Aligning Operations With Business Goals

Don’t make my mistakes all over again yourself. It took 2 layoffs before I realized that no matter how technical I was, technical skills alone were not enough. Ask people with the job you want, “What’s your biggest challenge?” Ask those who can hire you for that role, “What problems do you need people to solve?” It’s not technology. It took me 5 years to realize that business-facing consultants make 3X-5X more than technical consultants. I spent years grinding to get to $130/hr. then tripled my rate in a year by shifting to products and strategy. Technical skills are short-term #career accelerators, but their value plateaus after about 5 years. Value-centric business and technical capabilities are long-term career drivers. After seeing me on a recent Supply Chain Now podcast, I had two potential clients reach out. One said, “You simplified the tech and explained the direction of travel without jargon. I know what’s coming and what to do about it.” I used to think that the more technical and granular I got, the more competent I sounded. It’s actually the opposite. First principles are the expert’s language. Simplicity = mastery. Technologies come and go, but capabilities like communication skills, product monetization, #strategy, and go-to-market are evergreen. The recipe for success is pairing technical expertise with evergreen abilities. No matter what happens next in #AI, business leaders will always need people who can turn technology into new revenue, growth, and higher margins. Value-centric capabilities future-proof careers. Learn from people who’ve been there. Talk to people who are where you want to be. You’ll have fewer career setbacks and more opportunities to advance.

Stop overcomplicating Legal Operations. Had a conversation yesterday with a Head of Legal at a 200-person company. She was convinced she needed enterprise-grade contract management software, AI-powered analytics, and a dedicated Legal Ops hire. Her annual legal spend? £150k. Her team? Two lawyers and a paralegal. This is what I call the sophistication fallacy. We've been sold this myth that effective Legal Operations requires complex technology and dedicated specialists. Nonsense. The most impactful Legal Ops transformations I've seen in smaller teams started with a notepad and some brutal honesty. One sole counsel increased her strategic impact by simply mapping where her time actually went. Turned out 25% was spent on work that didn't require her to be involved. Another small team revolutionised their stakeholder relationships with a one-page guide explaining when to involve legal and when not to. No software. No consultants. Just clear thinking and the courage to say no to low-value work. Legal Operations isn't about having the fanciest tools. It's about having the clearest priorities. Save the enterprise solutions for when you've mastered the fundamentals. What's one simple change your legal team could make tomorrow that would free up capacity for strategic work? #legaloperations #inhouselegal #legalleadership #generalcounsel #smallteams

Marketing has two big jobs, but we're usually judged on only one. Our job in marketing splits into two parts: Building mental availability: making sure people know who we are and remember us when they’re ready to buy. This is often called brand marketing. Activating demand: making sure that people who are ready to buy choose us. This is typically performance or demand marketing. Here’s the challenge — most of our metrics (MQLs, pipeline, revenue) are tied to demand activation. But brand and demand aren’t separate – they work together. Still, they behave differently and aren’t always easy to measure in the same way. Brand is like staying in shape. You go to the gym, eat healthy, and take care of yourself. You don’t always see instant results, but over time, your body gets stronger. → In marketing terms: We want more people to know us, remember us, and think of us when they’re ready to buy. This is a long-term game. Demand activation is like showing up on race day. You’ve trained for months, and now it’s time to perform. If you’re fit, you’ll likely do well. → In marketing terms: When someone’s ready to buy, our goal is to be easy to find and hard to ignore. Most of the time, our execs care about the race day numbers – leads, opps, deals. That’s fair, because those drive revenue. But if we don’t also take care of our brand (our fitness), performance eventually suffers. So what do we do? We need to measure both. Performance marketing already has clear metrics. But brand often feels fuzzy — hard to prove it’s working. That’s why Share of Search (SoS) is useful. It’s a quantifiable way to track how much people are searching for our brand compared to competitors. It acts like a “brand scoreboard”, so we can see how campaigns are moving the needle, even if the revenue impact comes later. So: Use performance metrics for activation (leads, opps, CAC, etc.) Use Share of Search as the north star for brand Run both in parallel, and know that each supports the other Two different motions. Two different metrics. One goal: revenue growth.

Everyone says that a CISO should speak the language of business, but let’s get real for a second: 95% of the community’s time is still spent fighting threats and managing risks. Conferences? Not a single session on actual business integration. We’ve gone from DevSecOps and Big Data to AI security. Try finding a talk titled: "How we optimized perimeter security and increased our conversion rate by 5%.” Certifications? I’ve passed CISM, CISSP, and am currently working toward CCISO. Some certifications, like CISM, mention that “Security should align with business.” Okay… but how? Why am I required to know Ethernet parameters to become a security professional but not expected to understand basic business models? Let’s face it: → Do you know what to ask executives to truly understand their goals and plans? Do you present security risks, the value of mitigation, and the cost for key commercial projects? →Can you explain what really matters to shareholders in their language? → Do you know how to move the needle on marketing or operations KPIs? → Can you read a financial report—or build a budget that resonates? Do you know where your security budget fits into the company’s EBITDA? → Have you ever written a business case that actually aligns with stakeholder priorities? Do you know how to conduct a Cost-Benefit Analysis using the Monte Carlo method or calculate NPV? I started a series of posts called “Bridging Business and Security” to organize this material—for myself. But I’m glad to see that many people are reaching out with positive feedback and requests to keep it going. ⚫️Part 12, CISO and CFO: When Red Flags in Financial Statements Can Turn a Security Incident into a Business Killer https://lnkd.in/d5m83qkQ ⚫️Part 11, Beyond Titles: How CISOs Can Master Corporate Politics https://lnkd.in/dGf6tzKn ⚫️Part 10, CISO Mastering Negotiation: How to Secure Better Deals with Vendors https://lnkd.in/dMDrQmwx ⚫️Part 9, CISO Who Talks Finance: How Can Financial Statements Help Manage Security Risks? https://lnkd.in/dyEQU7Jk ⚫️Part 8, Do CISOs understand the real impact of security breach on stock prices, and what does VaR have to do with it? https://lnkd.in/dMmQb92P ⚫️ Part 7, CISO Who Talks Sales: Why Does Salesforce Offer Free Security Training? https://lnkd.in/d5Gy-_eF ⚫️ Part 6, How CISO Delivers Value by Supporting Core Human Drivers https://lnkd.in/dMxMsZZQ ⚫️ Part 5, What CISO Should Know for a Winning Business Case https://lnkd.in/dr-6b5Md ⚫️ Part 4, Driving Business Support Through the Project Security Process https://lnkd.in/dx8xi8uD ⚫️ Part 3, CISO Who Talks Shareholders: P/E vs EV/EBITDA Security Strategy https://lnkd.in/dBKtxd6s ⚫️ Part 2, CISO Who Talks Marketing: Boosting NPS, Conversion, and CRR Through Security Initiatives https://lnkd.in/dQD4Xc4Y ⚫️ Part 1, CISO Who Talks Finance: EBITDA Benefits Through Security Budgeting https://lnkd.in/ddmTGdq8 #ciso #mba #business #security

Let's take a look at how Popeyes is doing. Essentially, and this has been the story for some time, as RBI chairman Patrick Doyle recently explained, the food quality and innovation is tough to beat. Few brands in the category put as much time into the process. But, Doyle said, the chain could do better at operational execution and some competitors (like Chick-fil-A) have it beat on that front, at least the way things stand now. "Chick-fil-A has set the standard for running at scale—really, really great service restaurants, good-looking restaurants, and we’ve got to be as good as that,” Doyle said. In 2023, Popeyes first introduced its "Easy to Love "strategy, which calls for simplifying restaurant operations for franchisees and making kitchens easier to run. By the end of 2026, Popeyes wants all U.S. locations to have cloud-based POS systems, digital drop charts, sticky label printers, order-ready boards, kiosks, and upgraded back-of-house equipment (auto batter makers and improved hot holding units). At the same time, Popeyes began increasing national advertising spend in April. This step-up in spend will continue for the next three years if performance targets are met. Additionally, RBI is encouraging franchisees to remodel their stores, backed by evidence that refreshed restaurants achieving an A-grade generate 30 percent higher profitability than the system average. The brand hopes to reach a consistent modern image by 2030. More on what's going on and what's ahead here: https://lnkd.in/gWSpYzh5

The reality of working with #Amazon has changed dramatically for brands in 2024. The online retailer focuses on: 💵 Optimising margin structures 💵 Reducing headcount resources 💵 Automating repetitive processes The list goes on. 🚩 Yet, most suppliers continue with business as usual. They keep deploying the same investment principles as in offline channels. And they keep their teams locally organised, ignoring Amazon's regional (pan-EU) expansion focus. This creates a gap between the reality of brands and Amazon, where brands increasingly invest in staffing while Amazon dramatically reduces its headcount. So how can brands ensure they align their organisation with the new reality Amazon is creating in 2024 and beyond? ✅ By following a simple 3-step approach: 𝟭. 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗽 Amazon's retail workforce is in decline. Layoffs and Automation have made many Vendor Managers redundant. As a result, Amazon has begun to focus its buyer resources at a regional EU level. Instead of 9 Vendor Managers covering each European marketplace, one Vendor Manager manages the EU9 trade relationship today. This requires brands to adjust their organisational structure to navigate the online retailer effectively. Brands that maintain a localised approach risk losing access to a dedicated Vendor Manager in 2024. 𝟮. 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀 Aligning teams at a regional level can help brands achieve significant economies of scale. Centralising resources can help avoid duplication of work when it comes to negotiation or reporting processes, while the virtual shelf and shopper activation management can be maintained at a local level. Brands that successfully shape their business relationship with Amazon in 2024 will excel in realigning existing workflows at a regional level while meeting and considering the demands of local markets. 𝟯. 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗲 With Amazon increasing its efforts to offshore and automate tasks in its retail business, brands have to shoulder more tasks that Vendor Managers and Brand Specialists previously owned. This means that offshoring and automation must become a top priority for 1P suppliers themselves if they want to avoid a significant increase in their cost to serve. It's good practice for brands to start capturing repetitive workflows currently done manually and either outsource them to cost-efficient service providers or automate them completely. After all, the size and complexity of Amazon's business will only increase in the years to come. --- How are you adapting your organisation to Amazon's automation and offshoring focus in 2024? Let me know in the comments! #amazonvendor #amazonstrategy

Not all cyber threats are equal…. It is crucial for the Board & CXOs to ensure that investments in security are aligned with the organization's risk profile. This requires regular risk assessments & aligning the cyber security strategy with the organization's business goals. Simply put, far too many boards & CEOs see cybersecurity as a set of technical initiatives & edicts that are the domain of CIO, CISO, & other technical practitioners. In doing so, they overlook the perils of corporate complexity & the power of simplicity when it comes to cyber risk. In fact leaders who are serious about cybersecurity, need to translate simplicity & complexity reduction into business priorities that enter into the strategic dialogue of the board, the CEO, & the rest of the C-suite. Questions such as the following can help catalyze this conversation: • How does a full accounting of cyber risk affect our business model’s attractiveness, & does that suggest the need for a “simplification agenda”? • How transparent are the cyber risks and trade-offs associated with our external digital partnerships, & what would be the pros & cons of simplifying our ecosystem to make them more manageable? • How risky are our IT-enabled legacy processes, and how should we prioritize investments to secure, simplify, & transform them to achieve competitive advantage? Leadership teams which grapple with questions like these and embrace simplicity boost their odds of making the entire enterprise securable. Breakneck digitization in the smartphone era has exacerbated matters, as companies have increasingly created ecosystems with a variety of new partners to help expand their reach and capture new, profitable growth. They range from supply chain relationships across goods & services to partnerships for data, distribution, marketing, & innovation. Even more recently, the business challenges of COVID-19 pandemic have spurred faster adoption of digital solutions that rely on data, digital networks and devices that are often operated by companies outside the organization’s borders. Leaders seeking to strike a better balance can start with some basic principles. One is ensuring that strategic moves won’t increase complexity risk & make the current situation worse. Another is understanding that simplification of company, may require more than minor rewiring of systems, & instead may demand more fundamental & often longer-term modification to IT structures, to make them fit for growth. The challenges & opportunities fall into 3 areas. 1. Business models 2. External Partners 3. Internal Systems Reducing complexity while establishing a framework for governance & shared responsibility demands deliberate action, over the long & the short term. It also demands attention & energy of the CEOs & the boards who understand its value and are ready to invest in changing mindsets. Leaders who are ready to step up and set the tone will create a better blueprint for a securable enterprise.

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗼 𝘀𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗘𝗥𝗣 𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹? 𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗳𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵, not the business transformation it truly is. Listening to my network, there seems to be a rush to complete ERP migrations, as fast as possible, with SAP S/4HANA plans driving most of it. But an ERP system is more than just an IT upgrade. It’s a chance to redesign how your business operates and build a solution architecture that supports agility and innovation. While necessary, these migrations often become redundant without proper alignment to business goals. Something, I've seen happen! Here some get rights to consider: ◉ 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹𝘀 Ensure that IT and business leaders are on the same page. ERP systems serve broader business objectives, such as innovation, improving procurement strategies, and enhancing supplier relationships. ◉ 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀. Instead of getting caught up in the technology itself, be clear about the business benefits you'd like to achieve. New ERP functionality can be of support to achieve goals like efficiency, cost reduction, and agility. ◉ 𝗦𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗲𝗻𝗱-𝘁𝗼-𝗲𝗻𝗱 Don't just migrate complex, outdated processes but streamline them end-to-end. Reevaluate processes for efficiency and desired outcomes. ◉ 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 - 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 ERP migrations often fail due to poor user adoption. Beyond training, invest in communication & ongoing support showing the value and relevance of the system to users. ◉ 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀-𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 ERP impacts every area of the business, so cross-team collaboration is essential. Involve stakeholders from finance, procurement, IT, and operations ensures the system meets everyone’s needs. ◉ 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 - 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗲 An ERP system is only as good as the data it processes. Ensure that data is clean, consistent, and reliable before migration. Dirty or incomplete data is one of the biggest challenges post-go-live. ◉ 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝗳𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 Choose an architecture which allows for future-proofing and integration of new features, scalability and integration. Business models evolve, and your ERP must evolve with them." ◉ 𝗦𝗲𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 - 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗶𝗳 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 Don’t rush an implementation. ERP migrations are complex and require time to integrate properly. A phased approach allows for troubleshooting and mitigates a risk for failure. ❓Any other "get rights" i missed and you would add from your experience. #erp #businesstransformation #migration #sap4hana

🧠 How does a hotel really operate — front to back, top to bottom? Most teams only see their part. This diagram shows the full system. I built it to simplify how we look at hotel operations — especially for GMs, department heads, and anyone managing complexity. Here’s a short breakdown 👇 ⸻ 🔷 1. Guest Experience What the guest sees: Check-in/out, room service, concierge, mobile app, loyalty portal. → This is the “visible” layer — but it depends on everything below. 🔷 2. Front-of-House Operations Reception, bell desk, valet, guest relations. → These roles face the guest, handle pressure, and pass info down the chain. 🔷 3. Back-of-House Operations Housekeeping, maintenance, engineering, laundry. → Quiet teams, but critical. Any failure here affects the guest directly. 🔷 4. Core Systems PMS, POS, CRM, ERP, Channel Manager, Keycards. → Where the data lives. Without these, nothing syncs or scales. 🔷 5. Infrastructure Layer Wi-Fi, CCTV, servers, HVAC, phones. → Tech backbone. If this breaks, the whole hotel stutters. 🔷 6. Cross-Functional Flows The arrows connecting everything: • Guest request → CRM → Housekeeping • OTA → CRS → PMS → Accounting • Complaint → Reception → Engineering → These flows are the operations. 🔷 7. Feedback + Control Loops • Reviews → CRM → Service changes • Tasks → HR → Performance reviews • POS → Inventory → Procurement → This is where we catch problems before they grow. 🔷 8. Management Layer Executive dashboard: revenue, occupancy, guest satisfaction → The strategy level. What drives decisions and action. 🔷 9. External Interfaces OTAs, payment gateways, government systems, corporate contracts → The outside world — connected to us by systems, not people. ⸻ I made this to solve a common problem: Too many teams don’t see how their work fits into the bigger picture. Use this to align your teams, onboard staff faster, and diagnose issues smarter. Open to thoughts and feedback. — Islam Mahrous www.islam-mahrous.com #HotelOperations #HospitalityLeadership #PMS #CRM #GMTools #HotelStrategy #HotelTech #IslamMahrous #OperationalExcellence

Early Stage founder: “We need help NOW but can't afford full-time hires." Finding and managing the right freelancers is a common challenge at that stage. But after helping 50+ startups, I've identified a systematic way to de-risk it: 🎯 Start with strategy, not hiring: → Map your desired outcomes clearly → Document the specific steps needed to get there → Identify which skills are truly core vs. supportable → Leverage your network for referrals (still the best source) → If no referrals, go to platforms like Upwork and Fiverr ✅ Vet and validate: → Review portfolios and past startup work → Ask exactly how they might use LLMs in their workflow → Set crystal-clear deliverables and success metrics → Cap initial test assignments at £500 → Track which freelancers consistently deliver quality work → Document detailed feedback to improve collaboration 📈 Scale thoughtfully: → Begin with high-impact, low-product-knowledge tasks → Create repeatable processes for successful projects → Develop freelancers' understanding of your business → Focus your core team on strategic innovation → Build your trusted talent network gradually If you can't identify the right freelancers because your path to success isn't clear, a senior advisor or fractional C-level pro can help map your execution plan first. Savvy founders don't gamble on freelancers. They build clarity first, then choose the right experts. ♻️ Found this helpful? Repost to share with your network. ⚡️ Want more content like this? Hit follow Maya Moufarek.