Last week I visited my local guitar shop to buy some guitar strings and enquire about an effects pedal. The guy behind the counter was friendly and after a brief chat he got my strings and started to look for the pedal. I surveyed the glass counter filled with all sorts of seductive guitar accessories and was getting a little excited as he placed the pedal on the counter.  Read entire post

Happy new year and thanks to the hundreds of people who responded to the last tip “My Father the Mensch”. Some shared their personal reflections on what it means to them to be a dad, a son or a daughter. I love people disclosing a little of themselves because it builds trust (this works at the corporate level too – we call it transparency). And trust is of course a critical ingredient in successful franchising, which is the theme of this tip.  Read entire post

My dad, Victor Nathan, died on Christmas day. He basically just wore out after 82 very active years. His approach to life is reflected in the following George Bernard Shaw passage:  Read entire post

It must have been thirty years ago that I read the following anonymous saying: Read entire post

An elephant in the room is a metaphor for something blindingly obvious, but for some reason is being ignored. I reckon online retailing is franchising’s elephant in the room. It is clearly the most important issue facing the sector today, but it is not getting the quality discussion it deserves. Read entire post

I have been advised more than once not to talk about politics, religion or sex. But the purpose of these tips is to raise issues that impact on the success of franchise systems. So I should probably apologise up front because I am going to talk about all three! Read entire post

Are you MAD or are you just going through the motions? I often ask myself this question. In this context MAD stands for “making a difference!” Three qualities in particular I would suggest are important for anyone serious about making a difference are fearlessness, focus and generosity. Read entire post

I’ve just returned from conducting a number of workshops in the USA with around 250 franchisor executives from 40 different brands. As part of each workshop I asked the question, “What is hot for you that you would like to talk about? Read entire post

We are all affected in some way by events around us. So you may have been concerned about the impact of recent gloomy economic forecasts on both the morale of your existing franchisees and the likelihood of prospective franchisees investing in your system. I am writing this tip from the USA where I am working with hundreds of local franchisor executives and I can tell you it’s worse over here. But I am pretty confident I can offer a solution below. I also have some news I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you. Read entire post

This is a story about three people - a smart retail food consultant, a remarkable school teacher, and the man who invented the world’s most loved electric guitar. Read entire post