卡特·科爾是私募股權公司Focus Brands北美區首席運營官兼總裁，公司旗下擁有Cinnabon、Auntie Anne’s、Jamba Juice等7家餐飲連鎖品牌。她的職業生涯令人艷羨，也發人深省。19歲那年，在連鎖餐廳Hooters做服務生的科爾迅速晉升，開設了自己的第一家國際特許經營店，之后又成功地領導了知名肉桂卷品牌Cinnabon的轉型。雖然不斷取得成功，但她經常試著忘記這些成績，并設想如果是一位管理 “高手”擔任她現在的職位，會怎樣行事。

2018年12月25日，《財富》雜志在美國加州的尼古湖市舉行“下一代最有影響力女性峰會”，科爾發表講話，解釋了被她稱之為“高手法則”的方法是如何幫助自己在職場上一往無前的。在Hooters晉升期間，科爾并沒有得到多少人指導，但她“學會了做自己最好的教練”。

這意味著不能讓自己被成績沖昏頭腦。每月至少一次（她解釋說，現在更頻繁），用她的話說，把自己當作一個“糟糕的土豆夫人”，設想如果是一名優秀的高管接手了自己的工作會怎么做。科爾說，這個方法教會她認識自身的弱點、自我反省，糾正偏見，從而幫助她保持緊迫感。她指出，最近，這種“高手法則”幫她認識到，需要更換團隊的一些管理者。“我意識到自己開始接受一種新的績效水平，只是因為它比過去更糟的情況稍好些。雖然我團隊里表現最差的那些人其實屬于普通水平，但還是業績墊底的。我需要提升。”她還說，如果不解決這個問題，就會辜負那些表現不佳的員工。

科爾將自己的職業成就廣泛歸功于“躁動的內心”，以及兒時在殘酷環境中所養成的勇氣和一些個人品質。因為父親酗酒，從9歲起，她就由母親獨自扶養長大。為了養活自己和妹妹，母親要做三份工作。作為家中長女，科爾承擔了很多責任，她說，成長中混亂和充滿挑戰的環境，以及無論何時都保持從容平靜的母親，給了自己在商界中他人所不具備的優勢。

科爾還提到了Focus最近收購的老牌鮮榨果汁零售商Jamba Juice，它是Focus旗下首個“純健康”品牌。對其將會給人們帶來怎樣的期待，科爾介紹了她的一些計劃，包括大舉投資某些技術一流的應用程序，將飲品變得更加健康。這意味著，Jamba Juice未來將更傾向綠色，少糖的產品。科爾還承諾，在飲品中增加植物蛋白，以及不含乳制品的乳類替代品。她說，對客戶而言，“我們完全奉行健康之道。不會開倒車。”

但不要指望Cinnabon也會有同樣的變化。這個品牌以綿密的大塊肉桂味蛋糕卷聞名。在峰會上，有位聽眾問科爾，Cinnabon是否可能推出有利于生酮飲食減肥法的肉桂卷。科爾回答道：“為了營養價值考慮，不會這樣做。”她指出，過去曾經嘗試過推出低糖低脂的蛋糕卷，但市場表現不好。而那些成分相同、體積較小的蛋糕卷倒是賣得不錯。（財富中文網）

譯者：Charlie

審校：夏利

Kat Cole, the COO and president of North America for Focus Brands, private equity parent of Cinnabon, Auntie Anne’s, Jamba Juice and four other food chains, has charted an enviable and inspiring career course—quickly rising through the ranks at Hooters to open her first international franchise at 19 and later leading a skillful turnaround of Cinnabon. But she often tries to forget all that success and think about what a “hot shot” executive would do in her place.

Cole, speaking at Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Next Gen Summit in Laguna Niguel, Calif., on December 25, 2018, explained how the self-developed technique—she calls it the “hot shot rule”—has kept her moving forward in her career. Climbing the ladder at Hooters, Cole didn’t have a lot of mentors, but she “learned to be my own best self coach.”

That meant teaching herself not to get blinded by her progress. At least monthly (now she does it more frequently, she explained), she imagines what a hot shot executive—“a Mrs. Potato Head of badass-ery,” as she described it—might do if she took over Cole’s business that day. Cole said the strategy has taught her vulnerability, reflection and a bias for action that helps her maintain a sense of urgency. Recently, she noted, the “hot shot rule” helped her realize she needed to make some leadership changes on her team. “I realized I had started to accept a level of performance because it was better than what was worse before. My new worst performers were mediocre, but they were nonetheless the worst. I needed to upgrade.” She added that she would be failing the underperforming employees if she didn’t address the issue.

Cole more broadly credited her business success to her “hustle muscle,” the grit and attributes she developed as a child growing up in less than ideal circumstances. Her father was an alcoholic and from the age of 9, she was raised by a single mother who worked three jobs to care for Cole and her sister. Cole took on a number of responsibilities as the eldest child, and says that that growing up in that chaotic and challenging environment, as well as having her mother, who nonetheless carried herself with grace and calm had given her “an unfair advantage” in the business world.

Cole also offered a preview of what customers can expect from Jamba Juice, the first “purely healthy” brand that Focus recently added to its portfolio. Cole’s plans for the juice brand include investing heavily in tech—best-in-class apps—and evolving the menu to “an even healthier place.” That means Jamba Juice’s future offerings will be more green and less sweet. Cole promised more plant-based proteins and dairy-free alternatives on the menu as well. “We’re all on a healthfulness journey,” she said; for customers, “it doesn’t go backwards.”

Don’t expect the same changes at Cinnabon. When asked by one audience member if she could envision keto-friendly versions of the brand’s famously large and gooey cinnamon rolls, Cole remarked customers “don’t come to it for their nutritional value.” She noted that she’d tried to introduce low-fat and low-sugar rolls in the past and they didn’t sell. Tiny rolls, however, sold with the same indulgent ingredients were a hit.