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.
Throughout my career, I have learned that being busy and being productive are two very different things.
It is a lesson that has followed me through more than 30 years in executive leadership—from Li...
One of the questions I hear most often from successful independent business owners is, “Do you think my concept is franchisable?” It is an exciting question because franchising can be one of the faste...
Part of the challenge of being an Interim leader is quickly being able to assess a new team.
Generally, the situations that I am asked to lead are fraught with challenges and sorting through the good...
Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be both friend and foe.
In one camp, AI will enable humans to be at the forefront of productivity and enter the "land of abundance".
In the other camp, AI will make ...
Over the course of my career, I have had the opportunity to lead businesses and initiatives across marketing, operations, merchandising, facilities, real estate, corporate communications and other dis...
Leadership is often misunderstood. Many people associate leadership with titles, authority, or organizational charts. In reality, leadership is less about position and more about influence. Effective ...
Working with a number of Founders, the biggest leap that I find for them is letting go of the tactical reins and focusing on the strategic.
To do that, it requires them to hire very smart people - pe...
For decades, convenience stores built their business around fuel, cigarettes, beverages, and packaged snacks. While these categories remain important, shrinking margins and changing consumer expectati...
“Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!”
When it comes to foodservice and retail, there are few sales strategies more powerful than group orders. One large catering order can generate the same revenu...
I owe a great deal to my mentors for pushing the envelope with me with regard to layering on more and more responsibility in my corporate roles.
Today, as an Management and Operational Consultant, I ...
Believe it or not, commerce actually was conducted prior to email, mobile phones and Slack.
In this fun clip from a recent podcast with Amisha Shrimanker, I was asked about business in a pre-tech wor...
Execution. Â Execution. Â Execution.
Execution makes or breaks a project. Â Leaving everything to chance creates confusion, cost overruns and wasted resource management.
Attempting to "war game" as muc...
