UnLeadership

57Leading through Innovation

Geoff Alexander is president and CEO of Wow Bao, a quick-serve, fast-casual Asian concept based in Chicago. He joined the parent company Lettuce Entertain You in 1993 and over the past 14 years, has grown the concept in different verticals, from consumer packaged goods, grocery stores, frozen, and fresh to dark or virtual restaurants in the United States and Canada, in airports, college campuses, and sports stadiums.

(Highlights from our interview, recorded June 2, 2023.)

A HUGE PART OF MY career has been spent leading through innovation. During transformation or uncertainty, leaders have to show confidence, vulnerability with an air of confidence. I am always looking ahead, paying attention to how things are changing. A leader's job is to think further and be in front of what could be coming during uncertainty. That doesn't mean, as leaders, we always have answers, but you have to come from a place of having your team's back. If I have your back, you'll have mine, and we'll get through uncertainty together.

Our brand lent itself to meeting people where they were, so we've focused on how customers interact with us and how technology can be better for our customers and employees. As early adopters, we anticipate the headaches new technology can bring. To make it work, you must first go to employees and explain why you're investing in something new. You need to be with them when the technology is deployed, because there will be challenges. Without ...