Proof--Radical Trust leaders create radical success:

The facts below represent one of many clients Joe uses as a practical teaching case-study. Because of all of the false-claims that swirl around the marketplace today about leadership, change and teams we feel it is important to validate that Joe is not espousing theory or feel-good trendy leadership ideas.  These case-studies prove the four competencies in the Leadership Trust Model are a road-map to succeeding in competitive markets. Here is one of many examples of a Radical Trust leader and his team achieving great financial results because they created an organization and experience people love. While this one focuses on the hyper-competitive restaurant marketplace, Joe's book also uses examples from various other sectors; both small and large organizations and even non-profit and government.

Radical Case-study 1

Joe Croce: Founder and former CEO, CiCi's Pizza, a 600-store franchise chain.

Proof of Financial Success: CiCi's Pizza has 600 restaurants in 27 states. In January 2007, Entrepreneur magazine ranked them number one in the Italian restaurant franchises category. In 2006, Restaurants & Institutions magazine named them Best in Value in its Annual Consumer Choice Survey in the pizza category. In 2005, the Wall Street Journal named CiCi's one of the Top 25 Franchises. The founder, Joe Croce, retired at the age of forty-four and left behind numerous millionaires he helped to create. Some are now employee owners and some franchise owners.

Proof of Radical Trust: Craig Moore was mentored by Joe and was part of the team that bought CiCi's and he replaced Joe as president. Craig tells us:

"When I came to CiCi's 15 years ago and met with Joe Croce, he painted a picture for a great personal future if there were results that he expected...I learned early on with Joe that not only would he follow through on his promises, he often would do it at his own detriment...

As one manager told us, "If you were good enough to play on Joe's team and then make the cut, the benefits kept coming in. Joe built loyalty by exceeding our expectations with personal growth that equated to financial gain. It was never about the money for the ones that stayed at CiCi's. It was about being on the team and hitting the goals...
 

"We always knew that if Joe Croce said that he was going to

do something, it was going to happen. If you learned this early in your career with CiCi's, the tough love was easy to take...He cared about our success and only wanted those who would sacrifice for the team. He ended up on top and left behind a wildly successful future for those who played on his team." 

A plaque that was mounted at the entrance to CiCi's corporate headquarters by one of Joe's successors reads: "This building is dedicated to Joe Croce. May the passion, pride, and high ethical standards upon which you founded these companies never falter!" Joe happily retired (at least for now) at 44 and is spending lots of time with his wife and children.