Greg Nathan Is Recognized As A Global Authority and Thought Leader on the Psychology of Franchising,
And Notably to Many, on the Franchisee-Franchisor Relationship.
Episode Timeline
- 0:00 – Intro
- 0:18 – Organisational Psychologist or Franchise Psychologist?
- 0:47 – Didn’t start in franchising, where it all began
- 1:28 – Finding Psychology
- 1:51 – Disillusioned with the course as too scientific
- 2:58 – Need to earn money while in Uni so worked in a bakery
- 5:08 – Not enjoying psychology → went into franchising
- 5:49 – Leaving academia & running the business
- 7:26 – Writing letters to the franchisor
- 8:16 – Not finishing PhD, maybe later
- 8:38 – Working for the franchisor
- 11:55 – Be real in your dealings with people
- 12:32 – False confidence in corporate world
- 14:34 – Getting sacked & rehired next day
- 16:06 – Role in marketing & operations
- 17:22 – What went wrong in bakery franchise
- 18:43 – Brumby’s handed to franchisees
- 19:02 – How psychology background came in
- 20:04 – First workshop on franchise relationships
- 21:27 – Franchise Relationships evolved naturally
- 21:55 – First client story
- 23:07 – Writing *Profitable Partnerships*
- 24:28 – Book success & impact
- 27:37 – Making a difference
- 29:29 – How franchising has changed
- 30:31 – Where Greg’s business is now
- 32:05 – Future of franchising
- 33:43 – Wrap up
In 35+ years of researching the science of successful franchise relations, Greg and his team have developed widely used, world-leading tools and models in franchising.
An interest in Psychology and completing a degree and Masters in this, a Phd was next. Working in a bread shop to make money while at uni lead to a career defining change as a franchise business owner, all after becoming disillusioned with Psychology and it’s rigidity.
Greg was writing a lot of letters to the franchisor about doing better, believing they did not know what they were doing, and as result, was eventually asked to work in corporate, selling his franchise.
Years of learning about franchise relationships happened in that environment, and when it came to an end, Greg was encouraged to educate and write.
A global-leading position in franchise Psychology and education was never the grand plan, yet it evolved over time.
Greg’s story is one of passion and a strong desire to leave a lasting legacy on the franchise sector and in helping franchise business owners in particular.
Oh, this is an interesting point of view on the subject. Thank you for enlightening me!
You are most welcome Gemma! Glad you liked my article 🙂
I must disagree with you Jessica. I believe that focusing only on your studies is a much more productive way of getting a degree. Once you are done with that you can focus on getting a good job.
Thank you Liam for your comment. Your approach makes sense too.
Thanks everyone for participating in the discussion. I really appreciate it!