The Gray Cat Blog
A growing library of practical business articles and insights created to help entrepreneurs, small business owners, franchisees, and multi-unit operators strengthen leadership, improve operations, drive growth, and build more profitable organizations.
Part of the challenge of tackling interim assignments is aligning the team to a common goal.
In most of my interim assignments - either departmental head or general manager of a division - I am gener...
"Drinking from a fire hose" was par for the course in my corporate days.
I honestly believe that my practical experience in the C-Suite provided significant hands-on experience that makes an academic...
Throughout my career, I have been fortunate to work with several high-growth companies. Some expanded organically by opening new locations, while others accelerated growth through acquisitions. Both s...
Most successful businesses begin with a simple idea—and an entrepreneur determined to make it work.
Whether the company starts in a garage, a spare bedroom, or around a kitchen table, entrepreneurs r...
More than a decade ago, I began writing a monthly blog focused on helping small businesses improve their operations, marketing, leadership, and strategic planning. Much of the content was inspired by ...
Life can come at you in a bunch of different ways.
From work to hobbies to relationships to health, balancing all that life gives us is a challenge.
In this podcast with Lorraine Chai, we discuss fa...
From a manager trainee at one location to managing 1,000's of stores.
It may seem easy, but not everyone positions themselves to take advantage of huge growth opportunities.
I was very fortunate to ...
“And then one day you find, ten years have got behind you. No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun…” - Gilmour, Mason, Waters and Wright
The original message still holds true: time p...
Want to have long-term clients?
Provide quantifiable value to their organization and they will always throw more work at you.
In this podcast episode with Eido Almog, I discuss how initial projects ...
Over the course of my career, I have learned that one of the most important skills a leader can develop has nothing to do with spreadsheets, strategic plans, marketing programs, or operating reports. ...
The conversation usually starts like this:
“Do you know your customers?”
“Absolutely. I know many of them by name.”
“Great. How are you going to tell them about your sale this weekend?”
…Silence.
...
I have always enjoyed technology. I was an early adopter of laptops, mobile phones, and social media. I joined LinkedIn when it had only a couple million users—long before it became the professional n...
