Rick Rosenfield — Co-Founder, California Pizza Kitchen
Published:
We saw the difference between a concept and a business. We thought… We were these bright lawyers. We came up with this great concept, and we introduced barbecue chicken pizza to the world. But now, we had people. We had to deal with people. And we became very grateful to the people who helped us from the beginning.
What does Rick Rosenfield say on The Agile Brand podcast?
Rick Rosenfield, Co-Founder, California Pizza Kitchen, says: In this episode, Rick Rosenfield, co-founder of California Pizza Kitchen, describes how building a durable brand requires first building a resilient internal culture. He recounts the shift from celebrating a concept to valuing people, the organic discovery of values (R.O.C.K.), the dangers of cynicism when cost-cutting erodes standards, and the deliberate investment in long-tenured leaders to scale consistent customer experiences across locations.
From: The Agile Brand podcast
Cite as: Rick Rosenfield. (2026). On The Agile Brand podcast. Retrieved from https://research.agilebrandguide.com/insights/rick-rosenfield-we-saw-the-difference-between-a-concept-and-a-business-we-t