UNLEASHING YOUR TEAM
How A CEO Stopped Trying To Do Too Much And Unleashed His Team ’ s Power
Coconut water purveyor Temple Lifestyle grew revenue by 34 % in one year by having its executive team unburden a CEO stretched thin . When Temple Lifestyle , the Montreal-based company behind brands such as Thirsty Buddha coconut water , did an exercise with a business coach to determine who was really handling key functions at the business like operations , HR , and innovation , the experience quickly turned into a comedy .
As every member of the 14-person team filled out the boxes in a form that indicates who does what , one name kept popping up : Chris Magnone . Magnone , 34 , is the CEO Temple Lifestyle . He cofounded the company with sales director
Mark Cigos , 37 , in 2008 .
“ When the first couple of people started reading through their forms , it was kind of funny ,” recalls Sabrina Silvestri , marketing director at the Montreal firm . But by the time everyone read their forms , the coach glanced over at Magnone and said , “ He must be exhausted ,” recalls Silvestri , who happens to be Magnone ’ s wife . As the team continued , the coach finally asked Magnone , “ Do you have a clone ?”
That was in early 2015 . Today , Magnone has no need for a clone .
Meanwhile , the company , which distributes to chains such as 7-11 , HEB and Loblaws , has continued growing rapidly , expanding Buddha Brands
Co ., the parent of Thirsty Buddha , into coconut chips , as well . Temple Lifestyle grew to $ 5.5 million in revenue in 2015 , up from $ 4.1 million in 2014 and $ 2.5 million in 2013 and is profitable .
HOW THE FACE WORKS Temple Lifestyle , a brand developer and distributor in Montreal , completed the form as part of its work to implement the Scaling Up system for growing a business , a methodology it began using in November 2015 . The form , known as the Function Accountability Chart ( FACe ), is an important element of the system .
Jim Collins , author of Good to Great , has emphasized the importance of getting the right butts in the right seats at the top of the organization . After all , the bottleneck is always at the top of the
20 | SPRING 2017