When Princeton-educated attorney Erin Wade left law to open a restaurant, she didn't just create award-winning comfort food—she engineered a revolutionary workplace culture. This conversation reveals how she transformed an Oakland mac and cheese restaurant into a laboratory for modern management principles.
Wade shares her groundbreaking 'color code of conduct' system (now adopted globally) and her radical approach to open-book management. A masterclass in building culture, solving industry-wide challenges, and leading with precision rather than convention.
Newsletter
The Brain Food newsletter delivers actionable insights and thoughtful ideas every Sunday. It takes 5 minutes to read, and it’s completely free. Learn more and sign up at https://fs.blog/newsletter/
Upgrade
If you want to hear my thoughts and reflections at the end of the episode, join our membership: https://fs.blog/membership/ and get your own private feed.
Follow Me:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/farnamstreet
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shane-parrish-050a2183/
(00:00) Intro
(02:30) Wade's surfing obsession
(04:42) Defeating overthinking
(05:00) Wade's background in food
(06:40) Wade's law detour
(10:20) On being fired
(12:40) Early mistakes and freedom
(20:00) Employee-centric companies
(32:30) Homeroom Hard Times
(34:40) How Wade's law background helped (and hurt)
(42:40) The Color Code of Conduct
(49:30) Why Wade sold Homeroom (and how she felt)
(55:58) Impact vs. Intent
(59:00) Why titles are important
(01:04:00) On success
