You Don’t Just Build Culture… It Has to be Part of You
There are definitely some challenges in franchising, both for franchisees, and franchisors. When posed with those challenges, I often remind our franchise partners, staff, and vendors that if it were easy, everyone would do it. It isn’t easy, and it isn’t always comfortable, but when you embrace the brand, the essence of the brand’s DNA, and align yourself with the core values, you can accomplish great things. That is truly where culture is cultivated from. So how, then, do you define “culture” in a franchise system?
Investopedia suggests that corporate culture is defined as:
“Corporate culture refers to the beliefs and behaviors that determine how a company’s employees and management interact and handle outside business transactions. Often, corporate culture is implied, not expressly defined, and develops organically over time from the cumulative traits of the people the company hires.”
I believe that culture, as it relates to both franchise systems and conventional corporations, is defined as:
“The vivid image that is displayed to anyone who comes into contact with a brand, manifested through the beliefs, commitment and enthusiasm of all who contribute to its existence.”
This article was spawned from another that was written by Driverseat franchisee, Patti McMillan. In her article, she tells us that
“Corporate culture was also critical to our decision. And we found that, with Driverseat.”
What is so inspiring about this is that Patti, along with all of our franchise partners, so fully embrace the culture of our brand, that they actually play an active role in developing it. As much as we need to allow people in our lives to positively and actively influence who we are, so do we need to allow those who come into contact with our brand to positively and actively influence its culture.
This is where franchising is such a powerful way to build a business. What better way to achieve greatness then to surround yourself with entrepreneurially minded people, who all operate with the same vision, the same passion, and the same culture?
At Driverseat, we have so much more to do, so much more to learn, and so many more entrepreneurs to attract to our brand. After spending the past weekend with many franchise brands at the Canadian Franchise Association’s AnnualConference, right on the tail of the International Franchise Association’sconference in San Antonio in February, it has never been more clear that we have some of the best franchise partners, and one of the greatest brand cultures that you could ask for. Some have suggested that it is cultivated from us, as the company founders, but I would argue that in a franchise system, when it comes to culture, it is really cultivated from the greatness that you attract in your franchise partners.
