Podcast Notes Key Takeaways

• If something is consistently going wrong and you’re the common denominator, you need to change your actions
  • “It’s not them, it’s me and what do I do about that and how do I figure it out?” – Kat Cole
• “Anytime you’re criticized, assume first that it’s correct” – Kat Cole
  • Then look at what parts of it are true and which aren’t
• Seek experience, not money
• College graduates usually take one of three paths:
  • Join an existing large corporation
  • Launch your own company
  • Join a startup 
    • Pomp recommends doing the last one. You’ll learn a lot and if the startup becomes successful, it will be a huge boost on your resume.
• If you want to know where the action is, get close to the transaction
  • “The people who are closest to the action know what the right thing to do is long before the leader does” – Kat Cole
• Questions to ask frontline workers and managers:
  • When do we say ‘no’?
    • If customer or employees are asking for something consistently over time, then there’s an employee or market opportunity there
  • What do we throw away?
    • This will help you identify what resources are being wasted
  • If you were me, what’s one thing you would do to improve the business?

Kat Cole is the President and Chief Operating Officer of Focus Brands, a company doing nearly $5 billion in annual revenue. She is the former president of Focus Brands' subsidiary Cinnabon. Prior to that, she was an Executive Vice President of Hooters.

In this conversation, we discuss leading through hyper-growth, obsession with truth, why time is bad when dealing with problems, what the hotshot rule is, the importance of consumer-obsessed mindsets in business, and how Focus Brands is handling the COVID-19 pandemic and the related economic crisis.

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Pomp writes a daily letter to over 50,000 investors about business, technology, and finance. He breaks down complex topics into easy to understand language, while sharing opinions on various aspects of each industry. You can subscribe at https://www.pompletter.com