more than I should be. It’s the handson in me, I guess.
LEADERSHIP
How do you transmit your culture from
your office to front-line employees?
What is your role as CEO? Having
Our/my message is consistent throughout our system: Never be satisfied, franchisees are our lifeline.
developed my career path from highly
regulated industries, I am a micromanager. I spend lots of time with my
corporate team supporting their development. I also spend ample time
with our franchise system, helping our
franchisees build their business. I get it:
support my chosen management team
and our franchisees as the vision of the
brand unfolds.
Describe your leadership style. “Never
be satisfied.” This means I instill a philosophy with my team that every day
offers new challenges, and every day we
can get better at what we did yesterday.
What has inspired your leadership
style? I was born to immigrant parents
who arrived in the USA at age 12, and I
lived the dream of watching my parents
build a business without an education
and funding. I was able to watch them
better their business day after day.
What is your biggest leadership challenge? I allow my team and support
staff room to function, to do their duties and develop their departments/
divisions. I find myself in their space
Where is the best place to prepare
for leadership: an MBA school or
OTJ? A formal education is a good way
to start. But I will yield, in my experience, and take OTJ experience over an
MBA degree all day long. The ability
to deliver results is faster with OTJ experience hires.
Are tough decisions best taken by
one person? How do you make tough
decisions? I feel the CEO should have
debated all the necessary facts and issues with any tough decision and react accordingly. In our world at East
Coast Wings & Grill, when it comes to
franchisee changes, I like for there to
be a voice from our franchisees. Many
times if an issue affects the franchisee,
especially their EBITDA, we will call
a Franchise Advisory Council meeting
for further discussion.
your vision is attainable with the correct management team hires. Develop
trust, transparent and clear communication among your team and franchise
system. Ultimately, you are as good as
your system’s delivery of results.
MANAGEMENT
Grow Market Lead
servatively growing brand that has 23
units open, 11 more under construction,
and more than 90 sold. His strategy
boils down to one successful unit at a
time, and he says his franchisees are
leading the sector with an average 19
percent EBITDA. He’s so dedicated
to seeing his franchisees succeed that
he recently created a new position: director of unit-level economics. It’s an
innovative move that demonstrates his
dedication to assisting his franchisees
in reaching their maximum potential.
“It’s really a game-changer and, I like
to say, an epiphany for CEOs who realize you should really be investing in
the thing you say is the most important
part—the franchisee.”
“I invested in the
brand in 1999
and bought out
the concept in
2001. In 2002
we rebranded,
and in 2003 we
sold our first
franchise,
which opened
in 2004.”
Describe your management style: I
view myself as the coach of the team,
empowering my assistant coaches (management team) with calling the plays
from the brand’s playbook. As my team
performs, I spend time balancing the need
for directing the team and supporting
their ideas… ultimately enhancing their
development and the brand’s ability to
serve our franchisees.
What does your management team
look like? I picked terrific people. As
the brand began to grow, I looked for
people who enhanced my ability to deliver the vision for East Coast Wings &
Grill. They are extremely efficient, loyal,
and understand what we do.
How does your management team
help you lead? The team understands
the basis of our existence. It makes it
easier in holding accountability and
they in turn accept the liability of performance.
Favorite management gurus: Do you
read management books? I read quite
a bit. I prefer business-style autobiographies, like Winning from Jack Welsh, and
I enjoy authors like Patrick Lencioni.
What makes you say, “Yes, now that’s
why I do what I do!”? Every time a fran-
chisee reports their P&Ls and they are
in line with the brand’s metrics. I am a
CEO of a franchise model. Seeing the
model perform is our validation and
inspiration to grow.
Do you want to be liked or respected?
Respected.
PERSONAL
Advice to CEO wannabes: Assure
What time do you like to be at your
Franchiseupdate I ssue I , 2013
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