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Category: Operations

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Advice Best Practices Strategy

Unleash the Power of Curiosity in the People You Lead

“Model the behavior you would like to inspire in others” is a familiar leadership axiom. It simply means that to encourage specific attitudes and behaviors in the people you lead, you should start by practicing them yourself. For example, a kind executive will cause kindness to extend through the ranks of his or her organization, leading to a kinder overall atmosphere system wide.

Similarly, you can encourage curiosity in others simply by being personally curious about the world. As a leader at any level in your organization, you can encourage curiosity by . . .

  • Explore everything that is new in your sector, in your region and in the wider world, and then talking about it in every appropriate setting – from meetings with your executive team to one-on-one sessions with the people you supervise.
  • Speak openly and enthusiastically about what you are exploring and learning. Your enthusiasm about being curious is a force that can spread throughout your team and organization – but only if you let your passion show.
  • Make it clear that research and inquiry are part of your job, not something you hide away or do in your off-hours. When you show you are an executive who learns, other people will follow suit.
  • Take part in executive development programs, certification programs and other activities that demonstrate your eagerness to learn and grow.

Make Research Projects Part of the Work You Delegate

Assigning research projects to your team is one effective way to encourage curiosity in your organization. And with the right kind of curious mindset, you can position more projects as opportunities to learn. You can say, for example . . .

  • “I would like your task force to investigate and recommend the more forward-thinking systems for inventory control and report back to us” instead of, “Go pick a good inventory management product.”
  • “Please talk with representatives from our five biggest customers and discuss five things we could be doing better for them” instead of, “Go find ways to sell more to our customers.”
  • “Please visit the business locations of five other companies in our sector, see what they are doing, and report back to us on facility best practices” instead of, “Call a real estate agent and find some new facilities we can consider.”
Categories
Advice Best Practices Leadership

How to Get the Most Out of Being a Member of Your Franchise’s Advisory Council

America’s Leading Franchise Consultant Shares Wisdom for Franchise Owners . . .

By Evan Hackel

If you have been asked to join your franchise’s advisory council, congratulations on your new opportunity. You are about to enjoy some significant benefits.

One of the most important advantages is that you will have a more direct line to your franchise’s upper management. You will be able to communicate your suggestions, ideas, discoveries – and maybe even your problems – directly to the top executives of your franchising company. You will also be able to form closer ties with other franchisees who will be only a phone call or text message away when you need them. You have been tapped to be a leader. Another advantage is that you will probably enjoy traveling to attend meetings.

Getting the Most from Being a Member

I have supervised franchise advisory councils. I have been a member too. Here is some advice on how you can get the most from your membership and give your very best to your franchise.

Remember that Collaboration Wins the Day

We all have goals and lists of things we would like to achieve by joining a council. But I have seen it time and again that the people who get the most from council membership are those who focus first on asking other members what they would like to achieve. People who talk only about their own goals, or who push too hard for them, can alienate others and fail to get what they most want.

Empower and Nominate Other People

If another franchisee you met over dinner last night would be a great addition to a new task force that will investigate a particular issue, nominate that person to take part. Perhaps that council member is too modest to put up a hand and volunteer, but that doesn’t prevent you from making a nomination.

The more you can shed a positive light on other people and help them shine, the more you build your own profile as a contributor – and the likelihood that other council members will listen to you and support your needs and opinions.

Do Share Some Hard Truths with Management

Some people who join franchise councils believe that the way to get the most from their membership is to approve everything that the franchise company wants to do. They think that if they smile and pretend, management will return the favor and give them what they want.

In my experience, that approach doesn’t work. The franchisees who earn respect from franchise leaders are those who have the guts to be truthful when other people are not. It is the person who says, “I think that ad is completely wrong” or, “our competitor has a better product” who gets noticed. So my advice is, speak up and stand out.

Listen, Listen . . . and Listen Some More

In my experience, the people who try to listen and understand other people are the people who stand the best chance of being heard. Again, putting other people first is a practical way to achieve the most. It is funny it works that way, but it does.

Stay Away from the Negative Team

Chances are that other franchisees on the Council have gotten there because they are positive. But I have also seen times when that is not the case. I have, in fact, seen Councils where certain groups of negative people have bonded together. They don’t want to support upper management, they want to undermine it. They don’t want to try to develop great new ideas, they want to complain about what isn’t working.

Stay away from them. Their negative way of viewing issues can infect you and make you negative in the way you frame ideas and express your views. And being seen as a negative person will never win you recognition from the people who run your franchise.

Know How You Will Stay in Touch with the People You Meet

I have noticed that sometimes, people only think about this critical step when they are leaving a hotel or getting into a cab at the end of a meeting. They then ask each other, “How can I contact you” and start to write their contact info on a scrap of paper or start texting each other.

One of the greatest benefits of being on your franchise council will be making contacts, so treat this critical activity with the care it deserves. Take a stack of fresh business cards with you to your meeting and give them to people when you meet them – not when you are saying goodbye.

And then when you get back home, email the people you have met. Let them know how much it meant to you to meet them. Comment on one of the issues you discussed. And say how much you are looking forward to being in touch in the days, weeks and months ahead.

Your new contacts are worth their weight in gold, so treat them like golden valuables.

Categories
Best Practices Leadership

Top Challenges in Franchisee-Franchisor Relationships and How to Overcome Them

By Evan Hackel

The relationship between franchise companies (franchisors) and franchisees can be complex and fraught with challenges. Here are some of the biggest problems that I have seen arise, along with suggested strategies for overcoming them:

Lack of Communication

We have all heard franchisees say, “The franchisor never really talks to me, they only contact me if there is something I am required to do.” That’s a common complaint. Another one is, “They talked to me a lot when they were trying to sell me my franchise, but not anymore.”

Those quotes show that communication can often break down, leading to misunderstandings and frustration. The solutions are relatively simple, but you have to do them . . .

  • Have someone from headquarters visit and spend time at your locations regularly, once a month if possible.
  • Don’t only communicate when something is wrong, also share the news when one of your franchisees does something notably good, or when you have other good news to share.
  • Make your annual franchise conference an occasion for franchisees to speak openly with you. Discuss not only operational issues, but the big picture and your vision for the future.
  • Establish franchise councils where franchisees can make suggestions to you and share what they have learned.
  • Provide ongoing excellent training. People don’t always think of training as communication, but it is. In fact, it is one of the most powerful forms of communication ever invented.

Costs and Royalties

Franchisees may feel burdened by the ongoing costs and royalties they must pay to the franchisor. These fees can add up and become significant financial strain. Costs and royalties are part of the franchise picture. But there are ways to prevent them from causing frictions with your owners .  . .

  • Spell out costs before franchisees buy your franchise, so you eliminate surprises.
  • Apply the “WIIFM” (“What’s In It For Me”) approach, in which you carefully discuss exactly what your franchisees receive for the fees they pay.
  • Make it clear that fees are non-negotiable. There are issues you want to negotiate with your franchisees. Generally, fees are not one of them because without them, your franchise could cease to exist.

Compliance Issues

Franchisees are required to adhere to the franchisor’s established procedures and standards. However, this can sometimes lead to conflicts if franchisees feel these standards are too rigid or not suited to their specific market. Here are some solutions . . .

  • Establish a variance committee where franchisees can ask for approval to modify or set aside your rules if they feel they are not fair. The variance committee should be made up of other franchisees. If 60% of them agree to allow the applicant to modify a rule, that request for a variance is approved.
  • Behind closed doors, discuss which of your rules and requirements are negotiable and which are not. This is a crucial step in deciding which rules are flexible. As a result, your communications with franchisees become uniform and clear.

Lack of Support

Franchisees may feel that they are not receiving adequate support, guidance, or assistance from the franchisor. This can lead to feelings of isolation and frustration. But this problem too can be solved with some simple steps . . .

  • Keep lines of communication open so that your franchisees can ask questions or request support. One example? When franchisees call, answer the phone, and respond to their needs as quickly as you can.
  • Provide ongoing training. Nothing else works so well to show your franchisees that you are behind them every step of the way.
  • Have a great annual conference that your franchisees really love to attend. Make it fun, educational, and compelling. At it, recognize and reward top-performing franchisees. And follow up afterwards with ongoing, encouraging communications.
  • Don’t wait for franchisees to ask you for help. Be proactive by calling regularly to ask, “How is it going . . . where can we step in to help?”

Resistance to Change

Franchisees sometimes resist changes proposed by the franchisor, especially if they feel these changes are not in their best interest or are too costly to implement. The change could be the introduction or discontinuation of a product, a new way to accept payment from customers, replacing one vendor with another . . . the list goes on and on. Yet there are ways to minimize or eliminate conflict . . .

  • Minimize frustrations by explaining in detail what the change will be and how it will be implemented.
  • Create a special hotline or another line of communication to answer questions and provide support.
  • Clearly explain the reason behind the change.
  • Again, Apply the “WIIFM” (“What’s In It For Me”) approach by carefully explaining exactly how your franchisees will benefit from the change. Example: “Franchisees who have used this new marketing program report that sales have increased 15%. It will work for you too.”
  • Provide training that helps franchisees learn and use what is new. In this article, I know I keep returning to the importance of training. But training is the most important tool for reducing frictions.

Financial Disputes

I have saved the greatest challenge – financial disputes – for last. They can be the most difficult conflicts to address. There is no doubt that disagreements over financial matters, such as marketing fees, management fees, and other costs, can create tension and conflict. Yet again, there are solutions . . .

  • Include clear financial statements in your franchise agreement and in your franchise operations manual. Go over all costs and fees carefully as part of the sales process and have new owners sign “on the bottom line” to be sure they understand costs.
  • Have a clear process in place for dealing with financial disputes. You could have a committee in headquarters to deal with them or designate one executive to oversee them.
  • Remember, not all financial disputes are the same. Sometimes a franchise doesn’t want to pay an annual royalty fee. Sometimes he or she cannot pay because of financial difficulties. Those situations are not the same. Establish different protocols and ways of supporting – not disciplining – your franchisees.

In Summary . . .  

Understanding these common issues can help both franchisors and franchisees work towards building a more harmonious and productive relationship.

Categories
Advice Best Practices Strategy

Why Every Business Needs a Business Continuity Plan — Before It’s Too Late

Why Every Business Needs a Business Continuity Plan — Before It’s Too Late

Imagine this: A natural disaster hits your region. Your office is flooded. Systems are down. Employees are unreachable. Customers are calling, and you have no answer. Now what?

This nightmare scenario is more common than you think—and it’s exactly why every business, regardless of size or industry, needs a Business Continuity Plan (BCP).

 

What Is a Business Continuity Plan?

A Business Continuity Plan is a proactive strategy that outlines how your business will continue to operate during and after a disruption. Whether it’s a cyberattack, fire, pandemic, power outage, or data breach, a solid BCP prepares you to respond quickly, minimize downtime, and protect your people, profits, and reputation.

 

Why It Matters Now More Than Ever

We live in an unpredictable world. From global pandemics to extreme weather events, supply chain disruptions, and ransomware attacks—disruption is no longer a possibility, it’s a guarantee. Without a plan, even a temporary hiccup can lead to:

  • Lost revenue and customers
  • Damaged brand trust
  • Regulatory penalties
  • Permanent closure

According to FEMA, roughly 40-60% of small businesses never reopen after a disaster. That’s not due to the event itself—but to the lack of preparation.

 

Key Components of an Effective BCP

A strong Business Continuity Plan covers several critical areas:

  • Risk Assessment: Identifying threats to your operations.
  • Business Impact Analysis: Understanding what’s at stake.
  • Communication Plan: Knowing who to contact and how to coordinate during a crisis.
  • Data & IT Recovery: Ensuring backups, cloud access, and cybersecurity.
  • Recovery Strategies: Having alternative suppliers, remote work options, and continuity partners.
  • Training & Testing: Keeping your team sharp and your plan up to date.

Continuity = Confidence

Having a BCP is not just about surviving disasters—it’s about building resilience. Clients, investors, and even employees take comfort in knowing your business has a plan. It shows leadership, foresight, and commitment to long-term success.

 

Final Thought

If your business doesn’t have a continuity plan, you’re gambling with everything you’ve worked for. The time to prepare isn’t after disaster strikes—it’s now.

Need help building your Business Continuity Plan?
At Controllers, Ltd., we help businesses protect what they’ve built through smart planning, compliance, and asset protection. Schedule a complimentary consultation today to make sure your business is ready for whatever comes next.

📞 Call us at 775-384-8124

Categories
Advice Best Practices Leadership

Assign Work to Multi-Functional Teams Whenever Possible

I have found – and I am sure you have discovered too – that multi-functional task forces can do a better job of completing many projects than can teams made up of people with similar skill sets.

When a group of salespeople are charged with the task of increasing sales revenue, for example, they will come up with a sales solution. When a group of social media marketers are charged with the same task, they will devise a social media strategy. And when a group of programmers is given the assignment, they will suggest a programming/software solution.

But sparks really start to fly when you bring together members of different disciplines, with different skill sets, and assign them to a project. (If you can, describe that project as “fact finding,” since those words spark a curious outlook.)

When members of different divisions who have different disciplines coalesce and work together, curiosity will start to infect and inspire people across your organization.  So my advice to you is, break down the silo walls and bring people together.

Action Step: Look at the work and projects that are being completed by your department, division, or other structural unit. Is there a way you can bring in more participants from other units or divisions – in effect, transform it into a multifunctional team?

Today’s article is adapted from my new book Ingaging Leadership: The Ultimate Edition

Categories
Entrepreneurship Human Resources Leadership

Executive Blind Spots: What Your Team Sees That You Don’t

Leadership is a privilege, but it comes with blind spots.

As executives rise in rank, they gain authority, vision, and the power to shape outcomes. But too often, they lose access to ground truth. Feedback becomes filtered. Conversations become curated. And the very position designed to guide the organization forward becomes separated from the reality on the ground. This isn’t about ego. It’s about proximity. And the higher you go, the harder it becomes to see what your team experiences every day.

Understanding your blind spots isn’t a weakness. It’s one of the strongest things you can do as a leader.

1. The Illusion of Alignment

Executives often operate with the best intentions, delivering town halls, setting bold strategies, and communicating vision. But they rarely validate how that vision is received or interpreted. Employees may nod in agreement during rollout meetings but leave unclear about how the new direction affects their day-to-day. Middle managers may misinterpret or cherry-pick parts of the plan based on what’s feasible for their teams.

Without intentional feedback loops, misalignment festers, until projects stall, teams duplicate work, and results lag.

2. Feedback Filters and the Cost of Silence

At lower levels of the organization, feedback flows freely. Colleagues share ideas, vent frustrations, and problem-solve in real time. But as you rise, that candor gets lost. Your words carry more weight. Your presence creates pause. Suddenly, people stop telling you when something’s broken, they start telling you when it’s “almost fixed.”

What you hear may be respectful, but it may not be real. And over time, that filtered feedback can lull leaders into a false sense of effectiveness.

3. The Culture Gap Between C-Suite and Staff

You believe in your company’s values. You stand behind your vision. But what does it feel like to work here for someone three layers down? Culture lives in the moments leadership doesn’t see, how feedback is received, how decisions are explained, and whether employees feel heard in meetings they’re not invited to.

Blind spots in culture are dangerous. They can mask bias, diminish inclusion, and discourage initiative. Worse, they lead to retention risk when people quietly disengage.

4. Strategic Overconfidence

It’s easy to become emotionally invested in your own ideas, especially when they’re based on your experience or personal vision. But strategic overconfidence is a trap, it can cause leaders to ignore red flags, delay pivots, or view dissent as defiance. Blind spots here look like declining performance that’s rationalized away. They show up in overfunded projects with dwindling ROI. They’re reinforced by teams too afraid to challenge assumptions.

5. The Operational Disconnect

Executives often don’t experience the systems they approve, the clunky tech, confusing processes, or bottlenecks in cross-functional work. Over time, this leads to underinvestment in areas that are slowing down the business.

The leadership blind spot here is believing that because a system is in place, it’s functioning. Or worse, because the system works for your team, it must be working for everyone.

6. The Leadership Echo Chamber

Executives are often surrounded by other high-level leaders who share similar outlooks, language, and experiences. While this can create strategic momentum, it can also produce tunnel vision. This echo chamber can drown out emerging trends, rising talent, or unconventional ideas from lower levels of the organization. It rewards those who think alike and sidelines the challengers who could sharpen your thinking.

What Happens When Leaders Acknowledge Their Blind Spots

When executives intentionally create systems to surface what they can’t see, everything changes:

  • Decisions become more inclusive and sustainable.

  • Culture becomes more responsive and human.

  • Talent stays longer because their input shapes direction.

  • Risk gets managed earlier because dissent isn’t buried.

Great leaders don’t just build strategies. They build visibility. They lead from behind the podium and alongside their people.

Case Insight: A Distribution CEO Confronts the Gap

A regional distribution firm was underperforming despite high demand. The CEO, confident in her strategy, believed the bottleneck was external. But internal attrition and manager burnout told another story.

A facilitated culture audit revealed multiple blind spots: outdated systems, unacknowledged burnout, and a disconnect between corporate initiatives and frontline priorities.

To her credit, the CEO took immediate action. She launched listening sessions, re-prioritized operational support, and shifted KPIs to measure internal satisfaction alongside productivity. Within six months, turnover dropped by 19%, and operational efficiency jumped.

The result? A stronger, more aligned leadership brand and a company that trusted itself again.

Categories
Best Practices Entrepreneurship Technology

The Missing Piece: Patients and the Diagnostic Error Puzzle

Misdiagnosis: AI Can Help, But Let’s Get Real First

Jolly Nanda | June 4, 2025

Misdiagnosis is the annoying houseguest that refuses to leave modern medicine. Despite flashy new tech and miracle drugs, millions of patients are still affected every year. The sheer complexity of human health, a mess of fragmented medical records, and doctors juggling patients like a circus act, means even the best practitioners are set up for failure.

As someone who’s been swimming in the healthcare tech and patient advocacy pool for years, I’m calling it: we’re at a turning point. Artificial intelligence, fueled by real-time patient data that isn’t ancient history, has the potential to completely shake up how we spot and react to the unique SOS signals our bodies send. If we do this right, AI can break the misdiagnosis cycle and kickstart an era of personalized care that actually is.

The Shocking Stats on Diagnostic Errors

Diagnostic errors are a leading cause of preventable harm in healthcare. A 2022 study in Diagnosis revealed that nearly 800,000 Americans suffer permanent disability or death annually due to these errors. 1 Government estimates suggest up to a staggering 12 million diagnostic errors happen each year in the U.S. 2 The real kicker? Many of these aren’t due to some rare, complicated disease, but simply missing context: a forgotten drug allergy, a test result from a previous doctor collecting dust, a symptom from months ago that never made it to the physician’s radar. These aren’t edge cases; they’re becoming the norm as we get older, more complex, and bounce between specialists.

The Eye-Watering Cost of Getting It Wrong

Diagnostic errors drain the U.S. healthcare system to the tune of over $100 billion every year. 2  This number is misleading, as it is much higher when you add the impact of delay in care that misdiagnosis causes. That’s factoring in extra treatments, those hefty malpractice settlements, lost productivity, and long-term care. And the pain isn’t shared equally. Patients with chronic illnesses, the elderly, the uninsured, and those with complicated medical needs get the worst of it. They’re bouncing between providers, drowning in paperwork, and at huge risk of vital information just vanishing into thin air. This kind of fragmentation doesn’t just widen cracks in the system; it’s like a black hole swallowing people whole. Add to that the havoc it causes when trying to diagnose a rare disease. A 2024 study in the state of Pennsylvania reported a 9.5% increase from 2023.3 4

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), an intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries that promotes economic growth, prosperity, and sustainable development recently published a working paper stating that the direct consequences for diagnostic errors  on healthcare budget accounts for 17.5% of total healthcare expenditure. In the US, that would amount to $870B each year.5  If you are thinking that this is a US problem alone, let me assure you it is not. It is anticipated that 20-25% of the global population faces this issue. 2

The Problem with How We Do Things Now

Diagnosis has always relied on the doctor’s expertise and, let’s be honest, incomplete, and stale information. Medical records are often locked away in separate systems. Patient histories are spotty, especially if you’ve moved a lot or seen multiple doctors. And, crucially, patients aren’t usually encouraged to be active participants in figuring out what’s wrong.

Your body is constantly changing. The only person who knows what’s really going on is the person living in it. When we don’t capture the patient’s lived experience- the context, symptoms, and little details that you won’t find on a lab report, we miss vital clues. The result? Delayed or missed diagnoses and, sometimes, avoidable harm.

AI: Not a Crystal Ball, But a Powerful Tool

Everyone raves about AI’s ability to crunch massive datasets, but its real power in healthcare is pulling together clinical data with what patients are actually saying. When patients are actively involved, sharing symptoms and concerns, the data gets richer and more relevant. This lets AI flag potential diagnoses, rule out false alarms, and spot patterns that would otherwise be missed.

Now, hold on. It’s tempting to think AI is a magic fix for everything that’s wrong with healthcare. Newsflash: AI models are only as good as the information you feed them. Biases in data, systems that can’t talk to each other, and privacy concerns are all very real hurdles. There’s also the risk of relying too much on algorithms, which should never replace a doctor’s good judgment and bedside manner.

But, there’s growing evidence that AI-powered tools, especially those using real-time patient input, are helping doctors spot early signs of things like sepsis, cancer, and rare diseases. The key is that these systems work best when patients are partners, not just data points.

The Human Element: It’s Still About People

Preventing misdiagnosis requires more than fancy technology. It demands a fundamental shift in healthcare culture, from a “doctor knows best” approach to one where patients are actually heard. Transparency, trust, and genuine partnership is required.

Let’s face it, patients are more than just walking symptoms. It’s time we stop treating them that way! Give them the digital keys to their kingdom, their health data. Make it easy to access, simple to organize, augment, and safe to share. Because frankly, who else knows the full, messy, utterly human story of their health?

We also need to hold ourselves accountable for making sure AI systems reflect the diversity and complexity of the people they’re supposed to help. By combining AI’s analytical power with patients’ lived experiences, we can catch the things that would otherwise slip through the cracks and dramatically reduce the burden of misdiagnosis. This isn’t just about tech; it’s about putting people first.

Sources:

  1. Newman-Toker DE, et al. (2022). Diagnosis. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjqs-2021-014130
  2. Newman-Toker DE, Peterson SM, Badihian S, et al. Diagnostic Errors in the Emergency Department: A Systematic Review [Internet]. Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US); 2022 Dec. (Comparative Effectiveness Review, No. 258.) Introduction. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK588113/
  3. Everylife Foundation for Rare Diseases (2023) Delayed Diagnosis Study. https://everylifefoundation.org/delayed-diagnosis-study/
  4. Patient Safety trends in 2024. https://www.pslhub.org/learn/research-data-and-insight/data-and-insight/patient-safety-trends-in-2024-an-analysis-of-315418-serious-events-and-incidents-from-the-nation%E2%80%99s-largest-event-reporting-database-21-april-2025-r13222/
  5. Slawomirski, L. et al. (2025), “The economics of diagnostic safety”, OECD Health Working Papers, No. 176, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/fc61057a-en.
  6. Patient Safety in primary and outpatient health care. JFMPC https://journals.lww.com/jfmpc/Fulltext/2020/09010/Patient_safety_in_primary_and_outpatient_health.2.aspx
Categories
Entrepreneurship Leadership Operations

Crisis-Proof Leadership: What Boards Want in Uncertain Times

Uncertainty isn’t coming, it’s here, and it’s staying. Economic shifts, global disruptions, cyber threats, and social unrest are no longer rare. For C-suite leaders, the question is no longer if a crisis will happen but how prepared they are when it does.

Boards are watching. Closely.

They expect more than technical skill and business acumen. Today’s boardrooms want leaders who can remain composed, communicate clearly, and move decisively under pressure. These traits aren’t just “nice to have”  they are non-negotiables.

1. Risk Management Must Be Proactive, Not Reactive

Gone are the days of reactive crisis planning. Boards now expect executives to have well-modeled scenario plans with clearly defined ownership across functions. Regular stress testing of processes, supply chains, and talent pipelines should be standard practice.

Risk isn’t only operational or financial, it’s also reputational and cultural. If your workforce isn’t part of the crisis-readiness equation, you’re exposed. Board members want to see leaders who make risk everyone’s responsibility, not just Legal or Compliance.

Key Question from the Board:
“What risks are we not seeing, and how are you surfacing them?”

2. Communication Is a Leadership Discipline

In a crisis, silence breeds speculation. Boards expect executive leaders to be masters of message delivery. That doesn’t mean sugarcoating, it means communicating early, often, and honestly.

Internally, your people want transparency and direction. Externally, stakeholders demand facts and accountability. The leaders who stand out are those who can deliver tough news without creating panic and provide optimism without making empty promises.

Key Question from the Board:
“Who is your audience, what do they need to hear, and how quickly can you deliver it?”

3. Decisiveness Is the Currency of Leadership in Chaos

Boards don’t expect perfection, they expect movement. Leaders who stall for more data or consensus during a crisis risk losing momentum and control. That doesn’t mean rushing blindly. It means acting with the best information available and adjusting quickly when new data arrives.

An imperfect but well-intentioned decision, quickly owned and corrected if needed, can strengthen credibility. Indecision or hiding behind hierarchy creates instability.

Key Question from the Board:
“When you had to act fast, what did you do, and what did you learn?”

4. Emotional Composure Builds Organizational Confidence

Leadership presence matters most when things go sideways. Boards observe not just what you say, but how you carry yourself. Panic, reactivity, or emotional volatility trickles down fast.

Composure doesn’t mean detachment. It means staying centered while being empathetic and visible. A calm leader creates psychological safety. A volatile one makes people retreat.

Key Question from the Board:
“How do you regulate your response when everything is uncertain?”

5. Culture Is the Real Shock Absorber

Boards are more interested than ever in organizational culture, particularly during instability. Why? Because culture influences how people respond under pressure. If the culture is already fractured, a crisis will widen those cracks.

High-performing companies invest in culture before the storm hits. They build trust, recognition, communication norms, and transparency into daily operations, so that in crisis, teams pull together, not apart.

Key Question from the Board:
“How resilient is your workforce, and what have you done to earn their trust?”

6. Post-Crisis Reflection Is Part of Strategy

The work isn’t done when the crisis ends. Boards want leaders who hold post-mortems, evaluate response gaps, and institutionalize what they’ve learned. The best executives document lessons, revise plans, and make real-time changes to ensure the next disruption is met with even more confidence.

Key Question from the Board:
“What have you changed in the organization since the last disruption?”

What It Means for Today’s Executives

Crisis-proof leadership is a blend of preparation, emotional intelligence, communication skill, and fast thinking. It cannot be faked and boards know it when they see it.

The C-suite must be equipped to handle not just the operations of business, but the psychology of leading through fear, uncertainty, and risk.

How Boardwalk Can Help

At Boardwalk Human Resources Consulting, we help executive teams prepare for uncertainty before it happens. Our work includes risk-aligned leadership development, crisis communication planning, cultural diagnostics, and post-crisis debrief facilitation.

Whether you’re preparing a board presentation or recovering from an internal disruption, we provide the strategic people solutions and executive support to help you lead with confidence, even when everything else is in motion.

Categories
Best Practices Growth Sales

Millennial Franchise Buyers Have Changed . . . Have You?

Millennial Franchise Buyers Have Changed . . . Have You?

By Evan Hackel

More and more of your potential franchise buyers today are millennials. Do you know who they are? Do you understand them? Are you sure you are selling to them in the most effective ways possible?

Just to review, millennials (who are also known as Generation Y) were born in the 1980s and 1990s and are roughly between the ages 30 and 40 today.

If you think back on the people who have been talking to you about buying your franchise, you will realize that a growing number of them belong to this group.

But are you talking to them in the right way?

What Has Changed?

A great shift has taken place. Millennials shop for franchises and make their buying decision in a much different way than member of older generations did. Here is the most important thing that has changed . . .

  • Millennials do a much larger percentage of their buying research online. They prefer this method. They are likely to know a lot about you before they even talk to you.
  • Members of older generations will review online but will still prefer to learn about you by having conversations with real, living people.

Potential millennial franchisees will usually know a lot more about your franchise before they contact you. Then they will often tell you, “I have read everything on your website, and I need you to tell me more.”

The other difference is that millennials will give you low marks if you’re not providing enough information. In fact they may not ever make the call, if you haven’t satisfied their need or if you have presented yourself poorly.

How can you do a much better job recruiting those Gen Y buyers?

Provide a Deeper Level of Information Online

On your website and your social media channels too, be sure to provide:

  • Testimonials from your current franchisees. Make them videos, and have them really tell a story
  • Deeper information about who you are, what you sell, how your systems work, and more.
  • Information about the unique technology you use, because technology “speaks” to millennials.
  • In-depth information about the training you offer, because when potential franchisees understand that you offer exceptional training, they feel more confident that they will know how to succeed if they become franchisees. Let them test out some of your eLearning, by letting proactive franchisees take a few courses.
  • Still more information about your annual franchise conventions, the systems you use to communicate with franchisees, and more. The more information they know, the more confident they will feel about coming on board.

One Last Thought . . .

The more information you provide before the conversation starts, the more serious your prospects will be when the conversation starts. You will have fewer tire kickers.

Categories
Human Resources Leadership Management

Replace Annual or Semi-Annual Job Reviews with Frequent Touch-Base Meetings

Manager/employee touch-base meetings were created to be better than yearly or twice-yearly job reviews; they are especially effective when you are leading younger employees.

Why are touch-base meetings more effective than old-fashioned, standard job reviews?

First and foremost, they take place monthly, or even every few weeks, and therefore, they provide the frequent feedback that younger employees value. (Again, they dislike working in a vacuum.)

What was wrong with traditional job reviews? Most are unmotivating. A supervisor usually pulls up a document that was created in the last job review and says, “Here are the to-dos we talked about last time. Have you done this? Have you done that?” Followed by the next killer question: “Well, why not?”

If you conduct reviews like these, you are sending the message that you, the manager, know everything and that your supervisee must prove him or herself. You are older, you know better, and your younger generation worker feels stifled. He or she leaves the session feeling blamed, pressured, and maybe even threatened.

There are simple, highly effective ways to turn touch-base meetings into opportunities for mentoring, coaching, and positive motivation for younger employees.

The strategy is to reverse the process so you’re letting your employee take responsibility, rather than “catching” what they’re doing wrong.

  • Start with a simple question. Questions like “Has it been a good few weeks since we last talked?” or, “Have you been enjoying work lately?” kick off a give-and-take conversation that allows you to then talk about anything in a safe way. They also offer you a chance to get a general feel for how things are going for your employee.
  • Replace “Let’s see how you’re doing on your to do list” with “What do you feel good about accomplishing since we last talked?” If you follow this advice, you will start out focusing on positive changes and accomplishments that the younger generation worker has made. Next, give positive reinforcement for what they’ve gotten done and let them feel proud of their achievements. Then, move on to any items that are still undone, which you can now discuss in a positive and upbeat way. This approach drains the blame from your meeting and creates positive and motivational conversations.
  • Ask, “Are there areas where you need help?” This is where you can coach and assist employees. Your offer of help prevents them from feeling bad about something that is undone and lets them feel comfortable about getting the help they may need. Be sure to listen for underlying reasons why your employee might not be tackling certain tasks. The issue could be time, meaning they don’t have enough of it to do everything. Perhaps others in the organization could help? It could be that they lack some piece of technology that would help them, the services of a consultant, or possibly something else. By offering assistance, you are helping someone avoid feeling guilty about not being able to get something done. Under the old system of job reviews, people would often feel shamed and want to mislead or try to divert blame from themselves—that is very unhelpful. Having a frank and honest discussion is much more effective.
  • Let the employee set his or her own “to-dos” and priorities. As a supervisor, there will be times when you need to make firm assignments. But as often as you can, allow your younger generation employee to set his or her own priorities and projects, building a sense of ownership and enthusiasm.
  • Observe the “five to one” rule when meeting with supervisees who could benefit from an extra dose of positive inspiration. How does it work? For every one thing you say that could be interpreted as criticism, say five things that are positive and encouraging.

After the steps I recommend above, ask your employees how they’re doing on their career plan (a better name than a “to-do list”) to see if anything has been overlooked. Then, ask if they have anything they would like to add to the list. You can follow up with questions like, “Why do you think this is important?” and, “How do you plan to tackle it?” If there’s something you would like them to put on their list that they didn’t already think of, now’s the time to mention it. Most of the time, it is likely the employee has already thought of the new idea you suggest.