Friday Feb.11th 2005
From Jana Schilder
Bring back our leader—please!
How often do employees band together to ask their former boss to come
back and lead them again? It’s the stuff of fairy tales (the plot
for Shrek 3?), but that’s precisely what happened to Tim Moore,
founder and CEO of Mississauga-based AMJ Campbell Van Lines, Canada’s
largest independent mover. Then, Bruce Bowser—Moore’s protégé—took
the helm and Moore left AMJ Campbell two years ago after a bitter legal
battle.
Now, Moore has been asked to become president and CEO of the new Premiere
Van Lines, effective April 1, 2005, which will compete head-on with AMJ
Campbell, the company he built during two decades.
Moore, 60, was yanked from retirement in the peaceful community of Chester,
Nova Scotia, a year ago by a group of 14 franchisees (out of 55 franchisees
operating in 38 Canadian cities) who were dissatisfied for a number of
reasons. First, AMJ Campbell didn’t want to renew their franchise
licenses. Then, AMJ wanted to convert these franchises to AMJ-owned "stores."
Finally, AMJ wanted to recruit more franchises in other locations. Recently,
the number of disgruntled franchise owners has jumped to 17 from 14.
Lessons of Premiere Van Lines:
1. Franchisees/employees matter. They are the ones who deliver on the
customer promise. Don’t alienate the people who help you earn revenue.
2. Trust matters. In any relationship, once the trust is gone, it’s
"game over" for both parties.
3. Leadership matters. People want to be led by a strong leader, someone
who will stand up and be counted, and will do the right thing.
4. Corporate culture matters. Attempts to "tighten reins" on
a collegial and liberal culture are seldom well received; you can’t
go back to a hard-line policy and old-school management.
5. Successful entrepreneurs are not motivated by money. They love the
"game" and the Art of the Deal. Equally important, they honestly
want to help people. Also, whittling sharp sticks and fishing can’t
hold their attention for long.
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