Reaching the summit through well-managed partnerships: what the franchising industry can learn from great expeditions.

The franchisor-franchisee relationship is often likened to a marriage: both parties are working together toward a group of personal, financial and emotional goals. However, franchising is most often thought of as a business partnership because, while the franchise company is typically the "brand originator," it's the franchisee who ultimately holds the key to the system's success. And an even better parallel, is to envision franchising as an expedition with a set of team members, each with their own specialty, gathered together to accomplish a singular goal. During the 20th century, some of the world's greatest accomplishments were realized, and these achievements provide the basis for a series of skills and life lessons for centuries to come:

* in 1908, Ernest Shackleton explored the arctic,

* in 1953, Edmond Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reached the summit of Mount Everest, and,

* in 1969, Robin Knox-Johnston is the first person to single-handedly circumnavigate the globe.

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Commitment

In 1908, Sir Ernest Shackleton pressed within 97 miles of the South Pole on his Nimrod expedition. Imperious, single-minded, ferociously loyal to his men, he once said "Optimism is true moral courage." The pledge he showed to his men, his country and himself was unyielding and, as a result, the expedition is considered one of the greatest feats of the 20th century.

Consider the cost to a franchise system if motivation and commitment were to drop, either at the corporate or franchisee levels. Motivated and committed people drive sales. They contribute their time and energy to improve the franchise system. They attend meetings, participate on working committees and encourage new franchisees to invest in the system.

Motivation is generated in two ways. First, a leader. or in this case, the franchise organization, provides the motivation, energy and excitement to help stimulate the franchise. Next, a group of the right franchisees will provide the fuel to propel the franchise into greatness. On the other hand, when motivation and commitment drop, a host of crises tend to emerge. People stop taking responsibility for business performance. Rather than being problem solvers, they become problem-finders. Instead of defending the system, problem-finders start to find fault with it, The motivation and commitment of franchise executives is vital for a network's development.

Expectations

In 1951, New Zealander Edmund Hillary was part of the first British expedition to the Himalayas in an attempt to climb Mount Everest. After several failed attempts, he returned in 1953 in an expedition lead by John Hunt. Hunt selected two climbing pairs to attempt to reach the summit The first pair (Tom Bourdillon and Charles Evans) came within 300 feet of the summit on May 26, but turned back after becoming exhausted. The next day, the expedition made its second and final assault on the summit with its second climbing pair. The summit was eventually reached at 11:30 a.m. local time May 29 by Hillary and sherpa Tenzing Norgay of Nepal climbing the South Col Route. At the time, both acknowledged it as a team effort by the whole expedition, but Norgay revealed a few years later that Hillary had put his foot on the summit first.

In 1953, Hillary's experience and demeanor, helped set the expectations for success. And his leadership has helped shape the lives of thousands of people since.

How does a franchise sales team describe an opportunity? By providing the intimate knowledge and established expectations throughout the lifetime of the franchisee-franchisor relationship, both groups are better prepared to weather the storm and develop the formula for success.

Quality-Control

On June 14, 1968, the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race started at Falmouth, England. And almost seven months later, Robin Knox-Johnston rounded Cape Horn on Jan. 17, 1969, 20 days ahead of his closest competitor, making Knox-Johnston the first man to circumnavigate the globe non-stop and single-handed. Knox-Johnston completed the entire trip in a double-masted sailboat and all of the necessary tools needed to navigate through darkness, storms and any other obstacles that could arise. His thoroughness and constant quality control helped him succeed.

Keeping a pulse on a franchise's progress, from a marketing and operational perspective, is of utmost importance to a franchise system's ultimate achievement. And using a third party to conduct an annual analysis is the best way to assure the system and its franchisees are continually evaluating the system objectively and efficiently.

All franchises are not created equal. Some have a very corporate attitude and some are very down-to-earth and casual. But no matter the type, the relationship between the franchisee and the franchise company is the axis of the business relationship and has a dramatic affect on the overall satisfaction, and profitability of the franchise system. With a small franchise company, one may be able to call the president or founder directly with questions or problems. In that same respect, a franchise system with fewer than 20 or 30 units needs a franchisee's input. Each franchisee's success is an integral part to the overall system's triumph.

A growing franchise system can't afford very many franchisee failures early in the development process so a franchisee's problems and suggestions should take precedence over all other aspects of the business. If a franchise fails, it will affect future sales. If problems can be solved at the unit level now, the result is an atmosphere for the success of the future units many times over. The goal of a franchise company is to help franchisees achieve reasonable financial goals. When that happens, everyone profits from the relationship.

Jack Burris is vice president of Franchise Business Review. He can be reached at 704-531-2375 or [e-mail].