The influencer we follow for leadership recruitment tips
Gary A. Findley
The world of franchising leadership seems to have a formula. Leaders of the brands commonly share a certain career path, philosophy, way of doing things and even mannerisms. It’s always refreshing to see if someone can bring a fresh perspective to business matters. Gary A. Findley represents that difference, in the experiences that shaped him to the relationships he maintains with his teams and staff.
Podcasts
The podcast we tune into for bite-sized franchise news
Ang & Rob Rants is run by Angela Cote and Robert Bruski. Angela is a franchise veteran and now the CEO of her own franchise development company, named after herself. Robert works for Angela Cote Inc. as its chief hype officer and is also the co-founder and CEO of CRTL + V, a virtual reality arcade brand.
Unlike some of the longer episode lengths seen in this sector, these episodes run at around nine minutes, and provide a bite-sized look at certain issues, whether it was COVID-19 or more recently two special episodes on how brands should handle grand openings. For just nine minutes every week, figures in the world of franchising can consider themselves better educated and prepared to face their industry.
Must-listen episode: Episode 87 – Managing mindset
The podcast we listen to for insight into high-performing franchisees
It is run by Erik VanHorn and Brian Holmes, two individuals who have significant experience in franchising. As experienced multi-unit, multi-brand franchisees, Erik and Brian are very well placed to learn about what makes a high-performing franchisee or franchisor tick.
This long-standing podcast has been running since 2018 and is a great source of information for both current and potential franchisees to understand the potential of the industry, and what it can give them. They also dive into this history of franchising; episode 91 concerned Martha Matilda Harper, the first franchisor in the world, and one of the greatest businesswomen the U.S. has ever seen.
Must-listen episode: Episode 66 – Carrying Forward the Legacy of a Family Business, with Shirin Kanji
Books
The book we read for unconventional leadership inspiration
The Redneck CEO: Faith, Hope & Hard Work by Gary A. Findley
While the author of the book, Gary A. Findlay is not incapable of putting on the stereotypical businessman look, it has not been his preferred method throughout his career. The book actually serves as inspiration to non-traditional businesspeople and leaders, that their particular style is not necessarily incompatible with becoming a success and making millions of dollars along the way. The chase for success is debilitating for many and leaves them a burned-out husk of what they once were.
Gary’s perspective is based on the values he grew up with, and maintaining certain principles that ensure success, like hard work, integrity and for Gary, his faith too. There’s a great deal of inspiration to be had from his story and making millions.
The book we read to perfect the hiring process
WHO: The A Method For Hiring by Geoff Smart and Randy Street
Hiring and staff availability has been a problem for franchise brands since the pandemic started, and has created a sea-change in the job market, especially in the U.S. That’s why Dr. Geoff Smart and Randy Street penned this book, to give C-suite leaders and employers a better understanding of how to perfect the hiring process, and reduce employee turnover. The authors have outlined their own four-step method which results in success 90 per cent of the time.
They aren’t just theories either; the authors interviewed 20 billionaires, 60 CEOs and countless investors to arrive at the conclusions they did. The endorsements are ringing too, from the CEO of Honeywell Aerospace to franchising’s own Mike Bidwell; business leaders across the U.S. have endorsed Dr. Geoff Smart and Randy Street’s ideas and methods on how to perfect the hiring process.
The book we read about the legend behind Mcdonald’s
Grinding It Out by Ray Kroc
Ray Kroc is a legend in the world of franchising, and single-handedly changed the world of F&B and franchising by building the biggest franchise system in the world, McDonald’s.
His book, Grinding It Out, is not necessarily a handy guidebook to building the perfect franchise or a chronological retelling of how he built the McDonald’s empire, it’s about the man himself. Ray’s story should teach every entrepreneur that it’s never too late to accomplish something great; he was 52 when he began building McDonald’s into the international behemoth it is today.
