In order to achieve anything meaningful in life, you must have help from others
Tasti D-Lite chairman and CEO Jim Amos has more than 30 years of experience guiding successful franchise companies such as Mail Boxes Etc. He was inducted into the International Franchise Association’s Hall of Fame in February.
I was humbled to be inducted in the International Franchise Association’s Hall of Fame recently. As I told my friends and colleagues who were there, nobody earns their success on their own. Success is the result of teamwork, trust, effort and a willingness to focus on the needs of others.
Businesses and nations succeed or fail on the strength of relationships. Everyone has weaknesses, and everyone has weak moments, which is why it’s so important to have friends and colleagues who can share ideas and support.
Franchising is full of people who dare to dream big, but it’s impossible to strive without stumbling. Having supportive friends and colleagues can help you recover from stumbles and stay on the path to your goals. But it is even more important to offer your support to those in need.
The entire business model of franchising is built on relationships. I pushed for the International Franchise Association to include franchisees in the organization because I thought it was important to recognize that relationship.
Franchisors and franchisees rely on one another for mutual success. Franchisees trust franchisors to deliver excellent business systems, training and support, and franchisors depend on the franchisees’ success to build thriving companies in which both parties can profit. But that’s just a tiny piece of the picture. Business systems? Terms of agreement? Revenue splits and promised levels of support? Those are all simply terms of a contract.
A relationship is something much deeper. A relationship can be defined by the Golden Rule. To “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” wipes away excuses for poor treatment of others and tells us to behave toward one another with deep caring.
That message, I believe, is the true basis for success in life and in business.
While caring about others can’t be codified into a contract, it is essential for a business to thrive. It’s important to cross the “t’s” and dot the “i’s” to run a sound business, but when rough patches occur, you need to be able to lean on each other. And during good times, it’s just as important to share knowledge and celebrate one another’s successes.
Sometimes we hold each other up. Sometimes we lift each other up. But it is essential to always be there.
Tasti D-Lite chairman and CEO Jim Amos has more than 30 years of experience guiding successful franchise companies such as Mail Boxes Etc. He was inducted into the International Franchise Association’s Hall of Fame in February.
