2016 MULTI-UNIT FRANCHISING CONFERENCE comed what she called a “ stellar group ” of multi-unit franchisees and panelists . She noted that this was the first time the conference had attendees from every state ; that there was an uptick in the number of franchisees in their 20s ; and that 75 percent of franchisees said they were looking for new brands .
Michael Kulp , chair of this year ’ s conference and a multi-brand franchisee with more than 350 units , added his welcome message to the roomful of franchisees , thanking the golfers for their charitable contributions the day before and setting the tone for the coming days . Kulp said this conference differentiates itself by being “ truly the only conference in the industry geared toward learning ” versus those geared toward the deal and the sale . ( Still , plenty of deal-making takes place during and soon after the conference .)
“ I think it ’ s the best time ever to be a franchisee ,” he said , as he challenged franchisees with a flurry of questions to continually strive to do better , such as : Do you have the systems , tools , processes , and strategies in place to expand , raise profitability , provide opportunities for employees , and participate more effectively in local communities ? This conference , he said , was a great way to ensure that they would .
Therese Thilgen , CEO , Franchise Update
( L-R ) Michael Kulp , Carin Stutz , Aziz Hashim , Jim Collins
Jim Collins ! World-renowned leadership guru and best-selling author Jim Collins started the day on a high note as the conference ’ s first speaker . He was introduced by Cheryl Fletcher of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen , which sponsored his keynote address . Returning for a second time as a keynoter , Collins adapted 12 questions from his Good to Great project to help attendees unravel some of the secrets of business success . ( The 12 questions can be found in a PDF on his website .)
He began by saying , “ We don ’ t study success . We study the contrast between those who went from good to great and those who didn ’ t ; between those who were able to scale and those who didn ’ t .” Like any good teacher , he wove thoughtprovoking questions into his examples of
Jim Collins , keynote speaker
Gary Gardner , Franchise Update chairman
what makes businesses succeed or fail , such as “ What are you doing to scale yourself ?” He also discussed five levels of leadership , dismissing the notion of a “ natural born leader ” in the process : “ The vast majority of great leaders grew into it ,” he said . The single most important leadership skill to master , he said , is the ability to make superb people decisions and have 90 percent of your company ’ s key seats filled with the right people . “ You build a great company by building great people . There is no other way ,” he told the crowd .
Collins also discussed ROL : return on luck in business , using Steve Jobs as example of “ who ” luck . Three years after Jobs was fired by Apple , and with his new company ( NeXT ) floundering and Pixar not yet in the picture , Jobs was “ in the wilderness ,” said Collins , which he said is “ a good time to meet a great person .” So Collins , who was teaching at Stanford , called Jobs and asked if he ’ d join him in the classroom . Jobs accepted . Soon afterward , came the luck : Apple was struggling and NeXT just happened to have the OS they needed to move forward and become
MULTI-UNIT FRANCHISEE ISSUE III , 2016 63