Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue III, 2014 | Page 69

John Maxwell’s keynote
2013 Chair Sean Falk (left)
with 2014 Chair Hashim

agement. “This will be a great week,” he
said, and the day started off with a bang:
legendary leadership guru John Maxwell.
Keynote: Maxwell on leadership

Maxwell is an internationally recognized
leadership expert, speaker, and author who
has sold more than 13 million books. (Yes,
that’s 13 million!) He has trained leaders
worldwide, and each year speaks to Fortune
500 companies, international government
leaders, and other prominent organizations.
Three of his books, The 21 Irrefutable Laws
of Leadership, Developing the Leader Within
You, and The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a
Leader each have sold more than 1 million copies.
Maxwell grabbed the audience’s attention from the moment he strode onto the
stage. His booming voice and uncanny,
homespun insights appeal to leaders at
any level. After a few warm-up tales, he
asked “Are leaders born?” His answer?
“Of course they are. I’m here to tell you
leadership can be taught,” and dove into
what he calls The 5 Levels of Leadership.
At the first level, he said, “People follow
because they have to,” owing to a person’s
position in the organization. At level two,
“People follow leaders because they want to,”
granting them permission to lead because
they like them. At level three, “People follow leaders because they’ve seen what they
have done for the organization.” At level
four, “People follow because of what you
have done for them.” Level five, he said,
is the pinnacle: “People follow because of
who you are and what you represent,” and is
given to you by the people in the company.
His presentation was dotted with pithy

and humorous quips such as: “Culture eats
vision for lunch.”; “We attract who we are
and not who we want.”; “If you’re at the
top all alone, you’re not a leader—you’re
a hiker.”; and “Leaders never cross the finish line first.”
Maxwell’s presentation, which drew a
standing ovation, was followed by a general session on attracting, recruiting, and
retaining great employees. Dunkin’ Donuts
franchisee Rob Branca posed questions to
a panel that included three large multi-unit
operators: Roland Spongberg, Charles
Smithgall, and Mike Kulp, who discussed
how they identify, recruit, and hire people,
promote from within, compensate managers and front-line employees, and retain
the best over time.

Learning for lunch

After a morning filled with both inspiration and practical, real-world advice, franchisees and franchisors attended separate
luncheons. Franchisees munched through a
lively discussion on outsourcing facilitated
by Conference Chair Hashim. Three veteran multi-unit operators—Frank Bonanno
(Fifth Avenue Restaurant Group), Dan
Burrell (Jersey Mike’s area developer),
and David Ostrowe (O&M Restaurant
Group)—held forth on the pros and cons
of outsourcing: when to do it, where to do
it, what to look for in a vendor partner, the
role of technology, and what to do when a
vendor doesn’t work out.
Franchisors were treated to a panel led
by Marc Kiekenapp of Kiekenapp & As-

Jose Canseco (right) signs autographs

MULTI-UNIT FRANCHISEE IS S U E III, 2014



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