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How Leaders Lead with David Novak

#293: David Lafitte – CEO, Tecovas – Serve others with radical hospitality

How Leaders Lead with David Novak

David Novak Leadership

Entrepreneurship, Business, Management

4.8596 Ratings

🗓️ 28 May 2026

⏱️ 69 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

If you lead a business, you know providing great service is vital. But what does that actually mean? For David Lafitte, CEO of the popular Western retailer Tecovas, it means radical hospitality. Stuff like offering shoppers free drinks, personalization, and a space to linger. Treating everyone who walks through the doors like a high-value customer. Encouraging staff to create relationships, not just transactions.  And as you’ll see in this conversation, that kind of people-first mentality doesn’t apply only to customer service. It can also change the way you build your whole business, and it might just be the competitive advantage you’ve been looking for. You’ll also learn: The hard truth about scaling your culture Why a loyalty program might actually backfire A practical way to stay connected to daily operations A great tip that can help your brand stay authentic Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The How Leaders Lead App⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Daily Insight Emails⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.

Transcript

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0:00.0

Hello, friends, and welcome to another episode of How Leaders Lead with David Noback.

0:04.7

Today we have David Lafitte on the show. He's the CEO of the popular Western retailer,

0:09.5

Tocovus, which has gained tons of traction over the last several years. You'll see in this

0:14.1

conversation that David has a people-first mentality that doesn't only apply to things like

0:18.9

customer service, but it also has changed the way he's built his entire business.

0:23.9

That people first mentality might just be the competitive advantage that you've been looking for.

0:29.2

Enjoy this conversation between David and David, and I will see you at the debrief.

0:39.5

David, it's great to have you on the show.

0:41.9

Great.

0:42.2

Thank you for having me, David.

0:43.4

Honored to be here, and I love your T-shirt.

0:45.8

Well, let me tell you something.

0:47.7

This is unpaid advertising for you.

0:51.2

We do not accept any advertising on how leadersaders lead, but before we had this podcast,

0:57.6

you know, we have the Palm Beach Gardens Mall near our house. So you've got a store that's

1:02.3

great. You've got great people in there. The concept is fantastic. I love seeing retail when

1:07.6

is brought to life the way I, how you do it. So I had to go in there,

1:11.6

get to get the garb. I knew you'd move beyond cowboy's boots, which you have. And I got the

1:17.5

hat and I got the t-shirt and, you know, I got out of there without spending too much money. So

1:22.3

it was kind of nice. Absolutely. It's a way to get people into the brand at least. And I noticed

1:27.2

when I was there that you have boots made from everything.

1:32.3

Cowhide, crocodile, lizard, goat, ostrich, rattlesnake.

...

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