Franchise Update Magazine Issue III, 2012 | Page 10

Grow Market Lead

decision has been made, they are very
supportive of me and of each other. This
allows us to speak with a single voice.
What also helps me as a leader is that
they have the guts to challenge me and
tell me when I’m off base or even dead
wrong. It’s nice to work with people
like that. The last thing you want is
a bunch of people in a room who are
supposed to be addressing issues but
are actually there to hear how smart
they sound.
Favorite management gurus? Do you
read management books? I actually

learn more by interacting with peers
one-on-one than by reading a book.

We purposely create fun things to do
together to encourage the kind of environment we’re striving for. The bigger
we get, the harder it is to do that. (Front
Burner currently employs around 600.)
Last two books read: I’ve been look-

ing at National Geographic’s Hiking in
Western North Carolina, and I also just
finished I Wanted Wings: A Tail Gunner’s
Story by Gary Hill, and Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken, which is a fabulous
book.
What technology do you take on the
road? Smartphone, tablet, and often

a laptop.

What makes you say, “Yes, now that’s
why I do what I do!” One time I say that

How do you relax/balance life and
work? I’m still working on that. I relax

is when I see a franchisee succeed—in
particular one who started as a team
member in the heart of the house, or
serving guests in the dining room, and
grew through the organization to get
where they are. Maybe that speaks to
me more because that’s how I did it. The
second thing is seeing how loyal and engaged and passionate our Melting Pot
guests are. When I read the emails and
letters from guests, I scratch my head
and say, “How can we be this fortunate
to have guests so engaged that they’ll
sit down and type out a full-page letter about how much they enjoyed their
dining experience?”

by biking and hiking and spending time
with my family. I’ve been married 27
years and have two kids I’m really close
with. I have a large extended family—
five other siblings and a mom who just
turned 90—so I try to spend as much
time with them as I can.

PERSONAL
What time do you like to be at your
desk? I like to spend as little time as

possible at my desk. I would rather be
at the small round table near my desk
with a couple of team members working on the issues of the day.
Exercise in the morning? Wine with
lunch? I do lots of cycling: stationary

bike during the week and mountain
biking on the weekend. No wine at a
work lunch for me.

Favorite vacation destinations: The
Abacos in the Bahamas and then western North Carolina.
Favorite occasions to send employees notes: I’m not a big birthday c ard

person—that doesn’t seem very special
to me since everybody would get one. I
try to look for positive occasions to send
a note or call and tell an employee what
I saw and how it hit me.

love any food or beverage that we prepare in our restaurants. But I would also
say I am really proud of our franchise
development process. We are careful
not to refer to it as franchise sales, because that doesn’t aptly describe what
we do. The biggest thing we’re doing is
just purveying information so the two
parties—the candidate and the franchisor—can make good business decisions.
BOTTOM LINE

that as a company. We have family and
belonging events throughout the year.

What are your long-term goals for
the company? We’re in growth mode

Franchiseupdate Iss u e III, 2 0 1 2

How has the economy changed
your goals for your company? I

don’t think the economy has changed
our goals. Our growth has slowed and
sales have had some negative impact,
but we didn’t retreat into a shrinking
mode for viewing opportunities for the
organization. In contrast, we allowed
some of the challenges tough economic
conditions created to cause us to look
at things differently. An example is
our increase in international growth
for The Melting Pot. We started in
Canada and are also developing in
Mexico, in the Middle East, and Indonesia. We also are looking at new
concepts, like Burger 21, which will
provide vehicles for excellent growth
opportunities for us and for our franchisees as well.
Where can capital be found these
days? It’s available. We are starting to

see more opportunities with regional
lenders and local banks than in the
past. That has not been one of the first
places we’d refer a new franchisee to,
but now we do.
How do you measure success? I

would say you’re successful if you get
what you go after and build people up
along the way.

Favorite company product/service: I

Do you socialize with your team after work/outside the office? We do

8

and are growing carefully in a thoughtful and strategic manner, and in a way
that always allows us the opportunity
to execute with excellence and to respect the role of franchisees in our
future success.

What has been your greatest success?

There have been many successes, but
my latest, greatest has been my success
in putting together an executive leadership team responsible for day-to-day
successes.
Any regrets? Wish I was a little taller
(laughs). Seriously, I see no value to regretting things.
What can we expect from your
company in the next 12 to 18
months? Steady and careful con-

tinued growth. n