A Message from Outgoing Chair of the CFA Board of Directors John DeHart

When I became Chair of the Canadian Franchise Association (CFA), I liked the organization. I was passionate about franchising, but I’m not sure if I was necessarily passionate about the CFA at the time. I certainly admired it and enjoyed my time working closely with my peers, but I don’t know if I loved it. You see, for me, culture is always at the top of my priority list when I do any kind of work. I was the keynote speaker at the 2018 CFA National Convention in Ottawa when I took over the Chair role. And what did I speak about? Culture of course. And I admit, putting culture on the top of my priority list is a bit for selfish reasons. I know that when I work within an amazing culture, well, I simply have more fun. And I like having fun. (I also happen to know, from experience, that emphasizing culture can have a significant impact on the results of an organization, so it isn’t all self-serving!)

Taking over the Chair role for me was an interesting one. On day one, we decided to make a leadership change for the CFA. Instead of finding an immediate replacement, we decided to wait, to take our time, and to begin to define what the culture of the CFA really should look like. And it took us a long time (and a lot of extra work for a few key board members) to determine the right fit to lead the Association. In choosing a new President & CEO of the CFA, we asked ourselves key questions, including: Who could lead this organization into a new era? Who could foster culture change throughout?

When it came to the “non-negotiables” on our list of what we were looking for in a leader, we decided it needed to be someone who had a deep understanding, passion, and love of franchising. They had to have an intrinsic understanding of what makes franchising such a unique industry. There’s no other industry that I know of in which competitors share so openly with each other; in no other industry can groups with so much diversity come together and have so much in common. If we could find the right leader who embodied this, we knew we could begin a culture change throughout the entire organization. With that, we hired Sherry McNeil, our fearless President and CEO. Immediately after bringing Sherry on board, the look, feel, and culture of the CFA began to change.

Throughout these past two years as Chair of the CFA Board of Directors, working closely with Sherry, we rediscovered our core purpose of helping everyday Canadians achieve the dream of building their own business. We’ve successfully redefined our mission and our focus. And we began to uncover what our core values are. These are all hallmarks of a powerful culture.

As I leave the Chair role, the CFA and franchise systems, like every other business, are is a state of crisis. My tenure as Chair began in crisis (leadership change) and is going to end in crisis. But despite this, here is what I have come to realize: This organization is thriving. This organization’s moment has arrived. We, including all of our members, are being tested at every corner, every day. Yet, I feel we are helping to lead franchising through this. We have successfully begun, and I emphasize begun, to build a powerful community, in which we all come together and help each other out. Where we feel like someone out there is happy for us when we succeed, but also has our back when we don’t. And that is a reflection of the culture we have built.

And where I began in a place where I simply liked the CFA, I now love the CFA. I have found that passion for the Association. Thank you to the CFA, fellow board members, and to our membership community for helping to craft this organization to be in a position we find ourselves in today; leading franchising through this turbulent time and reigniting my deep passion for franchising.