Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue I, 2015 | Page 35

RECONNECT
PERSONAL
First job: Jack in the Box, working as a production employee cleaning floors,
restrooms, etc.
Formative influences/events: Biggest influences have been my family. I
have received a great deal of support and tough love from my parents and brother. I have been inspired and motivated to succeed by them and many other family
members who have gone into the franchised restaurant business and achieved the
American Dream.
Key accomplishments: Learning work ethic and the value of money at an
early age. It continues to serve me well and keep me grounded. Failing early and
not getting mentally and emotionally paralyzed because of it. We learn the most
from our failures.
Biggest mistake: No mistakes, just decisions, of which some have consequences. Each has been a great learning experience and has made me a better
person and leader.
Smartest mistake: Going to work for my family. No better education, and I
have the opportunity to spend time with my family.
Decision I wish I could do over: None. Each decision has led me to where I
am, and I feel blessed and lucky to have such a life.
Work week: Five days in the office, stores, or traveling. Work from home a
half-day on weekends. Typical 60-hour work week.
How do you spend a typical day? No day is typical. Varies every day.
Favorite fun activity: Sports, reading.

Exercise: Been on my to-do list for 10 years. Hope to start soon.
Favorite tech toy: Smartphone. It has so many things built in so I do not have
to carry too many things with me any more (camera, phone, music player, etc.).
What are you reading? Be Our Guest: Perfecting the Art of Customer Service
by the Disney Institute.
Do you have a favorite quote? “Be the change that you wish to see in the
world” by Mahatma Gandhi.
Best advice you ever got: Life is too short to work with a@#holes.
What gets you out of bed in the morning? The prospect of having an
impact on people’s lives and making something better than it was the day before.
What’s your passion in business? To improve as many lives as possible
through the creation of opportunity and delivery of great service. There is a lack of
this in the world today.
How do you balance life and work? There is no such thing as balance
for an entrepreneur. There is only engagement. I try to be present and engaged in
whatever I am doing and whoever I am with, whether that is work or family.
Last vacation: London—an interesting view into what urban U.S. will eventually turn into.
Person I’d most like to have lunch with: Milton Hershey. He failed
four times (bankruptcy) before starting The Hershey Company. He had focus and
perseverance.

MANAGEMENT
Business philosophy: Make things better, every day.
Management method or style: Build strong teams of people smarter than I
am in their specific area. Develop an aligned strategy. Let them do their jobs. They
tend to hold each other accountable.
Greatest challenge: Time management.
How do others describe you? Patient, calm, focused, driven.
One thing I’m looking to do better: Time management.
How I give my team room to innovate and experiment: Set the
goals, encourage them to find the way, do the research, etc. I encourage them to
continue their education, whether it is formal, conferences, webinars, certification,
etc.
How close are you to operations? I was not as involved as I wanted to
be until I sold the Applebee’s business last year. I now have time to get much
more involved, but I am careful not to undermine the efforts and accountability of
our operations teams.
What are the two most important things you reply on from your
franchisor? Leadership/brand strategy and innovation (how to innovate the
business to make the franchisees as profitable as possible).
What I need from vendors: Honesty, integrity, and a focus on my profitability.

Have you changed your marketing strategy in response to the
economy? No, but we continue to test and evaluate different marketing strategies for effectiveness and adjust accordingly to get the best results.
How is social media affecting your business? It has an effect on every
business. You need to monitor it so that you have a sense of consumer perception
(perception is their reality). You cannot authentically “manage” social media. You
just have to do the best you can with QSCF&V and social media will take care of
itself.
How do you hire and fire? No change. I still hire slow (lots of diligence and
interviews/testing to make sure the candidate fits the culture and position). I still
fire fast to remove any negative impact to our company and our culture.
How do you train and retain? We continue to focus on a disciplined training culture of one-on-one as well as documented practices, processes, procedures,
and systems that can be tested against. We also have a very heavy dos R