"Be Boringly Credible"- Inspire Brands' Joshua Liggins on how integrity defines his work

An interview with the Director of Franchising at Inspire Brands

This interview is part of Inspirations and Rising Stars, a weekly conversation with?ClearPath Solutions profiling up-and-coming leaders shaping culture and redefining success with the market's hottest brands.

What one quality do you possess that has contributed to your rising success?

Gratitude.

So many things stem from someone’s perspective, and I believe that when your worldview is set on the lens of gratitude you will work with joy, you will have fun, and you will outperform the competition.

Kobe Bryant once told a story about why he worked harder than anyone else in the NBA. The reason he shared is that most players believe that they “have to” train, but that he believes that he “Gets To!” Just that shift in mindset caused him to not only put in the work, but he did more than anyone else, causing him to be the best! He realized that only a few people in the world get to have this opportunity, and he wanted to make the absolute most of it, and he did!

I feel the same way about the work that I am doing with Inspire Brands. The QSR franchising industry is in my opinion one of America’s best-kept secrets, not many get a chance to be in this industry, and even fewer in the role that I am in!

In this industry, you have an opportunity to earn a very high income, travel to the best cities in the US, work alongside motivated and driven individuals, and then learn from the top business minds of our day! Not only do I “Get To” do this, but I get to do this for the biggest & baddest company in the game.

Every day I wake up grateful to be here, grateful for the team that I get to work with, grateful for the franchisees that I get to support and learn from, and grateful for what this industry has done for my family and I.

When you’re grateful, you can’t be knocked off of your square, and you can’t be outworked. That’s a tough person to beat.

What moment in your career are you most proud of and why?

The current moment.

In years past, I’ve had great success in franchise sales and have put up numbers that have certainly given me a sense of accomplishment. But now, I’m fortunate enough to be leading an incredible team, each person uniquely gifted and complimentary to one another, and they’re crushing it! As individuals, they bring energy and vision to everything that we touch, and as a team, they’re setting All-Time Brand Records.

My proudest moment is getting to lead and work alongside Kelly Byrnes, Loren Johnson, Emmy Fedor, Summer Smith, and Kevin Bursey.

What piece of advice do you wish you had when you were younger that you want to share with emerging leaders?

When I joined Inspire Brands, the SVP of Development was QSR giant Grant Benson. One piece of advice that Grant gave to not only me, but our entire department, was to be “Boringly Credible.” Not just credible, but so credible that it leaves no room for excitement, questioning, or debate… Suspense is great for an NFC or an AFC Championship Game, not for a Franchisor.

There are many things that keep franchisees and your internal team members up at night; the integrity of your words or the accuracy of the information you provide shouldn’t be one of them.

It echoes another quote that I received from my mother, originally shared by Zig Ziegler: “If people like you, they’ll listen to you, but if they trust you, they’ll do business with you.”

The entire franchise system is built upon trust, those who are most trustworthy will have generations of capital allocated in their direction.

Who is an influential person or mentor in your life? How have they impacted your career?

Patrick Hilton, former EVP of Quiznos, tops this list for me.

Pat was my introduction to QSR franchising as he gave me my start with Quiznos, fresh from being a Middle School Math Teacher. Since then, he’s made a pointed and consistent effort to affirm, edify, and educate me in not only how to succeed in the workplace, but in how to be just as successful at home.

I’m a better Franchising Director, but more importantly, a better man, because of Pat Hilton.

I would advise anyone looking to grow in any area- find a mentor to walk along this journey with you. Have the courage to ask… It very well may change your life.

Where do you see your career in 5 years? What steps do you take today to shape and achieve this vision?

I’d like to believe that I’ll be in a role that allows me to do even more of what I love: invest in people, cast visions, and hit goals.

?

Steps that I am taking:

The first and best step to take in preparation for that day is to be faithful in the role that I currently have. There is a story about 3 people who were given money; one was given $1, the next $5, the next $10. The person given $10 doubled it and the investor gave them more, the person given $5 doubled it and the investor gave them more, but the person given $1 buried it and then gave it back. Not only did the investor not give them more, they took the money away, and gave it to the person who originally had $10!

Nothing better predicts how you will perform in the future than how you have performed in the past. Thus, there is no better preparation for the next opportunity than being the absolute best that you can be in your current one; if you aren’t doing that, the next opportunity isn’t likely to come. When you’re faithful with what you have, you’ll usually be rewarded with more.

The second step is to learn from industry experts. One of the benefits of being at Inspire Brands is that I have an opportunity to not only perfect my craft but to learn from world-class experts in all areas of the restaurant business. Taking intentional time to learn from the best is not just for the next role, but to better myself in the one I’m in today.

The Third step is to learn from the franchisee. No surprise that some of the best lessons that I’ve learned in this industry come from the individuals who are investing millions of their capital into the business. Every encounter that I have with our world-class franchisees, I am trying to learn something: how they look at financial performance, what cash-on-cash returns do they need to see, why they go for a bigger brand or a smaller brand, how leadership impacts their willingness to grow, what systems are other franchisors using that they like?

If you can understand what makes the franchisees tick, what excites them, and what keeps them up at night, you can be valuable in any role in this industry.

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