The Founder Success Formula by Ross Franklin - HTML preview

Chapter 3: 15 Leadership Tools to

Transform Your Company

Now that we’ve covered the key points for influencing yourself and others, let’s get down to some grassroots strategies that you can use to drive results. Success is created by your ability to execute and take massive action toward your goal. The following strategies are part of my personal leadership toolkit, and I invite you to use what you feel will work for you and your company. I encourage you to adopt the template and framework from these strategies and see how you can apply and integrate them into your own company. Test them out and see what works for you.

3.1.1. The Power of the Handwritten Card

Way back in my days working at Equinox, shortly after meeting Mark Wood, I remember checking my mailbox and finding a beautiful envelope with my name on it and a golden seal. Inside the envelope, there was a hard stock piece of stationary with the name Mark Wood embossed at the top. The envelope contained a handwritten note from Mark on what a pleasure it was meeting me. This letter left a lasting impression and made a bold statement that he had taken the time to write it. It was clear that this was a guy who cared and was thoughtful enough to take the time to craft a personalized note.

The handwritten card is a powerful tool that people remember. I’ve adopted the use of the personalized card and typically use it when I first meet someone and to acknowledge performance from leaders in my company. I will sometimes add a crisp $100 bill to the note when acknowledging a leader’s performance. When leaders who report to me hit large milestones, I leave them a handwritten card with a $100 bill in it. This helps my team members feel appreciated and makes a lasting impression.

3.1.2. Lightning Strikes

All too often, owners and managers are focused on catching people doing something wrong. Imagine how the dynamic would shift if leaders were always looking for people doing things right. One technique that we encourage franchisees at Pure Green to execute is called a Lightning Strike. If you see a team member creating a memorable experience for a guest, pull them aside and, on the spot, hand them a $50 bill. We call this a Lightning Strike, and it creates an environment where team members are incentivized to provide legendary experiences to guests. This Pavlovian-derived reward of good behavior will encourage more good behavior. Use the Lightning Strike incentive to reward the type of good behavior that you are looking for in your organization.

3.1.3. The Mission & Values

A company’s clearly defined mission and values are the foundation for company culture. When starting a company, one of the first things to address is creating the company’s mission and values.

Step number one for creating the company mission and values is to engage the entire team so everyone feels like they are part of the process. By including your team in the creation of the company mission and values, you build a sense of inclusion and help team members to embrace the mission and values on a deeper level. At Pure Green, we reference the mission at every team meeting to ensure that all our actions are in alignment with our mission.

Here are the mission and values of Pure Green:

Our Mission:

Our mission at Pure Green is to build healthier communities around the globe by connecting people with superfoods.

Define:

• Optimal living: Pure Green is aligned with principles that support

true, vibrant health, vitality, and well-being.

• Peak nutrition in the quick-serve market segment; provided

through world-class, high-quality, nutritionally dense, fresh, clean,

cold pressed juices and hand-crafted smoothies and acai bowls

Educate:

• Elevate the general public's knowledge by teaching skill sets

associated with healthy, vibrant living.

Build:

• An extended community of wellness

Committed To:

• Leading the food and beverage, natural health, and wellness

industries

• Positively impacting consumers’ health and wellness by offering

them easy access to affordable, fresh, live products in a casual,

quick-service environment

• Building a forward-thinking, world-class organization

Conduct:

• Business in a manner that nurtures all beings and the planet

Social Responsibility:

• We make consistent and meaningful contributions to our

community.

What We Value

• Powerful return on investment: consistent excellence in financial

performance

• People: we are warm and caring to all

• Creating the possibility: we dream big

• Excellence in food and beverage

• One team: we have a unified focus and together everyone

achieves more

• Positive energy with positive attitudes

• Authenticity: we believe at a core level in what we create, produce

and serve

• Guest and team-driven: we service both equally and we treat

everyone with dignity and respect

• Hospitality: warm, engaging and personalized guest service where

very guest feels cared for

• Education and training: excellence in building strong effective

teams and players where we build people up

• Continuous improvement where we never accept the status-quo

• Leadership: passionate, competent, supportive players and role

models

• Anticipating the future: organize, strategize, focus and act with

passion

• Accountability: all of us, all of our actions, all of the time

• Integrity: say what you mean, mean what you say. Promises made

are promises kept

• Communication: keeping everyone informed is critical to progress

• Pro-active attitudes: we create our success

• Having fun: we enjoy what we do everyday

3.1.4. Make Love to the Numbers

My partner in Pure Green, Isaac Cohen, has had a career with over 50 mergers and acquisitions and currently owns over seven companies. Isaac instills in the leaders of all his companies the importance of knowing your numbers and uses the expression “make love to your numbers.” Isaac says with a smirk that entrepreneurs should make love to their numbers more than their lovers.

At Pure Green, we teach our General Managers and our Franchisees to know their numbers cold. In addition to knowing the P&L (profit and loss) statements cold, our leaders at Pure Green should be able to project how the current month will finish in revenue, be able to compare the current month to historic months and be well versed in their product mix report, which shows the top-selling products.

When I ask an entrepreneur what their revenue and profit is and they studder or provide a rough estimate, it is quite clear that they are not making love to their numbers, and this is a red flag. Leaders should be reviewing their numbers on a daily basis and should have clearly defined financial targets.

3.1.5. Company Culture

Warm, friendly, and engaging hospitality is the key to building world-class culture. At Pure Green, the people that come through the doors are not called customers. We refer to them as guests. The goal is to treat every guest in a Pure Green store like you would treat a guest in your home. The word “customer” has more of a transactional feel whereas the term “guest” is more welcoming and aligned with our culture.

To ensure that every guest who walks through the door at Pure Green feels welcomed, we have simple standards called the 10-Foot Rule and the 5-Foot Rule. When a guest comes within 10 feet of a team member, the team member is to make eye contact with the guest and smile. When a guest comes within five feet of a team member, the team member is to smile and wish the guest the appropriate greeting of the day.

In addition to the 10- and 5-Foot Rules, we train our team to use and avoid certain vocabulary. Our goal is to create a world-class experience for every guest. It is in this respect that we provide a list of the vocabulary that we encourage our team to use and not use:

VOCABULARY WE DON’T USE

• Negative gossip about guests or coworkers • “I don’t know.”

• “No” or “You can’t”

• “I don’t like that menu item.”

VOCABULARY WE DO USE

• “Certainly”

• “It’s my pleasure.”

• “Absolutely”

• “Please allow me to find out for you.”

The focus when interacting with guests is always on keeping vocabulary positive and upbeat.

3.1.6. The Coaching Session

Everything about an organization reflects who is in charge. It is the leader’s responsibility to demonstrate all company standards, and it is the leader’s responsibility to ensure that company standards are upheld.

We developed a process called The Coaching Session to coach team members in a positive manner whenever a standard is broken. We simplified and standardized The Coaching Session to ensure the process is duplicatable throughout all our Pure Green locations.

Make no mistake, The Coaching Session is not a replacement for reprimanding a team member. If a team member comes in late, misses a shift or engages in a severe violation, we have a disciplinary process that comes into play. A Coaching Session would take place if a team member were distracted and failed to greet a guest in accordance with our 10- or 5-Foot Rule standards.

Whenever a standard is broken, the manager must perform a Coaching Session. Here is breakdown of The Coaching Session:

Step 1: Wait for the right time.

If the store is busy, all attention must be kept on the guest experience. The manager must wait to perform the Coaching Session until there are no guests left in the store. It is important that the Coaching Session happen as soon as possible after the standard has been broken.

Step 2: Properly sit down with the team member.

Trying to coach a team member behind the line is not as effective as a proper sit-down. Ask the team member that broke the standard, “Hey, do you have a minute?” Then have the team member follow you to a table or bench and sit down with them. This sends an unspoken message to the team member that this must be an important conversation because their boss wants to talk to them.

Step 3: Genuinely compliment the team member to lower defenses.

At this point, the team member’s guard is likely up. To help to build rapport, give the team member a genuine compliment. Tell them what they are doing well. It is important that the compliment be sincere and from the heart, something that you really mean.

Step 4: Tell them where they need to improve.

After you compliment the team member, address the standard that has been broken. Be straightforward and direct.

Step 5: End the Coaching Session on a good note.

Explain your expectation moving forward as well as the importance of the standard that was broken then end the Coaching Session.

Coaching Sessions are two-minute, one-way conversations that help to ensure the team is focused on maintaining the standards of the company. General Managers should be having Coaching Sessions with team members whenever a standard is broken.

3.1.7. Continuing Education

One of our core values at Pure Green is continuous improvement. We are big believers in the importance of personal development. Below is our base personal development curriculum:

• The 7-Habits of Highly Successful People by Stephen Covey –