R E C O N N E C T
R E C O N N E C T
kind of guy , so I don ’ t think there is anything about me that would surprise anyone .
PERSONAL , continued
part of what made me today was those 4 years of service . I wouldn ’ t trade a single day or experience I had during that time .
Pet peeve : Somehow years ago someone gave me the nickname “ GSD .” It means Get S — t Done . I have always held myself accountable to always do whatever it is that I said I would do and not make any excuses . I tend to remind others around me that if you say you ’ re going to do something then stick to it and GSD . It can bother me sometimes when people don ’ t .
What did you want to be when you grew up ? When I was in the Air Force I had strong aspirations to become a military pilot . Little did I know there was this entrepreneur bug lodged inside my brain that told me I didn ’ t want to go about my career and be able to forecast out how much money I would be able to make or be limited to by depending on rank and years and service . I wanted to really have a mentality that “ the sky is the limit .” That said , a huge
Last vacation : Five-day vacation on the Harbor in Destin , Florida , with Christine and the three kids .
Person I ’ d most like to have lunch with : One of my favorite books was about Charlie Plumb , the Vietnam vet . I was extremely fortunate to have had breakfast with him many years ago when he spoke with our franchisees . We hit it off that morning since we had something very small in common : he ejected out of an F-4 fi ghter on the day he was captured and I worked on the ejection seats for the F-4 fi ghter for 4 years . To say he was inspiring would be an understatement . He gave me some of the best business advice I ever received and I still think about him and his speech all the time . I would love to have another opportunity to sit down with him and have lunch .
Business philosophy : “ Do the right thing .” Karma isn ’ t just about personal dealings .
Management method or style : Hire the best , give them the tools to be successful , and then give them guidelines on what the expectations will be . I have never been a micro-manager so I have to rely on having the right people around me .
Greatest challenge : Finding the right people to work for me . Employees are some of the best aspects of owning your own business , but getting all the pieces of the puzzle to fi t can be tough sometimes .
How do others describe you ? Sometimes a goofball and sometimes a relentless boss .
One thing I ’ m looking to do better : Be a better listener sometimes .
How I give my team room to innovate and experiment : I have a weekly meeting with my top managers . During that meeting I cover usually six to nine areas of the business and we review and refi ne what the expectations are going to be . At the end of every meeting I always ask , “ What do you need from me to reach our goals ?” I like to set the expectations but then leave it up to them to fi nd ways to achieve them .
How close are you to operations ? I am a systems guy . I like to get into the back of the house and see how it is being done and then go back and create systems that will help us do it better and give us better reporting and clarity into what it ’ s doing for our business . My value is not standing in the kitchen or at the register and I know that . I enjoy doing it from time to time , but I know that if we are going to grow , then my area of expertise is helping my team come up with ways to make their job more productive .
What are the two most important things you rely on from your franchisor ? Buying power and systems . As much as I like to create my own systems I love having systems in place for me that we can use day to day . I have been lucky to be in two really good concepts that do those things well .
What I need from vendors : Consistency !
Have you changed your marketing strategy in response to the economy ? How ? When we really got hit hard in the Great Recession I
MANAGEMENT
learned that grassroots marketing is extremely powerful . It takes a lot more time and ingenuity to execute , but the results far outlast any mainstream media marketing that we all get so accustomed to . I also found that teaming up with local charities can be very benefi cial as well .
How is social media affecting your business ? This has become a double-edged sword . We can instantly get our message out to customers , but you have to be careful that you don ’ t say or do things that will upset them , as they have an avenue to say negative things about you that others may read and assume are correct .
How do you hire and fire ? I am a huge believer in doing group interviews and doing them on a regular biweekly basis . I also believe that when a potential employee comes in asking ,“ Are you hiring ?” you always say “ Yes !” Even if you don ’ t specifi cally have a slot open there will always be that candidate who stands out , and you know that you have to fi nd a place for them even if it means cutting one of your weak employees . We call it Topgrading , and it allows us to hire slowly and fi re quickly . Most managers do it the opposite way .
How do you train and retain ? As a franchise , one of the nicest things to have is our organizational services department . They are constantly upgrading training techniques and developing new ways to get all the crew members on the same page together and more quickly .
How do you deal with problem employees ? I believe in the old adage that we should always get rid of the bad apples . Employee morale can have far-reaching implications both good and bad . If you don ’ t get the bad ones out of there soon enough , then all you will be left with are the bad ones .
Fastest way into my doghouse : I heard a speaker years ago say , “ It ’ s not that diffi cult to achieve goals . Just always do what you said you would do , how you said you would do it , and when you said you would do it .” I tell my staff that I expect the same things out of them that they can expect out of me , and if we can just stick to that simple philosophy stated above then most of the time we will succeed .
MULTI-UNIT FRANCHISEE ISSUE I , 2017 35