015: Blowhorns and Play

Culture Crush Business Podcast

Our Culture Crush team has gotten into the groove of making great matches. We used to say that the matching was like great wine and cheese, but this time it was more like great soup and a bread bowl (get it?).

Katie Wall from CutlureBiz and Louis Basile from Wildflower Bread Company was a great pairing to discuss the importance of growing company culture in a way that is intentional, consistent, and fun. Whether you are bringing a blow horn to a meeting or starting your meeting off with a facilitated game (from CultureBiz), it is important to bring a level of play into the workplace.

This episode is great for all audiences to listen to.

• If you are in leadership trying to improve meetings and overall participation and morale of your team- you should listen in.
• If you are determining the various ways to improve company culture- then listen in.
• If you are wondering how easy it is to improve company culture, it’s not- so listen in.
• If you are looking for another resource to help grow the culture of your team- listen in?
• If you are looking for another great company in Arizona to support or work for-you should listen in.

Wildflower is a local Arizona fast casual restaurant chain that believes success comes down to three things — outstanding food, great service, and clean restaurants. It is easy to say, but it takes a strong commitment to executing consistently.

Attention to detail, putting the customers’ needs first, and a deep desire to be a great company help make the Wildflower a place where customers want to be.

Louis J. Basile Jr. is the Founder & President of Wildflower and has worked in the restaurant industry since his childhood growing up in Union, NJ. His father owned a local luncheonette in East Orange, NJ, where he learned the restaurant business.

At the beginning of his career, Mr. Basile served as a Construction Project Manager, renovating existing steak houses into Cisco Café Mexican Restaurants for the Chart House/Cork n’ Cleaver Corporation. In 1981 Mr. Basile joined a three-store chain called Au Bon Pain (Boston, MA), an upscale quick service restaurant and bakery.

Louis was a key Senior Manager who helped Au Bon Pain grow to over 250 Stores during his tenure. Mr. Basile held numerous Senior Management positions, including Vice President of Operations, Construction, Research & Development, and Domestic & International Franchising. Mr. Basile and his family moved to Arizona in 1994. Before following his dream to create his own fast casual restaurant and bakery concept, Mr. Basile held the position of President/COO of the Coffee Plantation (Tempe, AZ).

Mr. Basile founded the Wildflower in Scottsdale, AZ, in 1995. The first Wildflower opened in November 1996. Today, he oversees multiple restaurant locations and a growing, fresh dough Central Production Facility as well as a wholesale bread division operating throughout Greater Phoenix and Northern Arizona.

Wildflower Bread Company is part of the fastest growing segment in hospitality called Fast Casual. Wildflower prides itself on delivering the most memorable restaurant bakery experience and impacting its local communities through various charitable outreach programs. In recognition of these efforts, Wildflower was awarded the 2018 Restaurant Neighbor Award by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation.

Mr. Basile started and was Chairman of the Fast-Casual Industry Council, an affiliate of the National Restaurant Association. Louis is a National Restaurant Association Board Member. He is a past Chairman of the Arizona Restaurant Association and Arizona Restaurant Association Educational Foundation.

Louis serves as a Board Director for Child Crisis Arizona. Mr. Basile served on the Advisory Board for People Report/Black Box Intelligence and PeopleMatter. Louis is a founding member of Changers of Commerce, a movement of leaders who believe there is a better way of practicing Capitalism.

Louis is married to Tracy Basile, and they have three children Zachary, Jessie, and Max.

Follow Wildflower on Facebook.

TheCultureBiz is on a mission to help teams cultivate their unique cultures through play, with pre-packaged crates and interactive workshops that are approachable, affordable, and original. Created in October 2019 by Colorado-based entrepreneurs Katie Wall and Courtney Jacobson, TheCultureBiz inspires connection and culture building at work with play.

Cultivating a cohesive, psychologically safe, and productive workplace culture means focusing first and foremost on the specific individuals on your team. Their products and services are perfect for culture building at retreats, team meetings, and conferences.

Play is proven to relieve stress, improve brain function, boost creativity, provide energy and bring us closer to others. Make meetings matter with TheCultureBiz. Now…go play!

Katie Wall, TheCultureBiz CEO, is a certified and accomplished facilitator with over 14 years of experience creating meaningful engagements for all participants. Her background in experiential learning and expertise in play helps teams connect, ideate, and design more efficiently and effectively, generating participant consensus, leveraging the expertise in the room, and driving toward practical application.

Katie has experience working with nonprofit and for-profit teams, with expertise in culture and team development, DE&I, strategic planning, human-centered design, arts integration, trauma informed care, conflict resolution, leadership team development, and innovative design.

Katie has a BFA in Theatre Performance from The University of Colorado-Boulder and is certified in facilitation and Design Thinking. She is an advocate for collaboration, inclusivity, and psychological safety in every workshop.

Katie lives in Denver, CO, with her husband, her two children, and a very destructive fur baby.

Follow TheCultureBiz on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.