CEOs Open Up About Their Biggest Leadership Challenges

In each issue of Franchise Update magazine, we profile franchise CEOs and presidents, asking each the same set of questions. Their responses say a lot about who they are, their culture, their values, and where they're taking their companies. We focus the Q&A on four areas: Leadership, Management, Personal, and the Bottom Line.

Shannon Hudson, CEO and Co-Founder, 9Round Franchising Patience! I want things done yesterday and sometimes I have to slow down and understand it will have to wait. Read full profile here.

Jon Nobis, CEO, Two Men and a Truck By its nature, leadership is all about people. I think coaching consistent leadership throughout the organization, across diverse backgrounds, styles, personal goals, etc., to achieve a common mission will always be one of the great challenges of leadership.

Read full profile here. Rob Price, CEO and President, School of Rock In a high-growth brand like School of Rock, picking promising objectives is the highest priority, and staying focused is difficult. Franchises have many stakeholders with really diverse opinions, so balancing focus and flexibility is always a challenge.

Read full profile here. Tammy Whitworth, Chair and CEO, Window World Home improvement is a male-dominated industry. And while many people may consider it odd to see a female CEO at the helm of the nation's largest exterior remodeling company, I consider that distinction to be an opportunity rather than a challenge.

Read full profile here. Larry Oberly, CEO and President, SpeedPro Imaging Trying to persuade the un-persuaded into thinking differently, or at least with an open mind. The status quo doesn't work.

We usually end at a common ground, although it doesn't always appear so in the beginning. Read full profile here. Brian Petranick, CEO and President, RiseMark Brands Balancing the significant demands of the position.

Trying to make myself available to all the important people in my day (employees, franchisees, strategic partners, board members, industry contacts, etc.) and still find time to "work on" the business. It's imperative to find time to read, research, and frankly, just think.

Read full profile here. Nicole Ossenfort, CEO and President, Liberty Tax Making sure our franchisees and employees are all focused, engaged, and passionate about our goals and about delivering the best customer service experience out there. Read full profile here.