---
title: "Business Insider: Kat Cole Shares Her Best Career Advice for Young People"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/8c9f9812-de3f-45e6-9ad4-eb1ddce6d9a4
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/business-insider-kat-cole-shares-her-best-career-advice-for-young-people-6432
category: "Restaurants"
industry: "Restaurants"
topics: ["Finance & M&A"]
published: 2016-10-12T18:13:05.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T12:18:49.866Z
image: https://1851franchise.com/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fnewimage.1851franchise.com%2Fcdn-cgi%2Fimage%2Fquality%3D85%2Cformat%3Dwebp%2Cwidth%3D1280%2Cheight%3D720%2Fstory%2FfeatureImage%2F71809611c657fa83ea1d954a422219c7397.jpg&w=3840&q=75
---

# Business Insider: Kat Cole Shares Her Best Career Advice for Young People

**TL;DR:** Kat Cole, president of Focus Brands, shares her career advice emphasizing the importance of assuming criticism is accurate. Focus Brands owns Cinnabon, Auntie Anne's, and Moe's Southwest Grill, where Cole is in charge of $1 billion brand shares.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2016-10-12. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/business-insider-kat-cole-shares-her-best-career-advice-for-young-people-6432).*

## Story

As the 37-year old president of Focus Brands is shelling out career advice, millennials ought to be listening. According to a recent Business Insider article, the best career advice Kat Cole has ever received is something she has used in her own career and wants to share with those just starting on their own path.

"A piece of career advice I received when I was incredibly young," Cole said, "was that anytime you get criticized, take a moment and assume the criticism is accurate. Assume the person criticizing you is right, just for a moment."

Thinking like this puts you in a position of maturity before you decide whether or not you agree with the person and the feedback. This mindset can give you the clarity to think about the reasoning behind why you are getting this kind of feedback without getting into a fight about if it is right or not.

By taking a step back, she says it requires that you are humble in the situation "and realizing there's a lot to learn around you."

Obviously this advice has served her very well as the president of Focus Brands, which owns Cinnabon, Auntie Anne’s, and Moe’s Southwest Grill, where she is in charge of $1 billion brand shares. She uses this concept when working with franchisees, running the boardroom, or in her nonprofit work.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- franchise leadership (topic)
- Cinnabon (company)
- Auntie Anne's (company)
- FOCUS Brands (company)
- Moe's Southwest Grill (company)
- career advice (topic)
- self-reflection (topic)

---
Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/business-insider-kat-cole-shares-her-best-career-advice-for-young-people-6432). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/8c9f9812-de3f-45e6-9ad4-eb1ddce6d9a4).