Franchise Update Magazine Issue IV, 2013 | Page 10

Grow Market Lead

is a prerequisite for success of a CEO.
Self-motivation and self-discipline are
also required. And, of course, passion
is important. Passion is demonstrated
in the enthusiasm and excitement you
have about your business, your brand,
and your organization. You can’t start
a fire in your organization unless there
is one burning inside you.

exceeding your company’s plans. It’s
defined as winning in the marketplace. It’s defined as becoming the
preeminent brand. I wake up every
morning wanting to win.

ees notes: I often send employees notes

PERSONAL

BOTTOM LINE

What time do you like to be at your
desk? I believe in leading by example.

What are your long-term goals for
the company? To triple system-wide

MANAGEMENT

I choose to be at my desk before our
opening hours of 8 a.m. and I am often the last one out the door at night.

sales, double the number of locations,
and maintain our high franchise partner satisfaction.

Exercise in the morning? Wine with
lunch? Since I’m not a morning person

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

the helm as CEO in January 2009.
While the economy I encountered has
not changed my goals for the company,
it did delay achieving them a bit.

What does your management team
look like? My senior management team

and I want to be at my desk before we
open for business at 8 a.m., I exercise
at the end of the day. And, there’s no
wine at lunch for me. If there were,
you would find me asleep at my desk
in the afternoon!

is made up of knowledgeable, confident,
passionate, driven leaders committed to
the FastSigns brand.

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

How does your management team
help you lead? My management team

it may be a shortcoming, I don’t spend
a lot of time socializing with my team
outside of work.

level economics and extremely high
level of franchise partner success, we
are one of 30 select brands that are part
of Franchise America Finance’s SBA
loan program. We have $5 million in
financing reserved for approved FastSigns franchise partners.

Describe your management style.

Setting the vision, setting objectives,
involving the team in the development
of the tactics to achieve the objectives,
and allowing the outstanding people on
my team to implement those tactics to
achieve the set objectives.

is made up of high-caliber people,
knowledgeable in their area of the
business, and whose advice and counsel
I respect and welcome. They are willing and able to disagree with me and
give me a different perspective. As an
executive team, we meet regularly to
review the business, focused on excellence in operations and execution. In
addition to helping in decision making, they also lead and motivate their
teams effectively.

Last two books read: I am currently

reading Traction: Get a Grip on Your
Business by Gino Wickman. Next on my
list is Sheryl Sandberg’s book Lean In.
What technology do you take on the
road? I always take my laptop, iPad, and

iPhone. At night, in my hotel room, I
prefer my laptop over my iPad for ease
in responding to emails. During the
day, I use my iPad to stay connected.

Favorite management gurus: Do you
read management books? I read a lot.

How do you relax/balance life and
work? I am not an example of work/life

Some of my all-time favorites include:
Good to Great by Jim Collins; The 21
Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John
Maxwell; Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing; On
Becoming a Leader by Warren Bennis;
Wooden on Leadership by John Wooden;
and Leadership by Rudy Giuliani.

balance. Most people would consider
me a workaholic. I love w