Morning ,

The audio version of this is here in google drive in case you're after a wee podcast and the sound of my voice this morning 🎙🎧.

I wanted to tell you I learned something new the other week.

I was invited to speak to a small group of franchisor leaders. At the heart of the brief for the conversation was to talk to what I call "participation and performance" metrics and how I improved business outcomes with them.

This was a group of franchisors executives, both founders and leaders. They get together regularly to discuss their challenges, share openly and learn from one another and the experts who come to the table to speak (😉).

If you look closely in this pic on LinkedIn that we took after the session, you'll also be able to see my emerging Mo for Movember.

Of course, when your No.1 Strength is Learner, it's hard to actually not be curious, to not ask questions of others and to not want to gather new knowledge or insight. So as much as I shared, I also asked questions and listened, then I asked follow ups, then I listened again.

Here's a bit about Learner from the Clifton Strengths folks and the love of "the journey from not knowing to knowing".

But back to "participation" and the new things I learned.

Compliance ➡️ Engagement ➡️ Participation

When I started my career working with franchisees at 7-Eleven, I was all about operational "compliance". Compliance to cleaning standards, to pricing, to presentation, to what we called at the time "Store Image".

It helped me get promoted, helped us achieve results and helped protect the brand and customer experience.

All good outcomes.

But I always had this nagging thought that there was something missing in the way I was working and managing. Compliance was essential, but too black and white. Correct to judge and assess, but not dipping in deeply into the human dimensions of the work.

I shifted my thinking and my activity. Less judgement more open mind (with an eye on the detailed execution).

When I served another stint as an Operations Leader at 7-Eleven a few years later, I found it far more useful that we called those compliance metrics "engagement" metrics.

But I still heard the word compliance close by whenever "engagement" was mentioned. It was a cosmetic change.

In behind compliance was yes engagement. To truly maximise engagement though, you have to have active participants.

People, people, people. People who willingly participate in programs and people who willingly bring their A game every day and are recognised and rewarded for it. Interestingly enough, I started to correlate the outcomes of the great participants, not just in the big metrics but in the minutest of details of excellence in performance.

And I've seen it show up again and again when you measure the right participation metrics in a network, whether it's pharmacies, supermarkets, convenience stores or restaurants, those who participate in great execution of the brand promise with customers shine.

So the other week we explored what great participation looks like, and how to shift your thinking as a leader to look for it.

I learned some very cool new and interesting things from these franchise leaders.

I learned that franchisees who outperform network averages in revenue for a mobile skip business are those who have their names referenced in online reviews more than others (there's a measurable stat for building personal reputation - bloody love that).

They are also the ones who maintain and preserve the great condition of their skips.

I learned that franchisees in a photography franchise who lead conversion rate metrics (that is the highest % of parents purchasing) are those who both build long term close relationships with schools but in particular have a specific reputation for getting their photos out quickly.

The longer the wait time, the lower the conversion rate. Hustle to get the pics out and it pays off overtime in reputation with the school and the parents.

These are ripper participation stats.

I know they are because they all continue to build a body of evidence for what great participation in the brand promise looks like and importantly what it does for profitability.

What I've also learned over the journey is that there will be beautiful and unique ways that some franchisees execute the brand promise that also produce magic. Like the way the try on socks were folded in The Athlete's Foot in Traralgon (ensuring a doubling of the accessory performance metric nationally).

Beautiful, care-full and informative.

The try on socks was the case study we covered at this session.

So the simplest of equations is what I've arrived at and that is:

Great participation = Great performance.

I feel we're always learning when we remain curious to the world around us. When we ask questions and pause completely to listen to the answers.

When we keep our minds open to the new.

What's something new you've learned this week? Or month? Or year?

I'd love to hear.

Nick

0418 870 184

p.s. I'm on the hunt for a team to lead and have an impact with in an organisation. If you feel there's someone in your network I should chat with who is looking for a leader who loves to achieve the people growth as much as the commercial growth then I’d love to chat.