Kat Cole on Executive Leadership and the Future of Restaurants | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

Cat Cole, CEO and President of Focus Brands, discusses her leadership journey, the importance of reframing, and opportunities in the restaurant industry post-pandemic.

Key Insights

• ❓ Reframing and finding commonalities in unfamiliar situations is a skill that can be developed through experience and conscious effort.
• 🤳 The "hotshot rule" is a valuable self-coaching exercise that encourages leaders to continuously improve and act on improvement opportunities.
• 🏪 The restaurant industry is experiencing significant changes and challenges due to the pandemic, with opportunities in convenience, delivery, and safety-focused experiences.
• 🗯️ Successful distribution strategies require careful consideration of supply chain requirements, brand value, and choosing the right channels to meet customer demand.

Transcript

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Questions & Answers

Q: How did Cat Cole learn to reframe situations and find commonality in unfamiliar environments?

Cole attributes her ability to reframe to her natural pattern-finding skills and her experiences leading diverse teams in different countries. These experiences taught her to seek familiar circumstances and use analogies to communicate and find common ground.

Q: What is the "hotshot rule" that Cat Cole follows?

The "hotshot rule" is a self-coaching exercise that Cole practices regularly. She imagines a hypothetical hotshot leader taking over her role and identifies one thing that the hotshot would do differently to make the company better. She then takes immediate action on that item and shares it with her team to foster a culture of continuous improvement.

Q: What are the opportunities and challenges for restaurants in the post-pandemic landscape?

Cole highlights the need for restaurants to address consumers' increased focus on health and safety and emphasizes the importance of maintaining brand integrity and trust. She also discusses the opportunities in cloud kitchens, virtual brands, and direct-to-consumer channels, but cautions about the limitations and economics that need to be considered.

Q: How can smaller brands in the food industry succeed in different distribution channels?

Cole suggests mapping out the supply chain requirements for the product and understanding the unique value of the brand. Building brand awareness and articulating the brand's unique offering can attract retailers and justify premium pricing. DTC strategies, such as partnering with fulfillment partners, can also help meet customer demand and control messaging.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Cat Cole reflects on her experiences leading teams in unfamiliar environments, which taught her to think in frameworks and reframe situations to find commonality.

• She emphasizes the need for leaders to continuously learn and unlearn, using the "hotshot rule" to challenge themselves and take action on improvement opportunities.

• Cole discusses the challenges and opportunities in the restaurant industry, including the impact of the pandemic, the rise of delivery and convenience, and the importance of brand awareness and supply chain management.