality business, but the ultimate key to any business is to truly embody a diverse organisation. We are on a huge journey of learning when it comes to diversity and inclusion, and there are some clear blindspots as white men, so we needed to bring on Diversity and Inclusion expert Lorraine Copes as our guest. Lorraine is the founder of Be Inclusive Hospitality – a not-for-profit organisation with a mission to advance ra...

We’re excited to be back with Hospitality and The Infinite Game, and today we dig into the different nuances of growth. A book that’s had a huge impact on us is ‘Small Giants’ by journalist Bo Burlingham. It explores what some of the most remarkable, under-the-radar companies are doing, and questions the usual definitions of business success. In this discussion, we unpick some key insights from the book, like finding your business mojo and looking at effort positively. We also explore the cultu...

Purpose and profit. Those two simple words are really not that simple in daily practice, but both are symbiotic for any business. In this episode we explore how companies can operate on a clear alignment of the two, and how we best define these terms. From Apple to Patagonia, being purpose-driven wins on the long-term. So what does it take for your purpose to be actionable, and not get swept away by lofty or delusional goals? Tune in to episode 6 as we discuss bringing people together, the dist...

The B Corp movement envisions a global economy that uses business as a force for good. Businesses should not only generate returns, but also to create value for its customers, employees, community, and the environment. Through its rigorous assessments, there are now over 3,300 certified B Corporations across 150 industries in 71 countries. In this episode we explore the pragmatic way to assess if businesses are built as ‘good’. It’s clear that becoming a B Corp is no award show or marketing exe...

We all know the climate crisis is a real problem. So what can the hospitality sector actually do? It’s a big challenge to tackle, and we certainly don’t have all the answers. We uncover our learnings from ‘No Planet B’ by Mike Berners-Lee – a really impactful book which reveals the hard facts and big-picture perspective on the environmental and economic challenges, as well as how we live and think. In this conversation, we reflect on our actions as business owners. From food waste, sourcing, en...

The circular economy is about eliminating waste and having a continual use of resources. In today’s episode we explore how this powerful system for sustainability can be applied to the hospitality industry. From food waste to kitchen design, it bleeds into all areas that can be achieved through collaboration. Tune in as we explore how David is applying the principles of the circular economy to his hospitality design work. We also discuss where the big opportunities lie, the renting economy, wha...

Our society has an obsession with growth, quite often neglecting the need to thrive. In today’s episode, we unpack a meaty but highly relevant book – ‘Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist’ by Kate Raworth, to learn more about how we can fundamentally reframe our understanding of what economics is and does. Along the way, she points out how we can break our addiction to growth; redesign money, finance, and business to be in service to people; and create economies ...

What type of hospitality industry do we actually want to create? Hospitality and The Infinite Game is a new podcast series focused on answering this one simple question. Tune in as Michael Tingsager of Hospitality Mavericks and David Chenery of Object Space Place discuss big ideas that might just set the foundation for a different model of success. Today’s episode is inspired by Simon Sinek’s ‘Infinite Game’, and what happens when we switch to a longer-term thinking mindset. We reflect over the...

Hospitality and the Infinite Game is a new podcast series focused on answering one simple question….what type of hospitality industry do we actually want to create? In the series, Michael Tingsager of Hospitality Mavericks and David Chenery of Object Space Place discuss big ideas that might set the foundation for a different model of success. A model which would allow us to piece together a bold new way forward, where our businesses can thrive whilst making a positive impact on people, communit...