Expertise And Exploration Can Serve You Well in Business And in Life - Kat Cole
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| Kat Cole, Cinnabon, to Address Women in Transportation |
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.
