Kat Cole - Address Women in Transportation

Kat Cole - Address Women in Transportation

   April 25, 2014       prabhakardalvi

---

Kat Cole, Cinnabon, to Address Women in Transportation

Kat Cole, the 35-year-old president of the cinnamon roll brand, Cinnabon, has been confirmed as a keynote speaker for the 2014 annual conference of WTS International, the association for the professional advancement of women in transportation that will take place May 14 - 16, 2014, in Portland, Oregon.

“Kat Cole is an incredible role model for business leaders in any industry, particularly for women. What she has done for the companies she’s worked for since a young age and the odds she’s defied as a woman in business make her story and the lessons she’s learned universally appealing,” said Margaret Mullins, director of the WTS Annual Conference. “Ms. Cole’s presentation is sure to resonate with each of the conference attendees, both women and men, from those just beginning a transportation career to our executive-level members.”

Read Kat Cole's Blogs - 

Expertise And Exploration Can Serve You Well in Business And in Life

“WTS helps its members develop professionally and climb through the ranks of the transportation industry in both the public and private sectors, and we take pride in knowing that we are helping to build the world’s infrastructure through the advancement of women, and shaping future generations of transportation leaders,” said Marcia Ferranto, WTS International’s President and CEO. “Ms. Cole’s leadership in business is representative of WTS International’s guiding principles that are the tenants of how we work to achieve our goals; WTS is committed to ethical leadership, integrity and respect for all. The WTS spirit of community, inclusiveness, and mutual support is one of our greatest assets.”

The Annual Conference is WTS International’s flagship event. It attracts corporate and governmental industry leaders worldwide, including executives, CEOs, government administrators, and leading transportation authorities. Attendees at the conference gather to network, discuss the state of the world’s transportation infrastructure, strategize on advancing professionally through glass ceilings, and explore the local city’s successful municipal and private transportation and transit projects. For the full duration of this year’s Portland conference, private corporations, public agencies and government officials invested in every transportation mode will exhibit, present, learn, and network.

Kat Cole is the president of Cinnabon, Inc., where she is accountable for leading, evolving, and building the team and multi-channel brand. Her story is often shared for inspiration as she moved up from working as a hostess at 17 years old in restaurants to traveling globally to help open new franchises. At the age of 19, she dropped out of college, advanced to various management and leadership positions, and at 26 became a Vice President at Hooters making her one of the youngest executives in the hospitality industry.

Cole’s personal story, business approach and perspective on leadership has been the subject of feature articles in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Fortune, and many other business publications and she has been a featured guest on CBS, CNN, CNBC, MSNBC and more. She was recently featured on the show Undercover Boss and was named one of Fortune’s “40 under 40.” She’s a speaker and consultant on leadership development, women in business, change management, and brand innovation and growth, and she is widely known for legacy business-model innovation, building brands, humanitarian work in the U.S. and Eastern Africa and mentorship and development of emerging leaders.

Washington, DC (PRWEB) March 06, 2014

For more information on the 2014 Annual WTS Conference, contact Margaret Mullins, Operations Director, at 202-955-5085.

Read More

Expertise And Exploration Can Serve You Well in Business And in Life - Kat Cole

Expertise And Exploration Can Serve You Well in Business And in Life - Kat Cole

   April 25, 2014       prabhakardalvi

---

Kat Cole, Cinnabon, to Address Women in Transportation

In a recent interview and influencer post with LinkedIn, several topics of discussion centered around resilience and innovation. Questions such as, how is Cinnabon able to succeed in unusual markets? Why can’t I have a fat free Cinnabon treat and when will you have gluten free? What types of product innovations have been successful? And how/ why has Cinnabon expanded into so many products and channels? And on the personal note, questions come surrounding my transition from working at Hooters as a teenager, to becoming a restaurant and franchise executive, to running Cinnabon.

The answers to these questions and others like them surround around having a focus on expertise and exploration. These two attributes, when present in an individual, a team or a company culture, drive personal, professional and brand resilience and innovation.

Let’s take the Healthy/Gluten Free Topic for example. If you look through the Linked In post discussions or check out my twitter feed – you’ll see all kinds of contradictory preferences. Some people want fat free, some want vegan; others say, “hey, you’re Cinnabon – I don’t come to you for low cal – I come to you for something so delicious, that the indulgence is worth it”. Here’s what you can take from that, you can’t please everyone. (And remember, this is as true for each of us as people as it is for a company or brand).

In fact, the attempt to be all things to all people can be pretty destructive over time. You have to know who you are, be true to that core (expertise), but understand how to evolve in order to remain differentiated and relevant (exploration). For Cinnabon, that means staying ooey gooey, totally delicious, and incredibly indulgent (expertise). But it also means creating smaller and broader variety of portion sizes and treats and indulgences and listening to our fans who say they want more portable products (exploration). And yes, it could even mean a delicious gluten free version someday.

Even though we have broadened variety and created smaller, more portable versions of our product so we have smaller sweet treats, we have also made a choice not to make our core cinnamon rolls fat free, because of the tradeoff in real ingredients and yumminess that would be required.

While we have a few indulgent but fat free items in our bakeries such as our delicious Orange Mango frozen Lemonade Chillatta, we have many fat free options in retail like our Cinnabon Green Mountain Coffee, our Cinnabon Vodka and Cinnabon Airwick scents for your home – yummy! Of course, Kellogg’s Cinnabon Cereal or Cinnabon Cream of Wheat are a little healthier versions of our famous flavors, too. If we didn’t have these other channels and partners, we would not be able to provide the variety necessary to connect with as many people as we do. It’s this openness to risk and change and the discipline to work with great partners allows us the variety and accessibility to fans with all kinds of preferences can enjoy some version of our ingredients or products. When entrepreneurs or leaders ask for advice or mentorship, I often share this perspective to encourage them to branch out.

As an example of our exploration mindset, we tried “lite” MiniBon Cinnamon rolls once, reduced fat and reduced calorie. You know what happened? People bought it, like 2 people – no, maybe 4 (exaggerating only slightly). Our fans end up deciding if they want to control calories in their indulgence, they’ll just get one of our smaller options and not trade off one bit of deliciousness for a lower calorie version – it wasn’t worth saving the 100 or 200 calories (to stay with the bigger portion size when the smaller one is just as yummy) for something that is an occasional treat any way.

It’s not that we don’t want to make our awesome famous products many different ways (in fact we do), it’s that in a small business that is a fresh bakery, you have to actually sell enough of what you make for it to be worth it, otherwise, it hurts the business and takes the focus off the core.

At some point, each leader, brand and company learns they can’t chase every option that people request. There are a limited amount of resources in any given business and situation. We have to leverage our expertise and stay true to that, while still exploring and being open to the additional opportunities we have to be relevant to an evolving customer base. We can’t be afraid to try new things or be too stubborn to provide variety and options our guests may love or that could create new fans.

This is just one example, and I could share countless more where answers to questions around how we make decisions, grow and evolve to build a global multi-channel brand center around a combination of expertise and exploration, but the real secret behind embracing expertise and exploration at Cinnabon is our team.

One of our executives often says we are a team of entrepreneurs functioning in a slightly corporate environment. That is so right on. We have leaders and contributors in our brand, our employees and franchisees and the awesome people at our parent company (FOCUS Brands) who make up that culture. I never forget how lucky I am to work with people who are disciplined enough to strengthen our expertise, but creative, vulnerable and flexible enough to be true explorers and take risks. We live by our mantra “Life Needs Frosting” and don’t take ourselves too seriously, staying open to new opportunities that are as fun for the brand as they may be good for the business. These are the kind of people we choose to work with, hire and promote and that I learn the most from.

Personally, I’ve also found that being a student of your functionality, industry and work not only helps hone your expertise, but exposes you to new thinking, so you can be as solid of a team player or leader as possible. Don’t get complacent if you’ve had success or have been in a role or company for a while. Use the hot-shot rule, and constantly imagine what a new person taking over your job today might do, and challenge yourself to see your opportunities with fresh eyes and fire in the belly just as that new person would.

In addition, by channeling your inner explorer, branching out, trying new things and helping others do the same, you find new ways to add value and new opportunities to take. If I had not been focused on being the best I could be (expertise), open to working every job possible as an hourly employee (server, bartender, cook, hostess) and doing the same as a I moved up in professional management roles (explorer), I know I would not have had the privilege to learn from many mistakes and awesome people and therefore would not be where I am today. Being an expert and being an explorer at the same time (as an individual, as a team, or as a company) may seem contradictory, but it’s not. It’s complementary and necessary in today’s fast paced, easily disrupted environment. 

Kat Cole (  )

President, Cinnabon, Inc. at Focus Brands

Greater Atlanta Area - Hospitality

Keep your excitement alive to continue to learn and hone your expertise, but embrace opportunities to explore, learn and grow – you won’t regret it.

Read More