Page 139 - Everything I Know About Business I Learned

Lead by Example

meant that her husband and children had to wait for her in the
dining room to finish helping out! As an operations-based com-
pany, you earn your stripes behind the counter.

Lesson Learned

Build a culture where corporate staff members are encouraged
to work in the field. In all likelihood, they will return to the
office enthused, and with a new appreciation for the impor-
tance of the work field staff does on a daily basis.

Gerry Newman was the one executive operators turned to
when they questioned new programs put forth by the system.
And because he was not the kind of executive who stationed
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himself behind a desk, he was both approachable and resource-
ful. If an operator struggled with financing a newly required
piece of equipment, Gerry would sit and figure out a way to
show how a loan could be used as investment spending, say,
$5,000 would result in additional revenues of $30,000. He took
the time to demonstrate what was possible, and because he
invested his time in the field, he built up the track record and
credibility with the operators. What Gerry demonstrated to
many of us in the field was the importance of the finance end of
the system. Refinancing, watching overhead, and smart rein-
vestments that showed good returns as well as maintaining the
profitability of each restaurant were shown over and over again.
“He dug in, and rolled up his sleeves, and tried to make a dif-
ference by getting in and dealing with the problems that had
built up,” Fred Turner noted, referring to Gerry. “He was a
hands-on guy. He would drill down, and he learned. He learned
from regional managers, he learned a little bit from me, and he