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.
Anyone who has managed multiple departments knows the feeling: at times, it seems less like leadership and more like herding cats.
Early in my corporate career, I was responsible for five very diff...
Looking for practical ways to improve your business?
Sometimes one great idea can make all the difference.
Whether you’re looking to trim unnecessary expenses, generate fresh marketing ideas, improv...
 “I am putting myself to the fullest possible use, which is all I think that any conscious entity can ever hope to do.” — HAL 9000, 2001: A Space Odyssey
Today’s business leaders have access to more ...
One of the biggest differences between average organizations and exceptional ones is where they spend their management time.
Most leadership teams devote the majority of their monthly meetings to r...
“The nice thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression.”
— John Harvey-Jones
Humor aside, there is a great dea...
“What we’ve got here is failure to communicate.” — Cool Hand Luke
Too many organizations still follow the same communications strategy:
Ready. Fire. Aim.
Communication becomes an afterthought unt...
If you operate a multi-unit retail chain, chances are your stores tell the story of your company’s history. Some locations are new, others are decades old. Product assortments have evolved, fixtures h...
Recently, I appeared on Derek Colin's Growth Xperts Podcast where we discussed how Gray Cat's approach to consulting takes it to another level.
Being an Operational Consultant means that Gray Cat del...
Being an Operational Consultant means that Gray Cat needs to prove to new clients and in particular the top management, that we deliver results. Â
Not vaporware, real trackable and verifiable results...
In this podcast clip, I speak with Bea Guzman about the key to happiness through a balanced lifestyle. Â
Yes, I view my life in 24/7 terms and because of that, can extract happiness from a number of ...
“Oh, what a tangled web do parents weave, when they think that their children are naive.” – Ogden Nash
 For decades, marketers have understood a simple truth: earning a child’s loyalty can create a c...
One of the most significant challenges facing retail leaders today is balancing the demands of running the current business while simultaneously designing the future of the business. Daily operation...
