Labora: BSoR's Journal of Entrepreneurship (Winter 2022-23)

Frank “Buddy” Gadams ’89

Marathon Man [COVER STORY]

Familial Franchising

Theresa Bahen ’76

TikTok Shorts Keon Coley ’19

Putting the Numbers to Good Use

Rodney Ganey ’69

Winter 2022-23

JOURNAL OF ENTREP RENEURSHIP

FEATURE | 18

Marathon Man

THE LABORA MAGAZINE

Labora is a publication of the Benedictine Schools of Richmond, a unified organization of Benedictine College Preparatory and Saint Gertrude High School, focusing on entrepreneurship, innovation, and the evolving world of business.

Frank “Buddy” Gadams ’89 perseveres in business and in life using his “marathon mentality.”

ENTREPRENEUR PROFILE | 4

Familial Franchising

Theresa ’76 and Andy Bahen built a powerhouse from scratch.

YOUNG ALUMNUS PROFILE | 14

TikTok Shorts

Keon Coley ’19 is on a TikTok ride with the support of his family.

. INNOVATOR PROFILE

Putting Numbers

Rodney Ganey ’69 helped healthcare industry.

30

Numbers to Good Use

helped revolutionize the

SURVEY RESULTS | 38

Entrepreneurship Survey

Current BSoR students were surveyed about their views on entrepreneurship, and here are the results.

.

INTEREST |

40

Book Review

Dr. Jennifer Bigelow, BSoR academic dean, shares her thoughts on Resilient Leadership 2.0.

Benedictine and Saint Gertrude Family,

For one Ukrainian-American family, the Zagordnyys, (Arthur – BCP ’22) it was the opportunity for entrepreneurship that brought them to the United States.

Ostap (nicknamed “Oz”) Zagorodnyy and his wife, Ausrine Zagorodna, operate OZ Enterprises LLC, a granite supply and installation business in Richmond. I was fortunate to coincidentally share a table with them at a bourbon tasting during this past Christmas. After a little bourbon and a lot of reminiscing about Arthur’s time at Benedictine, we discussed the new Saint Gertrude building (OZ Enterprises is donating and installing granite countertops for the new SGHS). We also spent a good bit of time discussing current events in Ukraine. Oz’s cousins remain in Ukraine, helping to support front line troops through a US-based charity that the Zagorodnyys started – Lift Up Ukraine.

Whether starting a charity or a business, the appeal of entrepreneurship motivated Oz after he immigrated to the United States from Ukraine in the early 1990s. “The opportunity to start a business was so much better in the United States. In Europe, you must already have money to start a new business. Sometimes you have to bribe government officials as well. In the US, you just need an idea and the will to work.” Oz praised the education that his son, Arthur, received at BSoR. “He really enjoyed the structure. He’s so much more disciplined than his peers in college.”

I asked Oz what he thought of the schools’ plans to incorporate entrepreneurship classes into its program. “That would be great. I hope that Benedictine and Saint Gertrude will develop an entrepreneurship curriculum to teach students about the great opportunity they have in this country.”

We’re working on it, Oz. Stay tuned.

Yours in Prayer and Work,

JESSE GRAPES PRESIDENT, BENEDICTINE SCHOOLS OF RICHMOND

Familial Franchising

Theresa ’76 and Andy Bahen built a powerhouse from scratch

She was working as a waitress, supplementing a full-time job. He had a dream of being his own boss. Thirty years later, they are among the most successful SERVPRO franchisees in America.

Theresa Cunningham Bahen (’76) had not planned on marrying Andy Bahen, nor did she even know what SERVPRO was when she met him, other than that it was the brand name on the shirt he wore for a post-work meal at the old Liberty Valence restaurant on Richmond’s Forest Hill Avenue.

Acquaintances were struck, attraction began, and soon the two were a couple. Andy shared his vision of someday owning a SERVPRO franchise — he had been working for the Richmond franchise for the past 10 years — in the Richmond area. Shortly after marrying (in September 1983), that vision became a reality as the couple purchased rights to the Chesterfield County region two years later. Still, “I wasn’t supposed to be involved,” Theresa recalled.

Her level of involvement quickly changed when Theresa’s employer let her go because of her pregnancy (obviously, those were different times) concurrent with Andy discovering there was a lot of paperwork and other back-office operations to the business.

Today, the pair are the owners of 10 SERVPRO franchises, that combined, carry a footprint that stretches from the Hampton Roads area well into Central Virginia.

And they owe it all to hard work.

Do you want to hear of humble beginnings? “We had nothing,” said Theresa. “We got a loan on my used car to start the business, to make the down payment, and pay for operating costs.”

At the onset, their franchise’s workforce consisted of two employees. Both were named Bahen. Andy performed all the manual labor, while Theresa tended to the administrative tasks. Initially, Andy found himself cleaning car dealerships at night. “I didn’t think I’d stay in it for the long run,” said Theresa. “But at the three- or four-year mark, I knew I’d be staying.”

But at least they had a warehouse for storing all their equipment. That warehouse was otherwise known as the utility room of their modest ranch-style house. Hey, at least Theresa had an office. That office was otherwise known as the third bedroom of their home. They also had a place for (their eventually hired) employees to report. You guessed it: the family den.

The deck at the back of the house served double duty. When not being used as a space for drying rugs, the family could have the occasional cookout.

Those occasional cookouts were rare: The couple was just too darn busy.

In those early days, the company’s focus was on janitorial work. “I started right out of high school,” said Bobby Morgan, who was one of the Bahens’ first employees. Morgan saw, first-hand, as the franchise grew to provide the full host of services that SERVPRO offers. Morgan has been with the company for 35 years, managing Production Crews. “I eat and breathe SERVPRO,” he shared. “You get a sense of helping people and getting their lives back together. Nobody wants a problem in their castle.”

Morgan also recalled how the crew chiefs would take their work vehicles home with them and apply radiator heaters in the winter to prevent freeze damage. In the mornings, the crews would show up at the Bahen house to get their work orders in the family living room.

Meanwhile, the family homestead was starting to fill up with something other than SERVPRO equipment: Babies began to arrive. Success of the franchise was needed in order to either: a) build or buy a dedicated facility or b) build or buy a larger house. After all, an industrial air dryer makes for a lousy crib.

Two sons arrived, as blessings to the couple, in July 1986 and September 1988 (with a third to enter the picture in 1998). And, by year five of their journey, the Bahens found themselves out of bedrooms. And so they built a 4500 square-foot facility dedicated to their franchise’s growing needs. (Today, those three sons all

work in the business, with Drew ’04 and Thomas’07 taking the co-lead for the Tidewater franchises. Their youngest, Nathan ’17, works as a crew chief.) “We realized good growth when we started that first dedicated building,” Theresa shared.

That growth translated into a franchise expansion when the Bahens purchased the Tri-Cities area rights in 1995. (The Tri-Cities are Petersburg, Hopewell, and Colonial Heights.) Two years later, they purchased the Newport News franchise, though “We really wanted Richmond/Henrico,” said Andy.

It should be clarified that, in nearly all cases, the Bahens were really purchasing the rights to an area and the opportunity to establish a SERVPRO footprint. That is because no footprint existed.

Finally, in 2006, Andy got his wish as the Bahens successfully acquired the crown jewel of Richmond/Henrico. That acquisition gave the family a total of four franchises. Ted Isaacson, who started SERVPRO in 1967 (and who sold his first SERVPRO franchise in 1969) had instituted a limit of four franchises per owner. As such, the Bahens had to be content with further developing and growing the four central Virginia franchises that they had in hand.

In March 2019, however, the Isaacson family (founder Ted had since passed away) sold a majority stake in SERVPRO Industries, LLC to the Blackstone Group (for a cool billion dollars, according to the Wall Street Journal). And while members of the family retained critical positions in the company, including the president and CEO slots, the binds were loosened relative to franchise ownership caps.

With that, the Bahens moved with speed and determination. Between 2020 and 2022, they added six franchises to their portfolio, picking up (in order of acquisition): North Chesapeake, South Chesapeake, Hampton, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Elizabeth City/Outer Banks. Most of these franchises were severely underdeveloped in terms of both customer acquisition and adherence to best practices. As a result, Theresa and Andy dispatched two of their sons and Matthew Duffy (BHS ’04) to focus on those areas. “Drew, Thomas and I started that from nearly the ground up,” recalled Duffy.

Today, the Tidewater franchises include more than 60 technicians who compose 16 crews. It is an industry that offers a lot of growth. The American restoration industry has grown to an astonishing $210 billion annual market. Between the

“We had nothing. We got a loan on my used car to start the business....”

To help the family business, no task was off-limits for the CEO.

home-building spree we have seen over the past decade, the aging of infrastructure and the worsening severity of storms, wildfires, and flooding, the need for restoration services can only become more urgent and significant. All of that points to a robust market in the years ahead. (By the way, as this article is being written, the Bahens had dispatched managers to Florida to help organize remediation efforts in response to Hurricane Ian.)

But with great opportunities come great challenges. In the 2021 State of the Restoration Report, the three biggest challenges faced by the industry (as identified by industry leaders) all revolved around the workforce: finding skilled workers, increasing wages for certified employees, and retaining labor. These three even outpaced such concerns as adopting to modern technologies, rising demand for sustainable/environmentally

Family Affair

THE BAHENS’ APPROACH IS FOCUSED ON THE FAMILY

Many companies tout their family friendliness. In fact, many business magazines rank organizations on related criteria. ABC News lists its “100 Most Family Friendly Companies” and Fortune Magazine has its “50 Best Places for Parents to Work.”

Such listings typically use evaluative criteria that tracks things such as flexibility in setting work hours, availability of opportunities to work from home, and the presence of on-site day care for the wee ones.

That is all well and good (and, of course, valuable) for those seeking employment. While Theresa and Andy rarely invoke the term, theirs is a truly family-focused company. “We grew into that,” noted Theresa. “That’s from the start.”

Should you walk into the company headquarters, located off Warbro Road in Chesterfield County, be prepared to meet Ophelia, a squat and sturdy English Bulldog who is all wag and no bark. Ophelia, who is Theresa’s grand-doggie, spends her days so greeting people. Of note: should you drop her a nibble of cheese, you have made a friend for life.

You are also likely to encounter the couple’s three sons, each a Benedictine graduate. Drew ’04 and Thomas ’07 are operations managers, while Nathan ’17 is working as a crew chief and travels to work on large losses when there is a hurricane or

other natural disaster. Theresa’s sister, Kathy Taylor (SGHS ’74), recently retired from the business after many years as the sales and marketing manager.

Meanwhile, their nephew, Brian Taylor, an ’06 Benedictine graduate, is a project manager who also travels for large losses and has been with the company for 10-plus years. Andy’s brother Danny Bahen has worked as a project manager for 20-plus years.

Recently, the Bahens’ company was named to the TimesDispatch’s “Top Workplaces of 2022” based on criteria that included “numerous topics affecting workplace life, from their views on leadership, managers, pay, and benefits to training and work-life balance. It also looked at other factors including how employers encourage community involvement and how businesses promote diversity.”

Matt Duffy considers himself a fourth son to the Bahens, an assessment with which Theresa readily agrees. A 2004 graduate of Benedictine, Duffy began working for the Bahens over summer breaks while at James Madison University. Upon graduating from JMU, he converted to full-time employment for SERVPRO, working his way up to his current role of mitigation manager (in charge of all water, fire, and smoke remediation) as well as spearhead (along with Drew and Thomas Bahen) for the purchase of the Eastern Virginia franchises.

“They are the driving reason for me to stay in this industry,” said Duffy, of the Bahens. “I saw a future here and I’ve been treated great.” Duffy noted that his father had offered to pass along his automotive repair business, and that the son turned down the offer to stay with the Bahens, “and I’m really into cars.”

Sometimes, being family-oriented requires a bit of sweat equity. Theresa remembers when the company used to hold its annual client Christmas party at what is now known as the Dominion

Front Left to Right: Thomas ’07 and Andy. Back Left to Right: Mary Meacham Bahen ’07 (Theresa’s daughterin-law), Nathan ’17, Drew ’04, and Theresa ’76.

Family members were encouraged to get involved at an early age. Left: Theresa’s middle son, Thomas, wasn’t afraid to get a little dirty while learning the family business. Middle: Nathan Bahen got an early start in the family business, helping to clean up things while donning SERVPRO green. Right: Oldest son Drew Bahen was young to be so fired up about typing up invoices.

Energy Center — then known as the Carpenter Center. Andy’s mother was the general manager of the center and would provide a room for them to hold the event. Theresa also recalls personally cooking all the food for the event, loading it into a van and hauling it up to the building’s second floor and, when it was over, cleaning up and loading everything back into the van to unload at home. Ho, ho, ho, indeed.

These days, with so many employees, Theresa leaves the catering side of such events to the professionals. And while her days are jam-packed, she still makes time for some quality family time of her own. For instance, Thursdays are Donut Days, with Theresa making a run to a nearby Sugar Shack to pick up a bag of the doughy delights to indulge her grandchildren, Hayes and Teddy (Thomas’s children). Such sojourns are the highlight of her week. “I’m sure she would miss a meeting with the CEO in order to be able to do Donut Day,” observed Duffy.

The Bahens also extend their generosity by other means. “They helped pay for my first honeymoon,” said Joey Waters, a current team lead who has been with the Bahens for 19 years. “They’ve also put me in positions to grow as a young man. I’m no longer shy, and public speaking has become second nature to me.”

But the greatest contribution comes in the way that employees are developed, allowing them to care for their families.

“[Theresa] has been a huge influence in my life,” said Christina Harding. “She has raised me professionally.” Indeed, under Theresa’s tutelage, Harding has risen to the position of director of administration from her start as a receptionist as a recent high school graduate. “We do take pride in the fact that we try to provide a career path for our employees so that they grow with the company and are able to achieve whatever they dream,” said Theresa. The fact that most (about 98%) of the people in management started out as technicians (Andy included) backs up her assertion. “We have watched them grow from teenagers into young men and women who can provide a great life for themselves and their families,” she added.

“Along with family, Andy and I consider our employees to be our greatest asset,” said Theresa, noting that it is truly the family atmosphere that has driven the company’s success.

In the end, though, the Bahens’ disposition and approach toward all things family really are no mystery. “I knew Andy wanted something like this. He was family oriented,” she said.

“That’s what drew me to him in the first place.”

Life-Learned Lessons

TIPS ABOUT FRANCHISING FROM THE TRENCHES

When considering whether to become a franchisee, as with any major business decision, doing your homework is essential. Scads of literature and advice are available. While academic literature can certainly be helpful, as with virtually anything else in life, the guidance of those who have lived the topic in question can prove invaluable.

Theresa Bahen has some tips, given her decades of experience as a SERVPRO franchisee. While what follows by no means captures her complete philosophy around franchising, they do represent hardlearned lessons:

„ Become extremely intimate with the good or service that the franchise provides. Hubby Andy had spent a decade as a SERVPRO technician before the Bahens purchased their first franchise from the company. Do not confuse being a fan of the company’s offerings with knowing what goes into said offering. You might love that submarine sandwich/haircut/pest control service, but you need to remove yourself from that customer role and place yourself in a position where you understand what goes into making it, what the challenges are, and how the financials around it work.

„ The relationship with the parent organization must be a symbiotic one. You give and you get. They get and they give. Understand the level of autonomy granted by the franchisor before signing on with one. Talk to other franchisees to understand that relationship. Dig deeply, going well beyond “How do you like working with them?” If

at all possible, arrange to work a front-line job for a franchise. It is in the trenches where you can get a feel for how “corporate” operates. “SERVPRO is excellent,” said Theresa. “They listen to the franchisees, even more so since Blackstone took over (via acquisition in 2019).”

„ Cash equity is one thing, elbow grease equity is another. If you are thinking that franchising is as easy as investing a couple of hundred thousand dollars, sitting back, and watching the returns roll in, you are likely in for a big disappointment. You need to be in the position to make this your full-time gig, at least in the beginning. The Bahens put heart and soul into their initial franchise. Even today, they take a hands-on approach. “She’s very visible,” said mitigation manager Matt Duffy. “When she inspects the warehouse, it better be right.”

„ A lot of it comes down to the franchising agreement. As such, make sure that you have some legal expertise on your side. Bahen notes that having such help is critical for a couple of reasons. First, unless you are a lawyer who is well-versed in franchise contracts, you need someone who is. Second, these contracts can be quite dense in their terminology. You need someone to cut through the clutter. Third, the paperwork was written by someone who is well-versed in understanding franchise contracts and their dense terminology. You need to counter that. It is well worth the upfront cost. This is not a matter of trust; it is just good business sense.

friendly products, and insurance companies creating their own restoration companies.

The Bahens have worked diligently to get ahead of staffing issues, including building a dedicated training center and developing a 90-day program for the newly hired and the recently promoted that offers a blend of classroom, observational, and hands-on training. According to Jessica Ham, the human resources and training manager, they have taken the corporate-provided training structure, which was designed for small franchises and built it out to fit their much larger establishment. The company also details paths to growth, steps to take to reach the next level (if

„ Linked to the point above, understand your financial obligations beyond the up-front initial licensing cost. Most franchisors require an ongoing royalty fee or a share of the profits (or, in some cases, both). “We wound up with a ‘goodwill’ payment for training from the prior owner,” recalled Theresa of the early days, noting that it was money for nothing.

„ The most important thing to look for, according to Theresa, is what level of support you can expect to receive for the royalty dollars you pay into the system. What training will be provided? What will the involvement of the corporate office be? “With SERVPRO, we are locally owned and operated and make our decisions on that basis,” she added.

THE BAHENS’ FRANCHISES OFFER THE FOLLOWING SERVICES:

„ Water Damage Remediation

„ Fire Damage Remediation

„ Mold Abatement

„ Storm Damage Remediation

„ Construction

„ Specialty Cleaning

„ General Cleaning

„ Commercial

„ Water Damage Remediation

„ Mold Damage

„ Construction

„ Also, make sure you understand the obligations of using franchisorprovided inputs to production. Obtain the menu of such inputs, so you have a clear understanding of your cost structure for them.

„ Understand your geographic boundaries, if applicable. SERVPRO is specific in its allocation of licenses per population size. Other franchisors are notorious for franchise placement that cannibalizes customer flow from extant sites.

„ Understand if you might vary from the franchisor’s processes in an effort to improve. The Bahens found themselves in need of a better scheduling platform, due to the size of the operation. “We grew to a point where we needed to go outside the system to have the best technology,” said Theresa. “Corporate allowed us to do that, as theirs was not up to the task.” She further acknowledged that the company is quick to lend support to all systems, not just corporatesponsored ones and that “We have always been able to provide feedback and to beta-test new systems over the years.”

„ Understand all state and local laws and regulations governing the licensing requirements for whatever it is that you are doing.

„ Finally, have fun. Yes, there are sleepless nights, either because you are working or worried. And, yes, it can be a grind at times. “I used to call my life the 50-yard dash,” said Theresa. But franchising also affords fun; and you know what happens to time when fun ensues. “It sure did fly by,” said Theresa. “I look back on it and say ‘wow.’”

„ Air Duct/HVAC Cleaning

„ Biohazard/Crime

Scene Clean-up

„ Carpet/Upholstery

„ Ceiling/Floor/Walls

„ COVID Cleaning

„ Document Restoration

„ Drapes/Blinds

„ Odor Removal

„ Roof Tarping/Board Up

„ Vandalism/Graffiti

desired), and a bunch of fun activities, including concerts, Flying Squirrels games, cookouts, and the like.

There is a tough balance to reach given the nature of the business. “We try to understand life-work balance,” said Theresa. “At the same time we’re a 24-hour emergency service. We have to compensate those who respond and spread out the on-call pool to minimize the impact.”

They must do something right: This year, the company was named a Top Workplace in Richmond by the Times-Dispatch. But far be it from the Bahens to rest on their laurels. “We’re looking to expand beyond the 10 franchises,” Theresa said. “We’re always looking to expand.”

And that is a far cry from that fateful night when an exhausted young woman working two jobs served up a plate of Liberty Valence grub to a young man decked out in a SERVPRO shirt.

Office workers from the early days found space to be a premium at the Bahen’s Branchway location.

“Along with family, Andy and I consider our employees to be our greatest asset.”

A ball of fire. A crash of lightning. A blast of energy.

Take your pick: any of the above is an adequate description of Theresa Bahen. Oh, yes, there is another, less vivid way of describing the CEO of SERVPRO: A deflector of praise. There is no escaping the facts, however, and no denying the brilliant moves that Bahen has made in building the company. Those are revealed more deeply in the accompanying feature article.

“I don’t know how she puts so much of herself into the business,” said Bahen’s director of administration at SERVPRO, Christina Harding. “On top of being a full-time mother.”

Harding is joined by many in their admiration of the boss. “Theresa is a very smart woman,” assessed Matt Duffy, a key player in the company as mitigation manager. “It would take multiple people to fill her shoes.”

Even while driving her company, which is what can only be described as being in a high-growth mode, and even while turning loving attention to a family that is, too, growing — albeit at a slightly reduced speed — Bahen still has time for her alma mater. She is currently serving on the Benedictine Schools of Richmond Board of Trustees and has done so over the past three years. As an inaugural member of first BSoR board and as a member of the schools’ planning committee, she has helped the organization navigate the tricky waters of saying farewell to Stuart Avenue and introducing Saint Gertrude to the Goochland campus.

“Having worked with Theresa on the [BSoR] board, I am continuously impressed with her dedication,” said Bridget Ryan Berman ’78. “She cares deeply, and with every decision we make, her focus is on the students and the opportunity for a meaningful experience.”

Most essential, however, is Bahen’s dedication to the faith. A longtime parishioner of Saint Edward the Confessor Church (in North

Chesterfield), Bahen also serves on the BSoR subcommittee that focuses on how Saint Gertrude and Benedictine can best maintain and strengthen their Catholic identity.

Finally, seemingly whenever there is a need for remediation at the school, Bahen is sending her crews to the Goochland campus. With a campus that has some aging infrastructure, as well as a main building that is nearly 100 percent utilized throughout the school day, those calls are no rarity. From the fire in the chemistry lab in 2017 to the recent flooding in the administrative wing over Christmas break, Bahen and her team have been vital to ensuring the campus is safe and instruction continues uninterrupted.

“I also greatly admire Theresa’s accomplishments in business,” added Berman. “Her leadership will be immensely important to our success in the future.”

But such is to be expected when dealing with someone who has clearly defined herself as a ball of fire, a crash of lightning and a blast of energy.

“Her leadership will be immensely important to our success in the future.”

Bridget Ryan Berman ’78

Short Takes, Big Breaks

— KEON COLEY ’19 IS ON A TIKTOK RIDE —

Keon Coley has been a busy man since graduating from Benedictine in 2019. He has appeared in several short films and has been active in the local theatre scene. His greatest impact, however, has been on social media, particularly TikTok. Found under the TikTok handle of @keecoley, Coley has amassed a following of more than 1.8 million people (about twice the population of Delaware). His videos are usually lighthearted and show off the fun Coley has with the rest of his family (including siblings Kai’a SGHS ’23, Kayda SGHS ’22, and K’Jon BCP ’16).

He has posted more than 500 of the short flicks, many of which have been viewed millions of times. His popularity has launched Coley into the realm of social influencer, meaning he is earning income from product endorsements. Over the past year, Coley has endorsed products or businesses such as Target, Walmart, and SunnyD.

He is a personification of the entrepreneurial millennial, operating in a fast-paced world, where it is not enough to be merely technologically savvy. One must be creative enough to break through the pack. After all, practically everyone has the means — all one needs is a phone — to create a platform to broadcast their content. Coley has certainly broken through.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR JOURNEY INTO SOCIAL MEDIA.

My journey started about three years ago. I’ve hit some highs and some lows, but it has been a blessing for the most part. If, three years ago, you had told me that I would be a social media influencer today, I would not have believed you. I am so grateful to God for how far I’ve gotten in the social media world up to this point. At the same time, it does take a lot of work, believe it or not. There is much more to it than just turning on your phone and hitting record.

ARE YOU AN ACCIDENTAL INFLUENCER, OR DID YOU PLAN THIS TO HAPPEN?

Honestly, a little bit of both. I started out on TikTok making short films by myself. It was the kind of content you see all over TikTok, so I wasn’t getting too much traction that way. The followers and the views just weren’t accumulating from me filming by myself. In doing some research, I saw a trend that families were doing remakes of the introduction seen at the start of the “Full House” TV series. So, I recruited my family to do our own re-creation of that clip. It got, by far, the most views and likes I had gotten up to that point. It just clicked at that point, and I realized, ‘Oh, wow, the audience really likes seeing me with my family.’” The rest is history. Since then, nearly everything I’ve created includes family members.

AND NOW?

My family is the key to my success. Without them none of this would be possible, so it is kind of not really my success, but it is more-so, our success. I will forever be grateful to them for believing in my vision. It’s also great to have all that additional thinking. My family members contribute all sorts of ideas and help get creative juices flowing. A side benefit is that I feel our work helps bring us closer together as a family unit.

HOW DO TIKTOK VIDEOS AND OTHER DISTRIBUTION PLATFORMS TRANSLATE INTO REVENUE?

Most people think that TikTok pays its creators a lot of money. I thought that way, too, until I became a creator. I do make some money on that platform since we are in something called the “creator fund,” which pays creators monthly who have a minimum number of followers. TikTok itself doesn’t pay us that much; we make most of our revenue from endorsements and ads. TikTok’s value comes in the form of generating profile visibility that results in those endorsements and ads. As for other platforms, we’re still working on getting monetized by YouTube and Instagram in a manner that works the same way as that of TikTok.

HOW DOES A PRODUCT ENDORSEMENT DEAL WORK?

In our case, we have a management team that has connections and works to set up those deals for us. Basically, one of our managers will just shoot me a text or email with the details of the endorsement that he or she wants to partner. After researching the opportunity, I’ll tell them if I want to move forward with the company or not. It is really that simple. In most cases, if it is a service or product that I like and support, I will give the endorsement. As for the content of the endorsement itself, I come up with that, send the concept to the company, and wait to see if they like it.

WHAT DO YOU THINK IT IS THAT DRAWS EYEBALLS TO YOUR WORK?

Without doubt, it is the love that my family and I have for each other. Our videos are authentic, like what you see is what you get. We love to be around each other and have fun, and I think some households don’t have that so that may be why they’re drawn to us. I encourage everyone to just have fun with your family and love them, because that’s all you have at the end of the day.

HOW MUCH EFFORT GOES INTO EACH OF YOUR TIKTOK VIDEOS?

That depends. It is harder to produce the ideas than to create the TikToks. Most of our videos are challenges or some type of physical activity, so we’re normally actually having a good time. They usually only take about 15 to 20 minutes to record. When everything goes right with filming, editing normally does not take long either. The most time-consuming part is working on the ads and endorsements, because then we kind of have to act, whereas we’re normally just being ourselves. Also, most of the companies can be pretty particular about the content, so we have to make changes to the video repeatedly. There is a lot of rework and reshooting.

WHERE DO YOU SEE SOCIAL MEDIA HEADING IN TERMS OF TECHNOLOGY/ DISTRIBUTION/CONTENT?

I think it is just going to keep becoming increasingly more prevalent. I also think social media will continue to become more lucrative, because mostly everyone is starting to use it in some way. I have a hard time seeing it draw down, but you never know — something might come along that is a brighter and shinier object. I seriously doubt that anyone saw TikTok ten years ago.

YOU ARE MORE THAN JUST A GUY WHO PRODUCES SHORT VIDEOS ON YOUR PHONE. WHAT ELSE ARE YOU UP TO?

I just turned 22, so I’m still trying to figure out life. Honestly, being an influencer still leaves me with a lot of free time on my hands. I have been helping out at Benedictine as a substitute teacher, trying to give back to my alma mater. It is quite interesting to see how things are from the other side of the classroom. I like to go to the gym and try to stay in shape (Editor’s note: He was a three-sport athlete while a student at Benedictine). I have also acted in some short films (“Hitting Twin Grove High” and “The Friends I met Last Summer,” among others).

WHAT IS YOUR VISION FOR YOURSELF? WHERE DO YOU SEE KEON COLEY IN FIVE YEARS? TEN? TWENTY?

My vision for myself is a young man who is incredibly grateful to God for what he has, but knows he has a lot more to accomplish. Where I see myself five years from now is, hopefully, even more of a successful influencer and I have moved fully out of my own! As for the longer time horizons, hopefully I am financially secure enough to help my parents retire. Only time will tell but, in the meantime, I am just going to keep working toward that.

“My family is the key to my success. Without them none of this would be possible...”

MAR ATHON MAN

Asked what’s on his to-do list, FRANK “BUDDY” GADAMS ’89 , best known as an uber-successful real estate developer of properties in and around Norfolk, Virginia who has expanded his business interests in recent years, swiftly references his docket. He rattles off status checks, necessary tasks, and upcoming meetings. Now living in Puerto Rico, he is on his way to an appointment, and politely advises he is walking while being interviewed.

He starts with notes on what he needs to bring up to his prized team members, all experts with particular specialties, whom he relies on heavily. “Where are we on ____? Tell me about _____. What’s going on with ____?” Each blank space is a different street address. The list continues: A friend is reaching out for James Madison University, about building a new church there. There are environmental issues to deal with somewhere. Various capital improvements need to happen somewhere else. Calls

need to be made about further investments in the life sciences company ReAlta, where he is on the Board of Directors. A venture named Flight Club, a new business involving darts, opening in several cities around the country, needs some follow up. There’s a note about boot camp this morning at the gym with his wife. A friend wants advice on a property he’s researching. He needs to schedule reminders for meetings and holiday events this weekend with various entrepreneur groups, where he can discuss

The Leaning Tower

People said it couldn’t be done and, in fact, it had never been done, anywhere in the world. Like the Leaning Tower of Pisa after which it was nicknamed, the eight-story building in downtown Norfolk on Granby Street had a noticeable lean: 13 inches, in fact. The lean was easily visible to the naked eye, and troubling enough to scare off lenders, engineers, consultants, and, most importantly to owner Buddy Gadams, potential tenants of his envisioned Savoy building. The edifice was centerpiece of a street he had transformed and brought back to life. The structure was considered a public safety hazard, had been encased in scaffolding for years, and was seemingly destined to come down.

But Gadams, as is his trademark, didn’t take “no” for an answer. He continued to research the possibility that the building might be able to remain standing, without a lean, filled with tenants confident in its stability. Gadams’s relentless pursuit of what he, without evidence, felt was possible, led him to a kindred soul, Danny Speight. Speight, a structural engineer, knew some people up north, in New York, who just might be able to do this thing that everyone else had deemed impossible. Arduous research by Speight had confirmed the building was stable. Speight’s plan? A revolutionary technique involving dozens of immensely powerful computeroperated hydraulic jacks, which could, half an

inch at a time, raise and even out the building. Speight, who had done the math, who was convinced of its success, said he’d do it in a heartbeat, and Gadams, having faith in Speight’s calculations and expertise, was on board as well. The New York crew? They were up for the job. The price? About $2.7 million.

Roughly five years later, former Mayor of Norfolk Paul Fraim, structural engineer Danny Speight, and Buddy Gadams look back on this daring, visionary project, one of Gadams’s trademarks.

PAUL

It’s been around 30 years since I’ve known Buddy. I was Mayor of Norfolk for 22 years, and we met earlier than that. Time after time, he took properties that were of no interest to anybody, and turned them into outstanding products.

There was one building that we didn’t know what to do with. It was empty, but it was leaning. We loved the building and wanted to keep the building. We had terrific people, consultants, who said ‘can’t help you.’ And here comes Buddy. He brought in some people, and they jacked the building up. It was just amazing. We had no idea he could do that. The building is straight as an arrow now, and I think it’s fully occupied. He saw an opportunity where a lot of people just didn’t get it, and

FRAIM:

“You gotta keep checking the boxes, moving things forward. Standing still leads to bad things.”

things with like-minded people and offer counsel to the young movers and shakers of the island. “That’s the range of typical stuff,” he reflects. “You gotta keep checking the boxes, moving things forward. Standing still leads to bad things. I have 80-plus companies. For real estate, I name companies by the address. For operating businesses, I use the actual name of the company.”

80 COMPANIES?

He confirms and explains: “I have over 80 companies. That is comprised of real estate property, ranging in value from $5 million to $100 million, spread between marinas, waterfront industrial, industrial, office, multi-family, and retail.” He adds that there are numerous private equity deals like ReAlta and Puttshack, a tech infused mini golf enterprise he has invested heavily in, as well

as various partnerships in operating companies. Each one is a company he must account for come tax time.

HOW DOES HE DO IT?

He instantly gives credit to others: “Kathy, my wife, is 100 percent supportive of my sometimes long hours and controlled chaos. Without a supportive partner it would be very hard to succeed. She’s special. You need that support.”

he got it. He loves old buildings, and has a vision for what they can become. He not only dreams of what’s possible, he acts on his dreams. He’s absolutely transformational — a pioneer.

DANNY SPEIGHT:

This building on Granby Street had dropped on one corner about 13 inches. It weighs five or six million pounds. And we were trying to figure out how to do it, how to lift it and correct the lean. I asked ‘Does anyone have any measurements I could review?’ I saw that it did move at one time, but it hadn’t moved in 70 years. I wanted to see if the foundation was stable. And it was stable. And meanwhile Buddy was coming on the scene, becoming well known, and doing a lot of stuff on Granby Street. And he said ‘I want to fix it because it’s on my street.’ And I said ‘you better be ready!’ And he said ‘I don’t care. I don’t want that on my street.’ And I’m like, ‘So, it’s a labor of love? You’re trying to do the right thing?’ And he said, ‘Yeah.’ And I said ‘Alright I’m in. I’ll do it with you.’ The thing that Buddy did was, he did it for the right reasons, regardless of the money. And for a developer, that’s unheard of.

He did the opposite of everything you’d expect of someone in that position, to get that building fixed. Did he lose money? Yeah,

probably. But he did it for the right reasons. It’s never been done in the world, what we did. He did it for the right reasons, and I respect him for that. He’s got a code. And he stuck to his code. The money did not affect his code. And I respect him for that. What that does is that opens up other avenues for you. God always looks out for you when you do the right thing. It won local, state, and national awards. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

I was the guy who convinced him that the hydraulics would work. He welcomes advice from people he trusts, and he listens. He just wants to hear the truth.

He’s not a client now, he’s a friend. I only work with friends now, someone whose anniversaries and birthdays I know, someone I would bail out of jail, someone I know I can trust.

It was a huge risk, and a very challenging project. I told him I don’t have a care in the world about doing it. That was enough for him. He was over budget, but he sucked it up. At the end of the day, he fixed his street. Sometimes it’s about the bigger picture. It’s not a money thing. It’s a legacy thing. How many people have you positively impacted in the community? Your impact is what your legacy is, not your money. Your legacy is the

positive impact you have on the people and the community. That’s why we get along, because that’s the way I look at it.

BUDDY GADAMS:

On the Leaning Tower project, we had this great street we were building, and it was like someone with a beautiful smile missing their two front teeth! It was a building that was leaning over, covered in scaffolding and stuff was falling off of it. I didn’t want to see it torn down. I assembled the team to look at it, and we were looking at it with a fresh set of eyes. I couldn’t take the risk that people would stay away from it because it was leaning. It’s more risky to sit on your hands and do nothing, I thought. No one thought it could be done. The Leaning Tower project was all about building a team – the right people, people I could trust, and being willing to take that risk on them, with them.

He elaborates on the logistics: “I try to delegate almost everything, so I can be more strategic and not wake up every day to a million issues. I surround myself with great people.”

Asked for three words to describe himself as an entrepreneur, he comes up with RELENTLESS , PASSIONATE , and PERSEVERANCE .

RELENTLESS refers to his drive and intensity, notable aspects of a man who “is always trying to push the envelope, regardless of what it is.” Relentless as in non-stop energy, as in will not stop until it’s finished, as in will not relent from his high ambitions, will not deviate from standards or take shortcuts. As in will not take his eyes off the ball or the prize.

PASSIONATE speaks to his sense of purpose, profound belief in his projects, and love of tough challenges.

PERSEVERANCE refers to his “marathon mentality,” which guides his zeal for preparation for the long game, for a principled refusal to quit no matter how adverse the conditions or situation, for his resolve to always finish.

One other word that comes up in regard to Gadams is VISION . Paul Fraim, former long-time mayor of Norfolk,who worked with Gadams on numerous projects over the years, expresses it this way:

“He could see things other people couldn’t — a true visionary. Then he had the ability to get these projects done. The banks, and lenders all trusted him. He always kept his word with people, which in the business world is very important to do. And he understood how to build things. Some people understand finance, and some understand construction, but you get a guy who knows how to do both of those things, it’s a very special person, especially when you add in his visionary quality.”

Any discussion of Buddy Gadams would also include the term ‘hard work.’ Work is a joy for him, and it fuels his nearly bottomless energy. “I love working,” he states. “All my friends are out on the golf course all the time, and I’m working. I like to squeeze as much out of the day as I possibly can. I like to put 20 ounces in a 12-ounce can every day.”

The seeds of the joys and rewards of hard work, and benefits of entrepreneurship, began early for Gadams, on a family farm

Buddy doing push ups as a Cadet

Buddy running in the 150-mile race, the Marathon de Sables in the Sahara Desert.

in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee. His brother Matt Gadams ’88, who gave him the nickname Buddy, recalls those days:

“It was a six day a week job, planting peppers. Most of them had to be hand-planted, hand-hoed for the weeds, and when the season hit it was 12-hour days, at least, making sure that we got all the crop. We were out at six in the morning. And on the 7th day we still had cows and chickens and everything else to take care of. So, it was a seven day a week job. No question the entrepreneurship started early. We were paid a little bit of money to pick the peppers: 50 cents a bucket. Also, we used to buy cows. So you’d buy cows and kind of learn that process. And then a cow had a calf and you doubled your money. So that, early on, got us thinking about how entrepreneurship works.”

His sister Mary Gadams recalls that Buddy “worked tirelessly, when he was young, on the farm” and agrees with Matt that the seeds of entrepreneurship were planted early in Buddy. “I think he always wanted to work for himself,” she commented. “As he has a creative mind and wouldn’t want to be held back by a boss.”

Buddy vividly recalls those days on a dusty field at dawn:

“Back then, when I was six years old, sometimes it started with peppers, sometimes it started with cows — they had to be fed. There was a large task list. I got a sense of accomplishing things, of getting things done. That was excitement then and a lot of hard work. And today, my days have a lot of excitement and hard work, too. Back then we were feeding a large part of the state of Tennessee with bell and pimento peppers.”

The idea of entrepreneurship in the Gadams family, whose patriarch Frank Gadams, Sr. was a business owner, has clearly taken hold. Matt relates that of the seven children in the tightknit Roman Catholic family, five own their own business, one’s a doctor, and one’s at Microsoft.

After the farm experience, there was a paper route in Dallas, Texas, and, while attending Benedictine, an ambitious mobile lawn service, which always came first. The risks and rewards of operating his own business resulted in an epiphany: “I figured out that I wanted to work for myself; that it would give me freedom.” He proudly notes that the Gadams family entrepreneurial trait has extended to the next generation. “My son Grayson, a sophomore at JMU, has his own deck and fence business that he learned from Youtube, and I don’t think he’ll ever work for somebody. I think he’s off to the races as an entrepreneur. And my younger son Nick, a high school senior, has a business selling up-and-coming tennis shoes online that he started when he was 15.”

Buddy and Kathy out west.

Matt, Buddy, Pam, Nancy, Dan – The Homestead Resort, Hot Springs, Virginia.

Matt, Dan, Mary, Nancy, Buddy, Pam, Michael –Wedding Reception, Amelia Island, Florida.

After college he spent some formative time at the Capital Group, learning about crunching numbers, running projections, structuring deals, and what was required to turn ideas into reality. That body of knowledge was a springboard into real estate. As he forged his own path in real estate, gravitating toward adaptive reuse projects which combined his fascination with old buildings and the architecture of the past with his vision for what they could become, he learned about the opportunities that entrepreneurship provided: “I learned that with the entrepreneur’s path you can write your own ticket. And it affords me flexibility, to follow not only my creativity and vision, but my priorities as well, the biggest of which is family.” For Gadams, “family” extends beyond the Gadams name to Benedictine, and the various communities he has served with his work.

While at Benedictine, Gadams soaked up the culture of discipline, faith, loyalty, and community, and learned valuable lessons from teachers who challenged him and took risks. His experience running track and cross country began an appreciation for the “marathon mindset,” which still guides him today.

At Benedictine, his foundation and focus on community came more firmly into place:

“Looking back at Benedictine, I think of friends — some of the best friendships from then, I’m still friends with today. Looking back at the cornerstones of what it taught you — discipline, building that strong foundation and work ethic, being

faith-based. People that believe in something — I think you just live a much more happy, rewarding life. I’ve just been amazed at what Benedictine has been able to do for a lot of these kids. That’s why I got re-involved with the school. I saw an opportunity. They had just moved. I’m helping sell properties and helping build the new fields. You seek out opportunities where you can have the most impact, and that you’re passionate about, and that you care a lot about, and that was certainly one that was a pretty easy decision.”

Gadams also feels Benedictine’s culture is great preparation for entrepreneurship:

“Benedictine has that culture of pushing through limits, not shrinking from challenge, taking that risk. You see a lot of entrepreneurs have come out of Benedictine. Some of the core life skills — discipline, working hard, working as a team — a lot of those core skills and beliefs are going to help those kids throughout their lives, no doubt about it.”

Michael Siewers ’89, Buddy’s best friend then and still today, echoes the important role of Benedictine: “It bred loyalty and discipline. The esprit de corps, the camaraderie between all the Cadets, is huge, as is the support system in the community.”

Running was perhaps the aspect of Gadams’ life that stayed with him the most from his Benedictine days:

“At Benedictine I did cross country and track, all four years. I did decently — a couple of years in a row I was an MVP. I’ve pretty

“Looking back at Benedictine, I think of friends — some of the best friendships from then, I’m still friends with today.”

much been running for 35 years, but not nearly as much anymore. 35 years is a long time to do a lot of running, especially when you’re doing extreme races. I’ve done 50 miles, 150 miles, a bunch of marathons, a bunch of half marathons. Any distance you can imagine, I’ve done ’em. I’ve done a bunch of them.”

The 150-mile race, the Marathon des Sables, spread out over seven days in the Sahara Desert, was a pivotal experience. He explains:

“You only have one life, so I want to try things that are a little outside of the box, and that are a hard challenge. It occurred to me if I could run the Marathon des Sables and finish it, I could probably do about anything in life. And once I finished that race it gave that to me, it gave me an extreme amount of confidence. That if I’m ever having a bad day in business or personally, that I could look back to this race, and say, you know, this is not really that bad of a day. That was a very very tough race, and it brought on a

whole other and new perspective on really pushing it and taking it to the next level.”

Training for marathons has given him insight into what he calls the “marathon mentality,” a concept so central to him that he named his development company after it.

“The Marathon Mentality is all about persevering. I named the company Marathon because, look, you’re going to have some bad days, and some really tough things. You’re going to have some obstacles and a lot of reasons to quit. And you’ve just gotta stay focused and keep chugging until you get through. When you are a marathon runner you are not training for miles one to 21. The race is miles 21 through 26, which are the most difficult. I look at business a lot like that — where the focus has to be longer term and on the big picture to succeed. You have to feel like you’re unstoppable, and the type of training you do for a marathon, that level of fitness you achieve, can lead to that.”

“Benedictine has that culture of pushing through limits, not shrinking from challenge, taking that risk.”

Basilica of Saint Mary of the Immaculate

The four-year project to renovate a landmark property in downtown Norfolk, Virginia, the Basilica of Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception, demonstrates how Buddy Gadams marches to a different drummer than do most other developers. When he sizes up a project, he relishes its challenges. He relishes a chance to make a real impact, not only in the short term, but for many years to come, by improving and nourishing the community. He relishes the chance to prove that you can do something the right way, the beautiful way, the ‘going beyond all expectations’ way, and still have it make financial sense, in the end.

Initially, the church leaders just wanted to put up a fresh coat of paint, and they soon discovered that the walls were wet. Someone described the building as “weeping.” A leaky roof was the culprit, and as they looked more deeply at the structure, more problems emerged. There were extreme structural issues, including long-term water damage, which had led to major termite issues. Gadams describes

the continuous revelation of problems as a “snowballing of epic proportions.”

Gadams discusses his involvement with the project, and why he took it on, below. Two Catholic priests, one who directed Gadams to the project to take a look and offer advice, and the other, the church’s pastor, who worked with Buddy through the entire project, offer reflections as well.

What leads you to take on projects where there’s a sense that you’re giving back, that there’s service and faith involved in the equation, and it’s not purely a business proposition?

BUDDY GADAMS:

I think a life of service is very, very critical. There’s nothing like helping a good cause and seeing what it can actually do. I look for opportunities like that, that I think can really move the needle, where people are in need in order to do it. We’ve been very fortunate, had a good support system, and people have helped us over the years — so why shouldn’t we give back?

I also really want to take on something that I think is hard, that I think not a lot of people are willing to take on, to do it well and see it through. Even if it takes years and years

and years, like the Basilica, which took fourplus years.

When I came into that project, they were looking at roof repairs and a budget of around $250,000. They knew the budget was going to go up, but, by the time we got done, we had to raise $7,200,000. The budget went up 30 times! I was the pro bono developer on the project. And we finished it with the church having money in the bank and no debt.

With St. Mary’s, I looked at it as this is an important fixture of the community. They had to raise millions, and they needed someone with credibility. I realized this was something that was really, really important, that was going to be there for the rest of your life. Some things aren’t easy, but I could see that I could be really helpful here. I try to pick and choose my battles, carefully. When I make a commitment, I want to be sure I can make an impact.

FATHER JIM GRIFFIN, A CATHOLIC PRIEST WHO HAS KNOWN BUDDY GADAMS SINCE HE WAS AN EIGHTH GRADER, HAD A ROLE IN LEADING BUDDY TO THE PROJECT, TO THE NEEDS OF THAT CHURCH, SIMPLY TO

“The way he conducted himself on this project was a remarkable thing.”

Father Jim Curran

Immaculate Conception

OFFER ADVICE – AND BUDDY ENDED UP BECOMING THE PRO BONO DEVELOPER:

Buddy is very grounded in his faith, in his family, in his parish, and in his community. Part of his faith is that you respect when there’s a need. And when there is, he follows through, and does it right. He never made decisions that hurt other people; he was careful about that. Even as a young man recently out of college, he had the discipline, he had the know-how to follow through and be where you were supposed to be. With Saint Mary’s, I think he thought he was on a mission. It’s absolutely gorgeous now--it’s a thing of beauty and is a blessing to the entire community.

FATHER JIM CURRAN, PASTOR OF THE BASILICA OF SAINT MARY OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION:

The way he conducted himself on this project was a remarkable thing. He really led with a light hand. It required a delicate touch, and he managed it well. My team was already there, and he allowed them to lead. He was…graceful. The most expeditious way would have been to take it over. But he didn’t do that. It said a lot about him, as a man.

It was very complicated. He was there through the whole thing. And the diocese — when Buddy said something, they listened. The project started with a budget of $100,000 and suddenly it’s $5 million. And I was trying to come up with how I was going to raise that. And he said you’ve got to include the interior, and that’ll be another $1,500,000. I said, ‘that’s crazy!’ And he said: ‘there’s nothing sexy about fixing a roof. If you want this to be successful, include the interior, and more people will be drawn to it.’ And I did, and he was absolutely right. And I’m so glad that I followed that advice. He’s unafraid. I needed that confidence to push through. That helped me a lot.

Buddy made these choices that were stunning. It’s breathtaking. There’s something very Catholic about that, about a vision

His sister Mary Gadams, also a marathon runner, whose company runs ultra marathons like the Marathon des Sables all over the globe, feels Buddy’s running and the resultant mindset have been invaluable to his business. In an email from a boat in Antarctica, where she was overseeing a race, she stated “I think sports are the best equalizer in life. If you are having a bad day at the office you can have a good day challenging yourself in a run or preparing for a competition. No doubt his success in track and field has given him the mindset, focus and drive needed to succeed.”

that is glorious and beautiful and sensual. Something that delights the senses.

He doesn’t wear his Catholicism, it’s from the inside out. You can see it. To know him is to know the faith. That was driving everything — wanting to help his Church. He does have a beautiful humility to him. But not in a meek, kind of pious sense. He can be forceful. He is humbly forceful. He makes you want to do what he says is the right thing to do. He gets you on board.

That mindset, which includes his ‘marathon mentality,’ as well as a focus on the big picture, and his impact, is central to everything Gadams takes on:

“I look for something I’m going to be able to scale. If it’s just a “one off,” I’m not too interested, because I want to make that impact, in a lot of different ways. Obviously business wise, financially, but impact in the community, impact through the next 50 or 100 years. I look at the development industry as — look — I don’t think there’s a better business in the world. Where you

can take something from really nothing, something that was a complete eyesore, and completely change it, hopefully into something beautiful, and it will be there for the next hundred years. When we do these projects we don’t want to slap a band-aid on it and try to make the highest profit. We want to completely restore it right, fix it the way it should be, and make sure that we’re stewards of this property for the next 20, 30, 50 years.”

A life sciences company called ReAlta could offer Gadams his biggest impact yet, extending to the global community. As a lead investor and member of the Board of Directors, Gadams explains why this venture has him so excited, and how it ties into his ever present sense of mission:

“ReAlta is a company that is trying to figure out a way to reset the human immune system — in the next couple of years. The human immune system kills more people every year than all cancers combined. COVID is in the immune system, so is sepsis, and if you go down the list there’s probably a hundred more auto immunes. ReAlta is exploring something that literally resets the immune system. When it gets over-stimulated, we found a way to tamp it down, back into equilibrium, whether it’s acute or whether it’s chronic. I think in the next three to four years, or sooner, you’re going to read about a company called ReAlta that came up with something that’s the equivalent of penicillin back in the 1930s.

I’m one of the largest investors in this company, and I’m taking that risk and have invested a lot of money. But it’s not about the financial reward for me; it’s about the mission. If you can improve a city or help a non-profit by helping it realize things that they would never have been able to, don’t be too scared to take on that challenge. Use the gifts that you have to the fullest. That’s how you can live a really rewarding life.”

And in his next action he demonstrates how he lives his really rewarding life according to his priorities, “the biggest of which is family.” After more than a half dozen calls where this man of 80+ companies was immediately available, without interruptions, for as much time as was required, Buddy asks to be released from the call. His appointment, the commitment he has to honor? Dinner with his daughter Kate, 10, who, he admits, has him wrapped around her fourth-grade finger.

A Commitment to Lessons Learned

In the Collab Lab at Benedictine, a classroom where various classes from Computer Science to English are taught, there is a poster on the wall with a quote from James Joyce that says “Mistakes are Portals of Discovery.” It would be right at home in Buddy Gadams’s office. According to Gadams, knowledge is power — and it can reveal opportunity — even the knowledge that comes from failure and adversity. As Gadams attests, learning can come from various sources — experts, experience, studying the numbers, reading, and failure. Below are examples of lessons Buddy has learned along the way, what a friend observes Buddy has learned from adversity, what a young developer has learned from having Buddy as a mentor, and what a client — a structural engineer — has learned from Buddy’s example.

BUDDY GADAMS ON THE LESSONS OF COVID:

What COVID taught me was I could do this anywhere. I’ve built a really great team. I told my wife, ‘Hey, we’re not getting any younger. We’ve always loved the warmer weather, and we seem to always be happy when we go on vacation to an island, so why don’t we try it out for a couple of years and see how it is?’ So we moved to Puerto Rico. It’s worked out extremely well. What it’s really taught me is that I micromanage people a little too much, because it seems like everyone’s getting a lot more done with me not being there! I’m able to look at the big picture, and not be caught up in the weeds every day. It’s been an eye-opening experience.

BUDDY GADAMS ON LEARNING FROM FAILURE:

My best lessons didn’t come from the classroom. They came from learning from experience, learning from my failures, learning why it happened, and trying to do your best not to repeat it. I’ve learned about litigation. I’ve learned how to not get walked all over. Sharing these failures with other entrepreneurs is important, so they don’t have to share in these tough lessons.

“...it’s not about the financial reward. It’s about the mission.”

to Education: and Passing It On

BUDDY GADAMS ON LIFELONG LEARNING:

I read two hours every day, mostly in the morning. Knowledge is power. It can allow you to pivot, quickly. It can reveal opportunity. I have more time for it now, because I’m not being pulled into the weeds all the time. My reading has led me into some opportunities that I’m extremely excited about, that are driving me today.

MICHAEL SIEWERS ’89 ON BUDDY’S LEARNING FROM ADVERSITY:

It hasn’t always been smooth sailing his whole career. He’s been knocked down several times, in different ways. But Buddy got up, resiliently. There were times where others might have quit, but Buddy did not quit. He has really worked for his success. It has not been handed to him. That resilience — some of that came from the military experience at Benedictine and some of that came from running. He had to finish the race. He’s been in some pretty amazing races, and marathons, around the world. There was a race in the Sahara desert in Africa. I think it was six days long! Some days were 12 miles, some days were 50 miles. I think that’s similar to his career. He’s been dealt some hard blows with the economy or the recession, and he picked himself up by his bootstraps, continued, didn’t let it get him down, and plowed forward. I don’t know that I could have overcome that adversity.

CARTER WOOD, A REAL ESTATE DEVELOPER

MENTORED BY BUDDY, ON WHAT HE’S LEARNED FROM BUDDY’S APPROACH TO BUSINESS AND TO LIFE.

He counsels me on how to treat people, how to look at people, how to look at old dilapidated buildings for opportunities. As he has said many times, he failed all the time to become what he is today. Buddy has seen it all. He wants to take all that wisdom, take what he’s learned from all of those failures, and share it. If you don’t share what you’ve learned, that’s another loss as far as he’s concerned. Everything leads to the impact that he’s trying to leave not just on the people, but on the world itself. He truly is trying to make it a better place.

Working with Buddy there are so many different lessons you can take out of it. One of the pretty impactful ones with Buddy is: Don’t ever turn your back on helping someone out or helping a greater cause out for the sake of making a dollar. That leads to goodwill. And goodwill leads to other things. Maybe it leads to a new opportunity, and that does lead to a dollar. Maybe it’s someone you meet along the way that leads to knowledge. And it all circles back.

DANNY SPEIGHT, A STRUCTURAL ENGINEER WHO WORKED WITH GADAMS ON THE “LEANING TOWER OF GRANBY” PROJECT, ON WHAT BUDDY’S APPROACH CAN TEACH US:

What can we learn from him? Listen. Communicate. Be honest. Get the right people around you. Even if it costs you more money initially. Sometimes you have to make a lot of money on a project, and other times you have to do what you feel you have to do, regardless of the money, because it means something to you, or because otherwise it won’t get done. That’s the kind of stuff he does. That’s why he’s not just a client, he’s a friend.

Putting the Numbers to Good Use

Rod Ganey ’69

Helped Revolutionize an Industry

We live in an age of feedback. Some welcome it: both the getting and the giving. While it seems as though the “need for feed” fell upon us suddenly, it has been developing over a significant time interval.

Today, seemingly every entity with which we deal is looking for feedback via assessment. There are even outfits that seek feedback when none is necessarily desired (such as with Yelp). Amazon reviews are all the rage. When was the last time you went to a new (to you) restaurant without checking what previous patrons had to say about it? There is even an industry that has grown up around providing fake reviews. Did hundreds of people really take the time to sing the praises of that putty knife or tell tales of that toaster?

Among all these data grabs exist rating systems that really make a difference and measure things that are profoundly important. And what is more important than our health and the outcomes we experience when our health is at stake? That is where PressGaney came into play. The company was founded with a singular purpose: to provide accurate, germane, and timely feedback to health care providers so that they might improve the patient experience.

Rodney Ganey ’69 is the co-founder of the company that bears his name (along with that of the other co-founder, Irwin Press). Both are holders of doctorate degrees, both were working at prestigious Notre Dame University when they developed and brought to life their brainchild, and both helped drive it

to unimagined heights. Today, the tools they developed — and their offshoots — are employed by over 40,000 medical establishments. The big innovation was building such a service where nothing like it existed before. “All there was were home-grown surveys,” recalled Press. “And those home-grown surveys were awful, only yielding positive results. Hospitals were afraid to ask about doctors, and there was lots of poor data on nurses.”

A MEETING OF MINDS

Ganey did not set out to blaze a field in medical-related analytics. In fact, following his graduation from Benedictine, he pursued a pre-med course of study before switching in two years to a focus on sociology. Eventually, he earned his doctorate in that field of study. Still, “When you’re a sociology professor, people wonder if you’re needed,” Ganey noted. “But I always felt there was something to offer. That sociology students need to make a difference in the world. The dollars may or may not follow.”

Contentment in the world of academia was a possibility: Ganey was on the staff of Notre Dame, the dream school for many a Catholic (and, for that matter, for many a non-Catholic). But things worked out differently, particularly since Ganey found himself drawn toward the application of his research. Also, a fellow professor, Joe Bohlen (at Iowa State), intrigued him with his entrepreneurial spirit. Ganey also immersed himself in the writings of Ohio State’s D.A. Dillman on survey methodology.

“I remember I was in a big meeting in Indiana when I was a young professor (third year at Notre Dame). The meeting leader asked, ‘How many of you have been paid for using sociology outside of the classroom?’ Mine was the only hand up.”

Meanwhile, Press — who was a professor of medical anthropology — was in the process of giving a series of conferences on the risk of hospitals not listening to patients and was seeking any type of data to help substantiate his theories. Both he and Ganey were less than impressed with what was available, with Press calling the extant surveys “terrible.”

Certainly, organizations strive to improve their customer delivery and the associated quality, and the health care industry is comprised of those types of organizations. The drive toward higher quality, however, is fueled by much more than altruism. Certainly, the industry is in thrall to such maxims as “It costs 10 times more to attract a new customer than to retain a current one” and “A happy customer is a returning customer.” But there is much more to it than that, including the heavy involvement of the federal government in health care.

“I said, ‘Look, we can make this a whole lot better,’” recalled Ganey. “It was an opportunity to give health care a better way to collect data and to compare data across hospitals. We wanted to give them the data they need to improve health care quality. At the same time, TQM (Total Quality Management) was getting big. Feedback was what was needed. So, we researched and found nobody was doing this.”

TQM initially found its American legs during the mid-80s in the industrial sector. Companies adopted the statistical-based techniques that were so eloquently preached by W. Edwards Deming — who championed them during his time in Japan. The benefits derived via TQM in manufacturing were soon found to be adaptable in the service sector, including in the hospital setting. After all, three of the basic tenets of TQM are:

1. Better design to improve service

2. Higher level of uniform quality

3. Improvement of testing in the workplace and in research centers

And within the service sector, Press Ganey found a focus in the field of health care after considering other options. “We looked at car dealerships,” said Ganey. “But J.D. Power had that market locked up. We also considered banking” before settling on the sector that they would lock up themselves.

HITTING THE HOSPITALS

Press and Ganey started with three test hospitals — to evaluate 14 models, in order to determine which version(s) worked best. “We were looking for reliability and needed to get it right,” Ganey said.

Soon, Press Ganey numbered Johns Hopkins, Emory, and Houston Methodist among its clients. And, by 1990, 90 percent of the major research hospitals were employing Press Ganey

“...I always felt there was something to offer. That sociology students need to make a difference in the world.”

methodology. “We knew that if we got the researchers on our side, that they would want to bring over everyone else,” noted Ganey.

Through programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and the Veterans Health Administration, the United States has a huge investment in the medical field. And those who wish to partner with the governmental agencies need to stay on the right side of Uncle Sam. In fact, the case is strong that it was governmental intervention that gave medical measurement a boost to preeminence.

In 2002, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a new requirement: health care organizations would be compelled to participate in a national program to measure patient satisfaction. (CMS is also noted for adding additional reporting requirements — while removing a few — on an annual basis.) The initiative was a component of an accountability improvement effort driven by the George W. Bush administration. At that time, Press Ganey was uniquely positioned to assist these health care providers in satisfying these new mandates.

The process of collecting, analyzing, and reporting health-care customer data received another jolt with the passage of the Affordable Care Act of 2010. That law stipulated that hospitals that are rated less-than satisfactorily in the area of quality would forfeit a percentage of their governmental reimbursements (i.e.,

From Cadet to Creator

GANEY’S BENEDICTINE ROOTS

While Rodney Ganey’s insights, expertise, and dedication have revolutionized the patient experience, we like to think that Benedictine had something to do with it. At least at the start. Ganey, Class of ’69, seems to be a late bloomer, though. With mediocre grades (a “B” student) and with company-grade rank (lieutenant), he seems to have been just your typical Cadet, at least on paper.

In retrospect, Ganey is quick to acknowledge that he got a bit of a push from Father Adrian Harmening, O.S.B., the “Rock of Benedictine,” himself. “Father Adrian got me involved in a number of groups, such as the Medical Explorers Group, the Tuberculosis Association and the Youth Council,” said Ganey, who noted Father Adrian did so when he noticed Ganey’s interest in the medical field.

Ganey also pointed to some less-tangible contributions from his alma mater. “Benedictine taught discipline and goal focus and the value of working toward those goals,” he stated. “You don’t see these things in a lot of places: honesty, working with others, intensity.”

Meanwhile, the Benedictine community can point to the contributions made by this alumnus to the world of healthcare. They are numerous, they are significant, and they are enduring.

Medicare). Currently, that forfeiture runs to the tune of a full two percentage points. No matter the business, a hit to revenue of that size is certainly significant.

Toward that end, beginning in 2017, all medical practices that participate in any type of federal program were required to execute and report the “Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems — Clinician and Group.” This mandate called for health care providers to execute the following steps:

• Prepare a survey instrument for their organizations

• Draw a sample of potential respondents

• Collect the survey data

• Track responses

• Use the survey results to report patient experience measures

While Press Ganey was a beneficiary of these federal programs and their near-mandating of the company’s services, it should be noted that such governmental intervention was by no means the sole driver of the company’s growth. It is key to note that the tools Press Ganey provided were critical in the efforts of continuous improvement (i.e., TQM) and in employee performance assessment. Additionally, the realization of the link

between patient satisfaction and profitability was key (see chart on page 32).

THE ANSWER

It all came together for Ganey and Press in October 1985, at the National Society of Hospital Representatives convention, in Boston. “We had a booth — nothing fancy, only a table, a sign and a survey nailed to the table,” recalled Ganey. “Everyone else had fancy stuff.” But what they lacked in sizzle they made up for with steak. In this case, it was their sophisticated statistics, including correlations and means testing. “We had four [people] across and six deep the entire fair. We were getting all the traffic. That told us this could be a real business.”

And it did just that. But Ganey and Press had not developed “Yelp for Hospitals.” They had built a system that provided logical and actionable evaluation tools that covered a broad spectrum of variables and were scalable for large-population samples. And in the world of data, those big sample sizes provide greater reliability and tighter confidence intervals.

ACCORDING TO MARKETING AND BRANDING GURU DAVID BRIER, THERE ARE

Four Types of Entrepreneurs

1 COASTERS OPPORTUNITY COMES TO THEM (OR IT DOES NOT)

The coasters do not look for opportunity, things kind of “happen” and for some, that works. It is more focused on right now, what is in front of them.

2

CONSERVATIVE VERY MODERATE USE OF RESOURCES, PROTECTING EXISTING RESOURCES

The conservative entrepreneur operates on the principle “resources are limited” and thus we have to “be cautious.” This is slightly focused to the future, but conservatively so, since “you never know.”

3 AGGRESSIVE PROACTIVE, ALL-IN, ACTIVELY SEEKS OPPORTUNITY

The aggressive entrepreneur operates more on the idea that there are many opportunities, and uses whatever resources are there to achieve those objectives. This is more focused on what is next, what more can be achieved, and generating growth through personal action and conviction.

4 INNOVATOR/REVOLUTIONARY ATTAINS GROWTH THROUGH INNOVATION

The innovator not only seeks out opportunities that can be seized, but looks for opportunities that, with a bit of refinement, can be the best of all worlds. This is the rebel, the artist, the non-conformist embracing all that is possible in the future (even at the sacrifice of the present).

“We had a booth — nothing fancy, only a table, a sign and a survey nailed to the table.”

“Doctors don’t want surveys, so we needed standard questions and flexibility,” Ganey noted. “Hospitals had never done this, so we needed to create demand. We needed to show them that this is a problem that never existed before.”

Press Ganey was in position to seize control of the sector because of the preparation that the company had put into establishing an infrastructure that emphasized data reliability and speed. “We would turn the data around in a week,” said Ganey. “Our competitors would send out reports in months.” That speed was premised on:

• Data that were entered directly into the system by the hospitals, which also printed the reports returned to them (cutting down on costs to Press Ganey).

• A flow that had the survey in the hands of the patient at discharge.

• Superior technology, using Pitney Bowes at the start.

• The ability to keep up with technology trends. Rare was the year when the technology was not upgraded from the year before.

In 1996, Ganey and Press left Notre Dame to fully focus on the business. The two never looked back (until later, as Press currently holds a faculty emeritus position at the school) and, by 2003, they had developed 20 different survey offerings in 30 different languages (including Turkish and Polish). The company was servicing a full quarter of a million surveys per day.

Along the way, Dr. Press and Dr. Ganey developed a strong relationship that was built on the strengths that each man brought to the mix. “I was known for having expertise in patient satisfaction: I knew what questions to ask,” said Press. “Rod had been the go-to guy for methodology and data in social sciences at Notre Dame. He became the methodological backbone of Press Ganey.”

We suspect that Brier would categorize Rodney Ganey in that fourth category. While Ganey comes across as less than a wild-eyed firebrand, he and Dr. Press created an industry from whole cloth, building something that never existed before and endures to this day in a scale that was once unthinkable. In short, they created an entirely new industry. As Press noted: “Our big innovation was offering the basic service in the first place.”

Press also noted the differences in their personalities. “Rod is terrific: a great guy and a calming influence,” he said. “All that time (20 years), we always shared an office and never had a major argument. And I’m a bit more emotional.”

THE BEAT GOES ON

Assessment and feedback may be used in a number or ways, whether as stick or as carrot (or as both). The availability of Press Ganey data tools and analysis has given health care organizations a means of assessing the customer experience, including opportunities for improvement. It is also used by many organizations to assess employee performance, including as criteria in setting pay raises and bonuses.

Understandably, there are mixed feelings on the part of those medical professionals, who are part of the evaluation process. Some have expressed concern that doctors, in particular, are kowtowing to demands of their patients, fearful that, by not doing so, they risk being on the receiving end of a blistering evaluation. But what cannot be denied is the linkage between profitability and quality ratings. At the same time, such data gives hospital administrators the keys to focusing on desired experiences of the patient.

Ann Weinacker, MD, the Chief Physician Executive of Stanford University’s Risk Management Department, stated that she is often asked what is key to the doctor-patient relationship. “Based on Press Ganey data, the main factors that influence the likelihood of patients to recommend [a doctor] and [his or her] practice is our sensitivity to their needs, our concern for the things that worry them, the degree to which we work with others to coordinate their care, the time we spend with them, and the instructions we provide for follow-up care,” wrote Dr. Weinacker. “Contrary to popular belief, the inconvenience of finding parking and negotiating our complex environment play a relatively small role in their likelihood to recommend us to others.”

Another example comes from White Plains Hospital (New York). In 2003, the hospital received Press Ganey results that had it in the lower 25 percent in cleanliness ratings. The hospital’s administration declared that it would pursue a higher emphasis on environmental services and brought in a new third party. It saw steady improvement in the area of cleanliness, eventually realizing the 86 percent mark, and never falling below 75 percent.

The innovation, growth, and wide-spread utilization of Press Ganey tools, of course, translated into business success. In 2003, the firm reverted to private status by a private equity firm for what was reported to be $100 million. When the company was last sold, in 2019, the sale went for $4.3 billion, and it continues to grow. Since the start of 2020, Press Ganey has been aggressive, executing six acquisitions, including Dr.com. The newly acquired entities include consulting organizations, as well as those focused on analytics.

Most recently, Press Ganey announced it has completed its acquisition of Forsta, a leading global provider of market research, customer experience, and employee experience technologies.

Today, the company claims to have the industry’s largest database of patient, caregiver, and physician feedback — an assertion that is believable on its face. That data serves as the fuel for its intelligence and analytics platforms.

Meanwhile, the two men who started it all have watched from afar, making a clean break after the second sale of the company in 2008. Press now lives in a home along Chicago’s Gold Coast, still a professor emeritus at Notre Dame.

Ganey is still quite active. He helped found internet marketing company Logical Position (with over 800 employees) in Portland, Oregon (where five of his six children reside), as well as Richmond’s wildly popular Zacharias Ganey Health Institute (which had an 18-year run before being shut down via Covid-19). At his home, nestled in the mountains of Nevada, he swims (half a mile each day) and walks (four miles per day) between checking on his investment projects (including a hotel project in Nevada).

Not lost in all of this is that the man who once had his heart set on becoming a doctor has had such an influence on the medical field. “The most skeptical people became our biggest supporters,” Ganey said. “They want to do it the right way; they just want to help people.”

Sounds familiar.

“Rod had been the go-to guy for methodology and data in social sciences at Notre Dame. He became the methodological backbone of Press Ganey.”

Data, Data Everywhere

The term has come to be a part of our everyday vocabulary. Unlike, however, newly pressed words such as “streaming,” “meme,” or “bromance,” the term “Big Data” has taken on somewhat of a negative connotation. And, unlike those three terms, the collection and analysis of large data predates every currently living person — by a long shot. “It is with us, and we’re all subjected to it,” noted Rodney Ganey. “It can make life better, but there are plusses and minuses, such as privacy issues.”

History tells us that the first (known) such endeavor took place in the later part of the 17th century, when John Graunt undertook a mission to better understand an upsurge in rickets cases across Britain, which led to him being called the first epidemiologist. (Graunt also developed and implemented statistical tools for population censuses, which landed him the handle of first demographer, as well.)

Of course, until the advent of computing capabilities (and capacities), dealing with large data sets was a manual exercise.

Unlike, say, Big Oil or Big Tobacco, we are unable to point to a handful of dominant players that are the main drivers of Big Data. In essence, we are all part of Big Data. To wit: According to an SG Analytics study (2020), 2.5 quintillion bytes (2.5 exabytes) of data are created every day. Subsequent analysis by Dihuni, an IT provider, estimated that such an output is equivalent to 10 million Blu-ray discs. If stacked, they would be the rough equivalent height of four Washington Monuments. Dihuni also estimates that stored data grows five times faster than does the world’s economy.

Google generates approximately 20 petabytes per day. Therefore, the world’s

single largest data generator — Big Data’s answer to oil giant Saudi Aramco — accounts for less than one-one hundredth of our daily data generation. (Saudi Aramco, by the way, accounts for 11% of the world’s oil production.)

In many cases, we willingly provide data. With Press Ganey, patients are offered the opportunity to input evaluative information as part of the conclusion of their medical experiences. The data is anonymized for the patient, and no patients are tracked. They are simply a data input source. Ganey, however, feels that there is a case to be made in the area of actual medical records of patients, noting that HIPPA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) precludes the benefits that could be derived from a giant database of patient records. “You never heard of abuse of health care information [before HIPPA],” he noted. “That’s because nobody cares about it. There should be an exception for researchers.”

In other cases, there is a trade-off. For example, via a loyalty program, you may save on some grocery items in exchange for letting the grocer know it was you who bought them. (By the way, unless you’re paying in cash, the grocer is going to know anyway, since he will get it from the financial services company that issues/ tracks your financial payment tools.)

In still other cases, you may not even be aware of what you are providing. You might be surprised to learn that a study by storage provider pCloud discovered that social media and food delivery apps sell the most personal data to thirdparty advertisers. The company further estimates that Instagram shares 79% of user data, including browsing history and personal information, with others online.

On the other hand, they declared that apps such as Etsy, Netflix, Skype, Zoom, and Google Classroom tracked zero percent of personal data.

According to BusinessNewsDaily.com, the consumer data that businesses collect break down into four categories:

1. Personal data. This category includes personally identifiable information such as Social Security numbers and gender, as well as non-personally identifiable information, including your IP address, web browser cookies, and device IDs.

2. Engagement data. This type of data details how consumers interact with a business’s website, mobile apps, text messages, social media pages, emails, paid ads, and customer service routes.

3. Behavioral data. This category includes transactional details such as purchase histories, product usage information (e.g., repeated actions), and qualitative data (e.g., mouse movement information).

4. Attitudinal data. This data type encompasses metrics on consumer satisfaction, purchase criteria, product desirability, and more.

If all this data collection is causing you angst, perhaps the following stat will give you some reprieve: Forrester, a consulting firm, estimates that between 60% and 73% of all data within an enterprise goes unused for analytics.

Just like the traveler who snaps thousands of photos during her sojourn but will never have the time to shuffle through them to identify the “keepers,” many companies amass troves of data that sits and sits, awaiting the perfect algorithm to come along.

183

BS o R STUDENTS SURVEYED

64 FRESHMEN 46 SOPHOMORES

45 JUNIORS

28 SENIORS

87 PLAN TO PURSUE TRADITIONAL JOB

WHAT PERSONAL QUALITIES/SKILLS DO YOU THINK ARE MOST IMPORTANT TO ENTREPRENEURIAL SUCCESS?

1 being the most important and 10 being the least important

— AVERAGES —

LEADERSHIP: 2.6

TECHNICAL SKILLS: 5.5

PERSEVERANCE: 4.4

COMMUNICATION: 3.9

96 WANT TO OWN A BUSINESS

CREATIVITY: 4.9

VISION: 4.9

DECISION MAKING: 4.5

INTEGRITY: 5.0

101

RESPONSES STATED A FAMILY MEMBER AS AN ENTREPRENEUR THEY ADMIRE

WHAT ENTREPRENEURS/BUSINESS OWNERS DO YOU MOST ADMIRE/ASPIRE TO BE LIKE?

Mark Zuckerberg     Jeff Bezos     Beyoncé     Lee Byung-chul     Henry Ford

Bill Gates     John D. Rockefeller     Sara Blakely     Walt Disney

Steve Jobs     Mark Cuban     Elon Musk     Caterina Fake

Robert Herjavec     Andrew Carnegie     Milton Hershey     Barbara Corcoran

Penny Streeter     Lori Greiner     Oprah Winfrey     Patrick Gelsinger

Taylor Swift     Warren Buffett     Tory Burch     Kylie Jenner

Susan Wojcicki     Sheryl Sandberg     Deb Waterman Johns

Lynda Resnick     Kim Kardashian     Shaquille O’Neal     Larry Page

Kelly Clarkson     Jessica Alba     Prudencio Unanue Ortiz

Donald Trump     Steve Chen     Bobby Gruenewald     Gloria Vanderbilt

Kendra Baumgartner     Malala Yousafzai

ACCORDING TO BSOR STUDENTS — WHAT DOES ENTREPRENEURSHIP MEAN TO YOU?

It involves the process of establishing, organizing, and operating a new business in order to obtain profit while assuring financial stability.

NEISHA SHICK, SGHS ’23

A person who creates their own business to make a profit or to help their community.

KAYLA HILL, SGHS ’24

Being creative and having the courage to take the risk to start your own company.

JACKSON MANN, BCP ’23

Entrepreneurship is the act of owning, founding, or running a business. It’s the strength and courage to put an idea you have made on paper into real life.

The ability and freedom to create a business, from the ground up and make it profitable.

WILL LOFTIN, BCP ’24

To me, entrepreneurship means responsibility. An entrepreneur is an organized businessman/women that takes action on ideas. A person with entrepreneurship is someone looking ahead to plan and prepare for a future of success.

GRACE MCDONOUGH, SGHS ’25

Baseline, being your own boss and making something out of nothing. Lots of hard work and determination mixed with creativity and inspiration.

SARAH FOURNIER, SGHS ’24

What Entrepreneurship means to me is being able to work for yourself and owning your own business. Creating an establishment that you built up yourself for your future generations to inherit.

KAI’A COLEY, SGHS ’23

Entrepreneurship means innovating and bringing an idea or a goal to life and strenuously working to reach or exceed that goal.

MARGARET WEINSTEIN, SGHS ’24 Entrepreneurship is being a leader, creating, and running your own business. As well as being a risk taker and pursuing your dreams without letting the possibility of failure hold you back.

MADELINE KIEFER, SGHS ’24

Someone who is motivated to take the chance of starting their own business and make change with a risk of losing everything while having a chance of making a really good living for themselves, someone who keeps going and has really high motivation and never stops working/trying.

CHANDLER THOMPSON, BCP ’25

MACY MARSHALL, SGHS ’23

RESILIENT LEADERSHIP 2.0

BOOK REVIEW BY DR. JENNIFER BIGELOW

We live and work in a VUCA world – volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous.

The acronym was developed at the Army War College after the end of the Cold War to denote how unpredictable the world was after the Soviet Union no longer existed. For those who have just lived through the recent pandemic, we can attest to the volatility and uncertainty. And according to researchers, a VUCA state can produce anxiety. And why does that matter? There is an inverse relationship between anxiety and cognition: The more anxious we become, the less clearly and creatively we think. Anxiety is contagious, and a leader’s anxiety is the most contagious of all. When it becomes chronic, anxiety erodes our health and our well-being.

Resilient Leadership 2.0 by Bob Duggan and Bridgette Theurer was written pre-pandemic but has important lessons for leaders that seem especially important now. Their work builds upon the work of Edwin Friedman and Murray Bowen who first put forward the Family Systems Theory. Friedman took this theory and applied it to a leadership model.

Resilient Leadership 2.0 is laid out by chapters that encapsulate each of the principles of Resilient Leadership: Being a Step-Down Transformer, Lead with Conviction, Stay Connected, Balance the Seesaw, Manage Triangles, Generation to Generation, and Avoid the Empathy Trap. Within each chapter, an introduction of the concept is shared as well as brief case studies and core practices ... (For an examination of all seven principles working through one case study, please see Resilient Leadership by James Moyer and Bob Duggan). Duggan and Theurer come to this through their work with a variety of organizations including the Department of Defense, Food and Drug Administration, Marriott Corporation, the Diocese of Arlington, the Diocese of Baton Rouge, and the Diocese of Richmond.

I had worked with Bob, when I was a principal in Raleigh, North Carolina, and I was part of a professional development workshop held for parish staff and first introduced to Family Systems Theology. I was able to sit on the “front lines” to see the development of Resilient Leadership (RL). When I was

superintendent for schools in the Diocese of Arlington, I knew I was in a position to bring their work to the leaders of our Catholic schools. Our schools are highly complex interrelated organizations. Bob and Bridgette only shared the concepts of RL with the principals, but we piloted the first cohort of RL coaching for Catholic school leaders in the country. We started with eight, and now over 50 Catholic school leaders in multiple dioceses have been trained in RL and coached. I have also completed training with them and am certified as a Resilient Leadership coach and trainer.

The authors of Resilient Leadership 2.0 talk about the model as a new way of seeing, thinking, and leading that helps leaders navigate the hidden dynamics of organizations more effectively. Duggan and Theurer argue that resilient leaders lead with calm, clarity, and conviction in the midst of anxiety provoked by increasing complexity and accelerating change (remember that VUCA world?). Also, that such individuals lead from strength, know how to care for themselves emotionally, spiritually, and physically and can sustain their leadership efforts over time.

Central to the model of Resilient Leadership are the concepts of the rational system and the emotional system. The rational system is made up of everything that is subject to observation, data gathering, measurement, research, and study. This includes, for example, the written policies and procedures according to which the group operates and even the tangible artifacts of the unwritten rules that give shape to the group’s distinctive culture. The metaphor of an iceberg, pointing to the part that can be seen above the waterline, to capture this visible aspect of every organization illustrates this concept. Often times, leadership training and development programs only focus exclusively on the rational system.

Resilient Leadership, however, helps leaders understand the emotional system of an organization. The emotional system is

the larger part of the iceberg that embraces everything beneath the surface of the water and that cannot be directly observed, measured, or studied. The emotional system is considered to be the “hidden chemistry” of an organization. It is the unseen source that influences virtually every aspect of how the machinery of the rational system operates. In the emotional system, as noted in figure one, both acute and chronic anxiety reside. Acute anxiety focuses on immediate dangers whereas chronic anxiety is a general tension that influences the system. Resilient leaders work to understand the anxiety of the system and manage themselves in the face of anxiety.

Most organizational systems have a designated leader (manager, coach, CEO, principal). The impact of the designated leader on the emotional system they lead cannot be overstated. If the designated leader chooses to lead in a way that elevates anxiety within the system, the overall capability of the system to function effectively will be significantly impacted. Conversely, if the leader is aware of and appreciates the importance of the emotional dynamic within the organization — and is able to manage his or her own anxiety — the capability and resilience of the system will be that much greater.

Over the last several years, the “anxiety” of change at the Benedictine Schools of Richmond serves as a valuable case study of Resilient Leadership. The anxiety present in the emotional system has certainly had an impact on the rational system. Leadership has been effective in navigating the emotional waters.

However, we are all considered leaders in this system – board members, parents, alumni, teachers, administrators, and staff. As a result, a bit of self-reflection can be valuable. How do I, as a leader, manage my own anxiety? What coping mechanisms do I use? Are they positive or negative? Am I curious about the anxiety in the system or do I contribute to it? The authors of Resilient Leadership 2.0 explore these topics and provide useful skills to recognize and manage one’s contribution to the system.

Resilient Leadership 2.0 by Bob Duggan and Bridgette Theurer is an excellent leadership book that provides a new way of thinking about leadership. The book is full of practical information and ideas for how to lead. The organization sends out a monthly newsletter (for free) that includes the RL practice of the month. As an RL coach, I can attest to the growth in leadership of clients, and the new way of seeing their organizations has made them more effective. For those not yet in formal leadership positions, this book gives insight into how to view any organization (including your own family).

Get on the balcony, get curious, take a stand, and you will become a more resilient leader.

ABOUT THE REVIEWER: DR. JENNIFER BIGELOW

Dr. Jennifer Bigelow serves the Benedictine Schools of Richmond in the role of academic dean. Jennifer has served in Catholic education for over 20 years as a teacher, principal, assistant superintendent, superintendent, and director of curriculum and instruction.

Jennifer appreciates the impact that single-sex, Catholic education can have on each student. She was a graduate of the Academy of the Holy Names, an all-girls Catholic school, and later taught there. Her mother is a graduate of an all-girls Catholic high school. Her father and brothers are graduates of an all-boys Catholic school, and her grandfather, uncles, and cousins are graduates of an all-boys military Catholic school in Minnesota.

Jennifer has served as a Catholic School administrator in Tampa, Florida and Raleigh, North Carolina. She has also served in the Office of Catholic Schools, first in the Diocese of Arlington and most recently in the Diocese of Richmond. Jennifer has been a student of Resilient Leadership for over 15 years and is a certified Resilient Leadership Coach and Trainer.

Jennifer has a B.A. in history from the University of Florida, a B.S. in education, an M.A. in history, and an M.Ed. in educational leadership from the University of South Florida and a doctoral degree from North Carolina State University in educational leadership with an emphasis on Catholic school leadership.

FIGURE ONE

What is OUR endowment?

The endowment transforms intentional giving into real, tangible benefits for our students and teachers. It puts out the welcome mat for all students and shows me that our community of alumni and donors are truly invested in my long-term success as a teacher.

At the Benedictine Schools of Richmond, making an endowed gift is one of the most powerful ways to have a lasting impact. Endowment gifts support students, teachers and programs driving progress for centuries to come.

An endowment gift through the Father Adrian Education Fund or the Sister Charlotte Lange Education Fund is eternal, as it preserves the original value of the gift and grows over time. These funds are held in perpetuity and invested, and the growth is used to fund student scholarships, faculty professional development, and care for our school facilities.

MIESHA VARGAS, SGHS THEOLOGY TEACHER