Franchise Update Magazine Issue II, 2013 | Page 14
Grow Market Lead
as more and more consumers search
for healthier alternatives, we plan to
be there in more and more locations
and markets.”
powerful tool we have to influence behavior is leading through our own example.
LEADERSHIP
best preparation for leadership includes
both. While I don’t have an MBA (I do
have an MA in Latin American history),
the university setting requires you to
hone your critical thinking skills, work
in groups, and learn how to articulate
your ideas both verbally and in writing.
These skills create the framework for
evaluation that you can use every day.
Nevertheless, there is absolutely no
substitute for OTJ. Our greatest learning comes from doing and by making
mistakes, taking responsibility for our
actions and moving forward. Until you
are in a position where you must live
through the consequences of your decisions it is just theoretical.
What is your role as CEO? To provide
the vision for our company, to lay down
the foundation of our culture, to motivate our staff to reach their greatest
potential in performance, and to allocate resources to achieve our preferred
outcomes.
Describe your leadership style. I ap-
proach every relationship believing that
most of us are trying to do the best we
can. I seek and expect the very best in
people. I believe we rise to the expectations put upon us.
What has inspired your leadership
style? I am fortunate to have had a
number of mentors who profoundly
influenced my leadership style. I start
with my father, who was a successful
businessman willing to take great risks.
He understood that half the battle in
life is to show up and fight for what
you think is right. Personal integrity
was his motivating value. He taught
me to seek out like-minded people with
shared values so that together we can
build something of significance.
What is your biggest leadership challenge? To translate the vision. What may
be so clear to me becomes increasingly
diffused as it is interpreted through
the layers of management. It is easier
to influence on a one-to-one basis. As
the organization grows it becomes more
about what you accomplish through
others rather than any one thing that
you are doing yourself.
How do you transmit your culture from
your office to front-line employees?
It starts with clear communication. The
foundation of our corporate culture is
a clearly articulated and rigorously applied statement of our company’s mission, vision, and values. This statement
is reviewed annually at company-wide
meetings. Ultimately, I think the most
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Where is the best place to prepare for
leadership: an MBA school or OTJ? The
Are tough decisions best taken by
one person? How do you make tough
decisions? Good decisions are based
upon reliable and accurate information. I have always tried to surround
myself with people who can give me
good counsel and, importantly, listen
carefully to what they have to say. What
makes a decision “tough” is when there
is conflicting information and/or uncertainty about the consequences. Nobody can predict the future perfectly.
To make those tough decisions, after I
have gathered the relevant information,
I then rely on my own base of experience and trust my intuition.
Do you want to be liked or respected?
I would hope that being liked and being
respected are not mutually exclusive.
However, in leadership roles there are
times when you must make decisions
that are not universally popular and
won’t make everyone happy. If a desire
to be liked becomes the primary driver
of your decision-making, then you set
yourself up for disappointment and,
ultimately, failure. Far better to be respected for the integrity of your decisions than worrying about how many
people like you.
Advice to CEO wannabes: Virtually
every moment of our lives is an opportunity to influence others. You don’t wait
until you have a certain title before you
can be a leader. Focus on doing the right
thing. Find your own style and voice. It
is your authenticity that gives people a
reason to follow.
MANAGEMENT
Describe your management style: I
prefer an inclusive and engaged management style based upon an opendoor approach and a foundation of
clear communication. I want my staff
to feel comfortable to come to me with
any issue that is important to them. My
responsibility is to make sure that they
have everything they need to perform
at their highest level, and expect them
to do so.
What does your management team
look like? It is a group of extremely
talented, high-performers who work
collaboratively. They support each
other. They share challenges and stay
focused on creating solutions.
How does your management team
help you lead? First of all, we hold
each other to the same high standards
of integrity and competence. I work
hard to make sure that the team understands and shares the vision, and
empower them to execute. They help
by ensuring that we all have the information required to make correct
decisions. Nobody has all the answers,
but we have a better chance of making
the right decisions by tapping into the
collective wisdom of the team. I seek
to surround myself with leaders who
profoundly understand their own disciplines and have the capacity to hear
alternative approaches.
Favorite management gurus: Do you
read management books? I have a
passion for reading with interests quite
eclectic. I probably have a dozen halfread books around me at any given time,
ranging from management books to biographies and literature. I have found
anything written by Malcolm Gladwell
worth reading.