In this video, Doug Fergusson shares his thoughts on Dine America 2011 and speaks about the emerging themes at the conference.
Archive for October, 2011
Don MacPherson Discusses Employee Engagement at Dine America 2011
In this video interview, Don MacPherson of Modern Survey reveals a surprising and disturbing statistic: 70% of employees in the workforce today are either under-engaged or disengaged. Watch our interview to hear Don describe the four drivers of employee engagement:
Dave Whitlock Speaks on Unionization at Dine America
In today’s economic climate, hospitality employees are particularly vulnerable to unionization. This video features David Whitlock of Elarbee Thompson, who advises franchisees on how they can prepare for labor efforts and promote satisfaction in the workplace.
Young Guns Dine America Session Discusses Second Generation Franchisees
Dain Pool, Pool's Restaurant Group
One of the breakout sessions I attended was titled “Young Guns”, and it focused on the fact that many baby boomers’ children are coming of age and looking for their own business opportunities. The panel consisted of QSR’s Sam Oches (moderator), Dain Pool of Pool’s Restaurant Group, Jonathan Wagner of Two Trucks, LLC, and Donald Boroian of Francorp, Inc.
All three panelists agreed that while millenials form a complex group of people, they are generally divided into two groups: those who are comfortable operating under franchisee guidelines, and those who are not. Donald Boroian stated that the young guns are not as interested in brands as they are in the latest concepts. They buy from a personal preference point of view—contemporary identity is important to them. It’s as though they’re the “anti-brand” generation, and contemporary movements appeal to them. Franchisors should bear this in mind throughout their efforts to attract this demographic.
The food truck trend emerged several times throughout the panel’s discussion. Jonathan Wagner of Two Trucks, Inc. took his
Jonathan Wagner, Two Trucks, LLC
father’s brand—Johnsonville Sausage—and featured it in his food truck concept. Wagner’s business model is a perfect representation of how the young guns are developing ideas from what they’ve learned growing up and evolving them. Food trucks appeal to the anti-corporate mindset that so many of the second-generation franchisees embrace.
Other hot concepts discussed included second-generation Mexican food (Chipotle, for instance), healthy, chopped foods and salad venues, and breakfastfoods and sandwiches.
Dain Pool and Donald Bororian both agreed that when seeking quality young gun franchisees, franchisors should examine the candidate’s past level of responsibility, look for strong leadership qualities, and marked passion for the food industry. They cautioned everyone to beware of the disgruntled young gun who is simply trying to get out of his parent’s shadow. Bororian advised,
“Look for kids who live, eat and breathe the business.”
Not surprisingly, the panelists mentioned the importance of targeting second-generation franchisees through social media and search engine optimization.
Donald Boroian, Francorp, Inc.
I found it interesting that Donald Boroian, who has over 40 year of experience in the food service industry, and the two young gun panelists: Jonathan Wagner and Dain Pool, all agreed on virtually every point discussed during the panel—despite the generational gap. Further, they allmentioned the importance of listening to franchisees, customers, and employees, and adapting your offerings and services based on their input. Adapting quickly to change and adjusting your marketing message to your local customers and their specific preferences is key to succeeding in today’s environment.
Did you attend the Young Guns panel at Dine America? If so, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Kat Cole Video Interview from Dine America
This week, Kat Cole, president of Cinnabon was kind enough to give us a video interview at Dine America. In her interview, she speaks about the importance integrating your brand within the local community, and discusses the value of establishing connections and building relationships with your customers.
Kat Cole Opens Dine America with Inspiring Keynote
Kat Cole of Cinnabon
This year’s Dine America opened with a riveting keynote from Kat Cole, president of Cinnabon. Kat discussed the challenges and opportunity facing businesses in today’s economic environment and reminded us that nearly every business is undergoing some degree of change. While these changes may be daunting, they also present incredible opportunities. As a result, it’s crucial that we maintain a positive mindset and encourage and empower our employees to do the same.
Kat relayed several personal anecdotes as she described her journey from a Hooters hostess to the president of a major foodservice brand. Throughout her career, she seized any and every opportunity with awareness that tumultuous times provide opportunity. Kat was hungry for knowledge and experience, and she learned from a young age how to seek out chances to build trust and prove her inexhaustible work ethic.
The culmination of her experiences contributed to her understanding and adoption of a series of core beliefs:
- Do more than just show up.
- No borders; no boundaries.
- Focus on ongoing education.
- Survive and thrive in times of change by weaving your brand into the fabric of the community.
Kat’s keynote was full of nuggets of wisdom, including “sometimes you have to get smaller to grow”; and “to move through change, you have to be a changer.” She referenced Harvard professor Francis Frei, sharing her advice encouraging people to “be willing to be bad at something”, and finding out what’s truly important to your customers in the process.
She urged us to find ways to connect business with community, emphasizing the importance of learning what customers are looking for through surveys and interviews. Kat pointed out the benefits of reaching consumers through every channel, from print advertising to social media. Ultimately, the ideal way to discover how to best serve your clients or customers is to simply ask them what they need.
The importance of weaving employees into the fabric of your company and establishing connections with them cannot be overstated. As leaders, it’s our job to provide perspective, coach, educate, and inspire them to think and operate without boundaries. Kat suggested giving employees mentors, providing perspective and renewing their vigor.
Every message of Kat’s keynote was inspirational and motivating—however, one of the most memorable moments was when she briefly described her background and shared that she had “every reason to say no” to success. According to Kat, every part her history lent itself to repeating a history of addiction and failure. Instead, she went the opposite route and reached staggering levels of success.
Now, Kat remains remarkably humble and insisted that great deal of what she knows, she learned in her “orange shorts”.
We’d love to hear from those of you who attended the keynote presentation today at Dine America. What stood out for you?
Dine America 2011: A Conversation with QSR’s Blair Chancey
With Dine America 2011 rapidly approaching, we wanted to get the inside track on what to expect from the conference in terms of hot topics, panels and speakers. Blair Chancey, editor of QSR Magazine, was kind enough to share her insights with us on this year’s Dine America.
According to Blair, the 2011 event will bring some big names and brands—including Google, mobile couponing sites like Scoutmob, and David Davenport, the new CEO of Shoney’s. Interestingly, several of this year’s attendees will be full-service restaurant operators.
We were also excited to hear that this year’s conference will focus on the exploration of new ideas and technologies within the industry.
To hear more details on Dine America 2011, be sure to listen to Blair’s description here:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Are you attending Dine America 2011? If so, what topics are you most looking forward to hearing about? Let us know in the comments.
Loading ...