My son recently completed his graduate job search, over 30 applications, and he heard back from almost none of them. Not even an acknowledgement that his application was received. He’s found a role now and his confidence has completely returned. But watching those months of silence nearly break his spirit was hard. Speaking to some …
There’s no shortage of serious commentary about AI — its potential, its risks, its implications for business. I’ve written plenty of that myself. But sometimes the best way to capture an experience is to just be honest about it. So here, in verse, is a rather candid account of my journey with AI development tools …
Every successful franchise I’ve worked with has one thing in common. It isn’t the slickest technology stack or the most sophisticated analytics platform. It’s great people. People who understand their customers. People who know how to operate under pressure. People who’ve built businesses through graft, instinct, and hard-won experience. So when I talk about data …
Read more “People First, Data Empowered: The Real Power Behind Successful Franchises”
Here’s a question I put to every CEO and board I work with: Do you really know where your IT budget is going — and whether it’s delivering value? It sounds straightforward. But in my experience across franchise businesses of all sizes, the honest answer is usually somewhere between “not really” and “we know what …
Read more “From Cost Centre to Value Driver: A Simple Framework for IT Spend”
Cybersecurity has moved from the server room to the boardroom, and rightly so. The financial, operational, and reputational consequences of a serious cyber incident can be severe — particularly for franchise businesses, where a breach at one location can affect the entire network. Yet in many of the boardrooms I work with, there is still …
Read more “5 Cybersecurity Questions Every Board Should Be Asking”
When people talk about scaling a franchise, the conversation almost always gravitates to the same metric: location count. How many units do you have? How many are you opening this year? It is the most visible measure of growth and, understandably, the one that gets the most attention. But it is not the one that …
Read more “Scaling a Franchise: Why Operational Gearing Matters More Than Location Count”
There is no shortage of excitement around artificial intelligence. Hardly a day goes by without a headline promising that AI will revolutionise everything from customer service to supply chains. And to be fair, the potential is genuinely extraordinary. McKinsey estimates that generative AI alone could generate between $2.6 trillion and $4.4 trillion annually across 63 …
Read more “How Will AI Actually Deliver Value in Your Business?”