It's Not the Bricks, It's the Mortar: Optimize Your Retail Business for Lasting Success

Brick-and-mortar retail has faced unprecedented challenges-mass store closures, the rise of online marketplaces, economic shocks, and a global pandemic. Successful entrepreneur and business mentor Mike Cosentino knows these are the times when leaders must tighten their operational grip and take control of their businesses, but also recognize when to step back. Drawing from personal crises and an honest assessment of his prior leadership strategies, Cosentino argues that a service-based business thrives when its team is empowered to operate independently of the leader at the top.

In 2005, Cosentino was faced with serious health problems in his newborn daughter. His forced absence from his company didn't lead to disaster as he feared; instead, it highlighted the value of having the right people and systems in place. This experience inspired Cosentino to refine his leadership approach and share it with others through concepts like "Uninvolved Optimization"-a method that empowers teams through-and "Involved Maximization," which builds both soft and hard skills, equipping teams to drive the business forward.

It's Not The Bricks, It's The Mortar provides service-based business leaders with battle-tested, customer-focused processes like Experience by Committee, the Service Quotient, and the Immutable Laws of Resource Acquisition. Designed to be fully realized through task delegation, these concepts help leaders achieve operational independence, even in the most challenging environments. Cosentino's methods show that when service and performance matter most, it's the mortar-the enduring skills, systems, and empowered teams-that truly hold the bricks together.