Creating an Achievement Culture

Last week I had the opportunity to work with Joe Mathews, Franchise Performance Group and a leading franchise system. One of the topics of the day was evaluating the current corporate culture and steps needed to create an “achievement culture”.

Joe says: “Whatever the culture is, whatever the organization values, will ultimately determine the overall behavior and therefore effectiveness of the organization. The culture of the organization can be best described by how the corporate executives and the franchisees answer the following questions”:

• Would franchisees say the value of the tools and support they receive is greater than or equal to the royalty dollars invested?
• Do franchisees, employees, and leadership of the franchisor trust each other and work towards crafting mutually profitable campaigns, offers, and solutions?
• Do franchisees feel they are heard AND understood?
• Does information routinely flow up and down the organization or just funnel down from the top?
• Would franchisees say they are informed about issues important to them?
• Would they say they feel like an integral part of a team or more like the low man/woman on the totem pole?

If you are a member of a franchise organization, how would you answer the questions above? Does your organization have an achievement culture that attracts and retains top franchisor executives, employees and franchisee talent?   If not, what would it take to move the organization to achievement?

The Dwyer Group out of Waco, TX is an excellent example of an achievement culture. They are not only an active member in the franchise industry but in my opinion one of the leaders. Dina Dwyer-Owens has served as the CEO and chairwoman of The Dwyer Group since 2007. She is past chair of the International Franchise Association (IFA) and recently appeared on Undercover Boss!

Like most organizations, The Dwyer Group has an official mission statement and vision. What stands out in The Dwyer Group is their  Code of Values. Employees and franchisees are encouraged to live by the values professionally and personally.

• Respect
• Integrity
• Customer Focus
• Having Fun in the Process!

Dina has published, Live R.I.C.H, where she shares how the company values are the roadmap to success of The Dwyer Group.  I highly recommend it.

Outside of the franchise industry is a company in Las Vegas Nevada that is well known for their service and their culture. That company is Zappos.  Tony Hsieh, CEO helped Zappos grow from very little to over $1 billion in gross merchandise sales annually. That’s very impressive but what is equally impressive is their ranking  as “Best Companies to Work For”.  Tony and the Zappos team live by their 10 core values, listed below.

1. Deliver WOW Through Service
2. Embrace and Drive Change
3. Create Fun and A Little Weirdness
4. Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded
5. Pursue Growth and Learning
6. Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication
7. Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit
8. Do More With Less
9. Be Passionate and Determined
10. Be Humble

To learn more about Zappos, read Delivering Happiness by CEO, Tony Hsieh and request their recent Culture Book via this link http://about.zappos.com/our-unique-culture/zappos-core-values

What other franchises or organizations do you believe has an Achievement Culture?

Do you need help building an Achievement Culture? If so, connect with me!

Nothing Bundt Cakes Comes To Houston

My Tuesday “In Real Life” networking took me to a new location for the franchise, Nothing Bundt Cakes. Owner Josh Green was a pleasure to meet and shared his franchising story of how he and his parents moved from Dallas to open the Houston location. It was a “sweet” visit and I totally enjoyed their featured flavor: chocolate turtle!

Nothing Bundt Cakes was founded by two friends, Dena Tripp and Debbie Schwetz in 1997 in Las Vegas. Watch this great interview of Debbie and Dena (in 2008) where they share their passion and how their franchise began!

Dena and Debbie are extremely involved with IFA (International Franchise Association) and  it is  always  rewarding to work with them on committees. They share their delicious bundt cakes but more importantly they share their excitement and passion for franchising and business!

During the February IFA (International Franchise Association) convention Debbie told me that Nothing Bundt Cakes opened a new location in Houston.  I couldn’t wait to visit and introduce myself to the new franchise owners. I asked friend and  franchise peer, Kathy Muller to take a drive with me so I could introduce her to the delicious cakes. Kathy is now a raving fan of the product!

My real life networking ended yesterday with a small gathering of franchise friends with the local chapter of  the Women Franchising Network at the Brix Wine Cellar in support of the organization “Dress for Success”. Our donations of professional attire will assist the local chapter to provide a foundation for a professional wardrobe.

I had the opportunity to get to know the new Computer Explorers President, Carol Hadley and network with Camille Hamilton, a local CM IT Solutions franchisees as well as network with existing franchise friends.

My calendar is marked each Tuesday to step away from the computer and network face-to-face! I have some fun trips and exciting people to meet. I am open to suggestions and introductions!

In Real Life Networking

Real life networking is far too easy to ignore since we live in an active virtual world.

One of my business objectives is to designate time to my calendar each Tuesday to spend time with those that I am connected to virtually. I have a list of franchise and business professionals that I am either connected to or want to meet.  My goal is to schedule appointments, lunch dates, meetings for coffee and actually network in real life!

Mary Kennedy Thompson

Mr. Rooter

I had the honor to meet with Mary Thompson, President, Mr. Rooter(R)  Corporation and Vice President of International Relations, The Dwyer Group(R). Mary and I see other annually at the IFA (International Franchise Association) convention but we never have the time to sit down and chat.

Mary’s bio via The Dwyer Group Website:

Mary became the president of Mr. Rooter® Corporation in 2006.

Mary served eight years in the U.S. Marine Corps as a logistics officer and achieved the rank of captain. She began franchising in 1994 when she opened a Cookies by Design® franchise. By 1997, she opened two additional locations. Mary was promoted to president in 2004. Mary led the company in market penetration and sales, earning awards for Top Performer, Outstanding Customer Service and Masters Award. At the end of her first year as president of Mr. Rooter Corporation, U.S. Business Review selected Mary as one of its 2007 Editor’s Choice Executives of the Year. She is also vice chairman of the International Franchise Association’s (IFA) VetFran Committee and has earned her certified franchise executive designation from the IFA Educational Foundation.

Mr. Rooter is located in Waco, TX which is a three hour drive from my office. I couldn’t have picked a better day to drive to Waco. It is Texas bluebonnet season and with  temperatures in the low 80s made it a perfect day for a scenic and very comfortable  convertible road trip!

Mary gave me a full tour of the Dwyer Group facility, introduced me to co-workers and shared the wonderful history of the company. Dwyer Group is well known for the corporate culture, code of values and family atmosphere. As a visitor I felt right at home in a very caring and warm environment.

Mr. Rooter Wall of Fame

It is evident that Mary is very passionate and proud of the  Mr. Rooter system. One entire wall is dedicated to a “Wall of Fame.”  Proudly displayed are the names of annual award winners in the system: Franchisee of the Year, Women of the Year, Rookie of the Year and Sales Leaders!  Another wall is the Mr. Rooter logo and I couldn’t resist asking Mary to take my picture!

ehAnderson, PR

My afternoon was spent with the wonderful team at e.h. Anderson, Public Relations also located in Waco.

Before the annual IFA convention I received a beautifully wrapped package in the mail from Bage and Liz Anderson. Inside was a invitation to visit their booth at the convention to participate in a video interview with Nancy Weingarter, editor Franchise Times. I thought it was brilliant marketing and enthusiastically accepted the invitation! Their videos of leading franchise professionals can be found: http://www.ehandersonpr.com/insights-ifa2012

Bage and Liz bring very different expertise to their agency which was founded in 2002.

Liz is a writing professional and expert at pitching the media. “In 1999, when Liz  was working at a PR firm in Dallas servicing technology clients who expected more than their PR Newswire press release getting picked up and posted by Yahoo! Finance, she found her niche — media pitching. CNET was one of her first big wins.  Unlike her colleagues, she was able to get a reporter on the phone, pitch the client — Rackspace Managed Hosting — and set a face-to-face meeting with the reporter and Rackspace CEO Graham Weston.”

Bage has “years of media experience, his knowledge and news instincts make him a one-of-a-kind PR practitioner. In local television newsrooms across Texas and Georgia and CNN, he shot, edited and produced many of the major news stories during the 1980’s and 1990’s.  If you watched the Davidian compound burn on CNN that windy April day, you watched through the eyes of his camera.”

Deb with Bage and Liz Anderson

I enjoyed getting to know Bage and Liz on a personal level and sharing tips on PR and social media.  We have continued our sharing via email, tweets and Facebook!

If each Tuesday is filled with the excitement and learning  that this Tuesday had, it will be my favorite day of the week!

What is your “in real life networking” strategy?

3 Tips For Successful Business Launch

Three weeks into my launch of Deb Evans Consulting, LLC! Memories of launching my first franchise in 1996  come streaming back. The stress, hard work, roller coaster of emotions and daily challenges.

Launching a new business requires many things. As the weeks turn to months my priorities and strategy will change. For now, I have listed the top 3 things that keep me focused:

1. Take it slow:  Have a daily plan. I established a business plan,  with goals and objectives when I made the decision to launch my own business. When I walked into my new home office I quickly realized that I needed a daily plan of action.  My business coach suggested that I list 5 things I wanted to accomplish daily. Just 5. No more and no less. Prioritize the 5, then tackle. The list keeps me on track. There have been  days that I completed the list by lunch time and moved on to other tasks or rewarded myself with a personal break. It’s spring in Houston and now I have the luxury to dust off the bike and take a leisure ride. Don’t get me wrong. I exercise each morning by power walking but it has been a real treat to go for an afternoon ride. It’s very easy to hunker down and work from sunup to sundown. That was the corporate me. The new self-employed me wants to enjoy life at a slower pace.
2. Set realistic expectations: Rome was not built-in a day but I have set revenue goals and objectives that will provide the opportunity for me to take time off to visit friends in Europe later this year. Having realistic expectations and stretch goals give me something to work hard for. I have two major projects I am working on: Developing Peak Performing Franchisees project with Joe Mathews and FranCamp scheduled for May 4th. I came very close to adding a third yesterday and quickly realized that it would not fit into my current routine and would divert my attention from the objectives I established.
3. Accountability: No longer do I have a corporate team or franchisees to be accountable to. I meet with my business coach, David Handler every other week but I needed accountability partners.  They are Joe Mathews (Founder Franchise Performance Group), Jack Monson (VP, Engage 121) and Thomas Scott (CEO, Brand Journalists).  Joe and I are working closely together via video Skype using Google docs to complete our work on Developing Peak Performing Franchisees. We schedule 90 minute sessions and homework. We are dependent on each other to meet at the scheduled time and complete the work we were assigned. We have a deadline to reach and so far we are right on track to accomplish!
   

   Video Skype and Google Docs

   Jack, Thomas and I meet via conference calls or Google Hangout to discuss the details of FranCamp. Each of us has different responsibilities to assure FranCamp will be successful.

   So there you are. My top 3 tips for successful business launch. Time and dedication will determine the success.

   What are your tips? Do you have suggestions for me as I move forward?

Developing Peak Performing Franchisees Podcast

I am not sure Joe Mathews completely understood what he was getting into when he partnered with me! He was well aware of my social media passion but looked a bit surprised when I told him that we were scheduled for a podcast.

As I explained to Joe, it’s one thing to write about who we are and why we believe our work is important but if we share the information via a podcast we are putting a voice to the message. A podcast allows the audience to hear the inflection of the words. I love that podcasts can be downloaded to any mobile phone, tablet or other devices from anywhere in the world. It’s a great way to reach one-to-many!

So … listen to our broadcast on BlogTalkRadio explaining who we are, why we are so passionate about our book and new educational program.

Soon we will publish videos to share. Just don’t tell Joe!

BlogTalkRadio

Link to podcast

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/btrplayer.swf

Listen to
internet radio with Deb Evans Consulting on Blog Talk Radio

Developing Peak Performing Franchisees

I’m not one to let grass grow under my feet! When I set my goals and objectives, I work hard to accomplish them.

According to my DISC profile I am a high “D” and high “I”.  “Direct, results-oriented, strong-willed, outgoing, enthusiastic and optimistic”… no arguments there!

http://www.discprofile.com

Monday, March 5th started a new career path for me. Deb Evans Consulting, LLC will incorporate the skills I have developed in franchising and social media.

Authors Deb Evans and Joe Mathews

I spent my first week in business with Joe Mathews, Franchise Performance Group. We diligently worked on our new book “Developing Peak Performing Franchisees” and the companion training program.

Our book and program will enable franchisors to:

• Build peak performing franchisees.
• Maximize royalty collections.
• Drive franchisee productivity throughout the learning curve of their business, from start up through maturity.
• Achieve outstanding results by managing franchisees’ strengths and shortcomings.
• Anticipate and prevent franchisees’ performance breakdowns through appropriate interventions.
• Deliver effective training that imparts knowledge, build skills, and ramp franchisees up faster.
• Solve problems through results-oriented consulting techniques.
• Increase franchise sales by creating positive franchisee validation.
• Strengthen franchisee/franchisor relationships by creating a culture of success and achievement.

Join us on Wednesday, March 14th 9am CT on BlogTalkRadio to learn more about us, our book and our training program!

Cheers Computer Explorers!

Transition: movement, passage, or change from one position, state, stage, concept subject, etc., to another; change.

March 2nd marked my last official day with Computer Explorers and was spent with a transition team setting goals, priorities and strategies for 2012. As I was transitioning out we worked as a team with the incoming president Carol Hadley to transition her in.

Letting go of the emotional attachment to Computer Explorers and the team I have worked with over the years is not easy. I know I will always feel connected to the brand, the franchisees and the corporate team.  As I observed Carol and her participation I witnessed an excitement to learn more and dedication to growing the brand to its full potential.

The day was not intended to be team building but that certainly was the outcome. The transition team consisted of the immediate Computer Explorers corporate team, representation from the UK master license and one of Computer Explorers franchisee leaders, Helen Pinkerton. Everyone was committed to strategies to grow Computer Explorers but deeply committed to welcoming Carol.

Cheers Computer Explorers! I wish you and Carol all the best!

Lorri Wyndham, Deb Evans, Cyndee Perkins and Carol Hadley

What’s Next for DebCE?

Deb Evans, Karen Marshall (CE Founder) and Chuck Evans 1996

This week I’m transitioning from Deb, Computer Explorers to

Deb, Consulting Executive.

I started the week by sending new contact information to those I’ve worked with over the last several years. I quickly realized that providing new contact information without details about my future left some of my friends confused.

So what is next for DebCE?

FranCamp Planning – The first 2012 FranCamp will be held in Atlanta due to popular vote! Mark your calendar for Friday, May 4th to join us at the JW Marriott Buckhead. I am finalizing the speakers and currently looking for sponsors. My goal is to keep the registration fee as low as possible!

If you want to learn the real recipes that work in  social media in the franchise industry, from the most advanced franchisors, franchisees, consultants and experts in the field, this is a one-day conference you can’t afford to miss.

You won’t get sales pitches. You’ll walk away with a very sophisticated level of understanding about ALL of the pieces of a successful social media strategy.

Sessions will include but not limited to:

• Social Media Gone Wrong!
• How to Monitor and Leverage Social Platforms
• Building the Perfect Social Media Campaign
• Creating a Fan Community
• Local Marketing Rules!
• The Power in Connecting
• Build Your Business…Build Your Brand…Build Your Legacy

Developing Peak Performing Franchisees – Next week I will travel to Nashville to work with Joe Mathews, Founder of the Franchise Performance Group. He has over 20 years experience with such national chains as Subway, Blimpies, Motophoto, and Entrepreneur’s Source.  Joe specializes in the area of franchisee recruitment, sales, and franchisee performance.  He is a regular presenter at IFA conferences and is an instructor with the ICFE (Institute of Certified Franchise Executive). Joe  is the author of two books, Street Smart Franchising with Don Debolt and Deb Percival and Meaning of Life Project.

Joe and I will train operational support teams in how to develop peak performing franchisees. We will use the five stage learning curve of franchisees and how to identify where each franchisee is in the curve. By teaching, training, consulting and coaching best practices our goal is to accelerate franchisees through the curve into peak performance.

So there you have it. That’s what next for DebCE.

Give me a call. 832-334-6664

Send me a Tweet @DebCE

Connect with me on Facebook.com/DebEvansConsulting

or listen to my weekly BlogTalkRadio show, Social Geek Radio with co-host AK Stout.

Deb Evans Consulting, LLC is now open for business! 

Figure It Out And Make It Happen

I attended the 14^th Annual Leadership Conference, hosted by the IFA’s (International Franchise Association) Women’s Franchise Committee (WFC) in Orlando, Florida.  The WFC is designed to develop relationships with franchising professionals, to address issues, share ideas and offer solutions related to franchising in the local communities.

The conference theme was Dare to be Bold: Taking Risks For Reward – “It’s been said that if you don’t risk anything, you risk even more. The great recession caused many organizations to drastically change the way they look and operate.” The Leadership Conference offered the opportunity to listen to top franchise leaders share stories of bold decisions they made that would forever change the shape of their brands.

The guest speaker was Kat Cole, President of Cinnabon; Inc. a division of FOCUS Brands Inc. Cinnabon operates more than 770 franchised locations worldwide. Prior to her role with FOCUS Brands at Cinnabon, Inc., she was VP of Training and Development for Hooters of America, Inc.

Kat shared her story of working as a server at Hooters at the young age of 19 and was handpicked to travel to Sydney Australia to open the country’s first Hooters. Kat had never flown before but she took her mother’s advice and “figured it out and made it happen” flying from Jacksonville, FL to Miami to get her passport and soon after traveling to Australia. By the age of 20, Kat was traveling all over the world to conduct new employee training and opening new locations. When Kat left Hooters in January 2011 she was Vice President of Training and Development.

As Kat told her story there was a recurring message: “figure it out and make it happen.”   We live in a time of change and Kat told us that no amount of change can work without connections and relationships.  She said the people you engage with, the connections you make and the relationships you have are with individuals that can and will be your biggest advocates.

Kat was an excellent presenter and listening to her validated decisions I have made over the last few months. Change is not easy and sometimes in order to change you must take risks. With the risks there is an uncertainty of the future. Getting pass the fear of the unknown and taking the steps to figure it out and “make it happen” is not as hard as I once thought.

Kat’s encouragement to build new relationships comes easy for me. It’s one of the reasons I enjoy attending conferences. I love social media and I have built strong connections using the various platforms but the in-person networking provides the face-to-face experience that I miss in the virtual world.

One of the new friendships that I built at IFA was with Tra Williams. Tra is more than 6’ tall so he is not easily missed in a crowd. But what really stands out is his passion for franchising and entrepreneurship. He exudes a deep commitment to helping others succeed and a strong drive to learn and share as much as possible.

Watch this video of Tra and I am confident you too will want to learn more about him and how you can connect.

Kat was right on the mark for me. I’m more than ready to “Figure it out and make it happen”. And as Dr. Beatrice Berry (author, sociologist, lecturer and educator) said; “When you walk with purpose, you collide with destiny.”

On March 1^st I will leave what I have known and loved (Computer Explorers) for the last 16 years to start a new career as President of Deb Evans Consulting, LLC. I am confident it will be an exciting new adventure filled with new relationships, connections and risks!