Evan Schuman's StorefrontBacktalk

Franchisee Columnist Todd Michaud has spent the last 16 years trying to fight IT issues, with the last six years focused on franchisee IT issues. He is currently responsible for IT at Focus Brands (Cinnabon, Carvel, Schlotzsky’s and Moe’s Southwestern Grill).

I can think of no other public sector position that is more qualified to run for public office than the CIO of a large, franchised retail chain. Most CIOs are hired under the “It’s time for a change” campaign platform. They then spend the rest of their time trying to undo what their predecessor did, working to make changes within a broken system that doesn’t want to change and doing so within a budget that’s not big enough, all while hoping their popularity stays above 50 percent so they can make it a full four years in office. Sounds like a natural fit to me.

The similarities don’t stop there. Let’s take a look at what it means to be successful as a Franchise Retail CIO:

• They need to know how to remain popular while trying to implement complex standards (laws) the average person doesn’t understand. (If you can pass a PCI Level 1 Audit, you can easily pass Healthcare Reform; it’s a piece of cake).
• They need to know how to debate openly with people who are not technically trained (but did stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night).
• They must know how to take a beating from upset constituents.
• They have to figure out how to tell people “no” and make them feel happy about it.
• Most importantly, they need to know how to sell a little bit of their soul each day to make their business partners (special interest groups) happy while still delivering on campaign (interview) promises.
• And let’s not forget “Strategery”–my all time favorite Saturday Night Live quote.

Hey, I Could Do That! Michaud for Senate in 2012!

When I was in high school, I was selected to attend an educational program where a handful of kids from various high schools were sent to a camp to learn about politics. It was a real eye-opener for me. I had no idea how complex government was or how it worked. I learned that the majority party can pretty much do whatever it wants and that being in the minority party really sucks.

I also learned that social engineering is the key to success. It turns out that no one in our “town” had decided to run for the House of Representatives (whoops!). Our counselor was not happy with us. I came up with a plan. I ordered three large pizzas from the campus restaurant and walked around handing out slices with a list of write-ins for the ballot that night.

Ten people from our county (consisting of two towns) were elected to the House. The other town had nine names on the ballot; we had none. However, our “Pizza for Votes” campaign strategy worked out much better than expected. We took 9 out of 10 seats.

I tell you this story because the lessons I learned at this camp are still relevant. It seems like every day I am doing some sort of horse trading to get things done. If I have any hope of standardizing on a single smartphone platform, I’m going to have to buy a lot of pizza.