Clarke Murphy, who heads the CEO search practice for Russell Reynolds, one of the top executive search firms, speaks about the leadership skills necessary to manage large firms through extraordinary times. Murphy argues that agility is highly valued right now. Running a large franchise chain can be as difficult or more difficult than operating a company-owned chain. Yet, when you think of leadership in franchising firms, agility is not the word that comes to mind. Small increments to an agreed upon and traditional game plan come to mind.

Russell Reynolds helps inform boards of directors on what sort of CEO skills are especially important in recruiting.

This WSJ video (3:23) begs the question, who are the franchise chains that have shown exceptional agility during challenging times? It gives a hint to franchise owners and buyers on what sort of CEO to seek.

• Can anyone name a franchise system that is led by a CEO / president who has demonstrated the ability to innovate, adapt and decide on the run? Who?
• How did the CEO organize key stakeholders to get real information quickly so as to know the reality on the ground, when to move and when not to?
• What were the signs of openness to ideas?
• What did they do to get fast system-wide buy in from independent-minded franchise owners?

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