Jim Knight
Training & Development
Keynote speaker and author Jim Knight led Global Training and Development for Hard Rock International for 21 years, and now teaches franchises of all sizes how to attain their own “rock star” status. His customized programs show how to amp up organizational culture, deliver world-class differentiated service, and build rock star franchise teams and leaders.
During his time at Hard Rock, 65% of the cafes were franchises and 100% of the hotels & casinos were franchise or joint ventures, so Jim truly understands the differences between company-owned and franchise mentalities.
Jim Knight – Speaker Demo
A Training & Development veteran for 30+ years, Jim Knight facilitates on a variety of interactive topics, including sessions around amping up organizational culture, world-class differentiated service, building rock star teams and leadership.
Jim cut his teeth in the training field through the Hospitality industry, starting out in the snack bar at Gatorland Zoo, as a restaurant staff-level employee for Olive Garden and then as a host & manager at Hard Rock Cafe. He eventually became the head of the School of Hard Rocks, running point on all global learning & development functions for Hard Rock International.
Jim has put his experience and creativity to work, which has consistently developed cutting-edge training concepts. During his time with the Hard Rock brand, his team won coveted video Telly Awards (“Guest Service” in 2000, “Menu Rollout” in 2007, “Harassment & Discrimination Prevention” in 2008), garnered Training Directors Forum’s 1998 prize for “Reengineering Training” and won Brandon Hall’s Gold Best in Class Award for their “Service Recovery” e-Learning course. Jim Knight was also recognized by Training Magazine as representing one of the Top 125 training companies in the world out of all industries & businesses. Jim has since been featured in Forbes Magazine, Inc. Magazine, Entrepreneur Magazine, Nation’s Restaurant News, Business News Daily and Fox Business News.
Partial Client List:
- Coldwell Banker Franchise Real
Estate Group - Independent Jewelers Organization
- National Franchisee Group
(Burger King Franchise) - Planet Fitness
- Premier Martial Arts
- Qdoba Franchise Association
- Realogy
- RMH Franchise Group
(Applebee’s Franchise) - Subway
- Wenco Franchisee Group
(Wendy’s Franchise)
Keynote speaker, podcaster and bestselling author, Jim Knight will act as a thought-starter for the session. He will use the visceral backdrop of Rock ‘n Roll to discuss key strategies to implementing initiatives for leading others to produce desired results.
Key Unique Concepts will include:
- Enhancing Employee Engagement
- Producing a Virtuous Environment
- Amping Up Communication
- Creating an Army of Giants
- Mentorship & Accountability as Pillars
- Becoming Heart-Centered
- Utilizing Emotional Bank Accounts
- Philanthropy as Instrumental
- Effectively Dealing with Change
Moving at blazing speed, the time allotted is chock-a-block full of visual PowerPoint slides, out-of-the-box thinking, videos, personal stories, industry statistics and an interactive handout for some real “take aways”…all told through the spirit of Rock ‘n’ Roll.
Even if you are NOT a fan of unpredictability & thinking about things differently when it comes to leading others, you should still come with an open mind and hear what all the buzz is about.
Edu-tainment will be served!
This interactive session is effectively designed to highlight best practices to enhance or revolutionize a company’s culture and stay relevant in the 21st century.
Keynote speaker, podcaster and best-selling author, Jim Knight will act as a thought-starter for the session. He will use the visceral backdrop of several well-known brands, including Hard Rock International, via his 21-year run with that brand as the head of Training & Development, as a platform to discuss key strategies to transform any organization’s culture, regardless of the current state.
Key Unique Concepts will include:
- A clear-cut definition of Culture (finally!)
- Enhancing Internal Communication
- Delivering Service Differentiation
- Avoiding Acceptable Mediocrity
- Creating Guest/Customer Obsession
- Increasing Value Proposition
- Hiring & Developing “Rock Stars”
- Taking Personal Ownership
- Effectively Dealing with Change
The time allotted is chock-a-block full of visual PowerPoint slides, out-of-the-box thinking, book quotes, videos, personal stories, industry statistics, case studies, and an interactive handout for some real “take aways”…all told through the spirit of Rock ‘n’ Roll.
Even if you’re NOT a fan of unpredictability or thinking about things differently, you should still come hear what all the buzz is about.
Edu-tainment will be served!
This interactive session is effectively designed to highlight best practices to amp up the company’s customer service culture. The end-result of everyone who attends is to ultimately provide such unbelievable customer obsession about the “product” offering, that it influences consumers to come back for more. This requires differentiation from that of competitors or the status quo.
Keynote speaker, podcaster and best-selling author, Jim Knight will act as a thought-starter for the session. He will use the visceral backdrop of several well-known brands, including Hard Rock International, via his 21-year run with that brand as the head of Training & Development, as a platform to set the stage for us to get into the memory-making business.
Key Unique Concepts will include:
- Embracing a Differentiated Service Mentality
- Virtuous vs. Vicious Cycles
- Creating Raving Fans
- Becoming Guest/Customer-Obsessed
- Building Mental Shelf Space
- Increasing Value Proposition
- Avoiding Acceptable Mediocrity
The time allotted is chock-a-block full of visual PowerPoint slides, out-of-the-box thinking, book quotes, videos, personal stories, industry statistics, case studies, and an interactive handout for some real “take aways”…all told through the spirit of Rock ‘n’ Roll.
Even if you’re NOT a fan of unpredictability & thinking about things differently, you should still come hear what all the buzz is about.
Edu-tainment will be served!
How you attract, hire, train, develop and treat your front-line employees is commonly known as the one true strategy to provide stellar results—internally & externally. In lieu of managers doing all of the work themselves, a specific culture must be created & fostered to secure commitment from the “right fit” employees to stick around and deliver those desired results.
Keynote speaker, best-selling author and podcaster, Jim Knight will act as a thought-starter for the session. He will use the visceral backdrop of several well-known brands, including Hard Rock International, via his 21-year run with that brand as the head of Training & Development, as a platform to discuss key strategies to build a strong rock star team.
Unique Concepts will include:
- Best Practices in the Employee Life Cycle
- Hiring & Retaining “Rock Stars”
- Designing Collateral – Print Materials, Job Aides, Video, Technology & Social Media
- Utilizing the Power of Storytelling
- Creating an Army of Giants
- Coaching & Counseling Techniques
Moving at blazing speed, the time allotted is chock-a-block full of visual PowerPoint slides, out-of-the-box thinking, book quotes, videos, personal stories, industry statistics, case studies, an online audience response tool and an interactive handout for some real “take aways”…all told through the spirit of Rock ‘n’ Roll.
Even if you’re NOT a fan of unpredictability & thinking about things differently when it comes to creating a rock star team, you should still come hear what all the buzz is about.
Edu-tainment will be served!
Jim Knight – VIRTUAL – Service That Rocks
Franchise Speakers
