10 minute read
A Note to My Younger Self
LEADING THE WAY
John Rauvola, CEO of Superfeet Worldwide, reflects on the many leadership lessons learned along the road to success.
Dear John,
Let me begin by saying that life will not always be easy. You’ll face adversity numerous times, from losing your parents at an early age to being passed over for a coveted promotion and even being fired. What matters most, however, is how you respond to this adversity. Some of your most significant accomplishments and good fortunes in life will occur in the face of failure.
For example, after earning an MBA, you’ll accept the worst job you’ll ever have at a large accounting and consulting company headquartered in Dallas. Your primary job: mundane filing and photo copying documents—not what a recent MBA graduate expected! But this one-year failed experiment leads to a move to Seattle, where you’ll meet your wife, now going on 30 years! (That just might be the best career move you’ll ever make!) The Emerald City is where you’ll land a job as Operations Manager for K2 Corporation, where you’ll spend 15 years. K2 is a dynamic company filled with smart and creative people. It’s where you’ll continually push yourself out of your comfort zone, taking on leadership roles in manufacturing, product management, marketing and sales, both in the U.S. and abroad. You’ll love working and living on Vashon Island, WA, as well as traveling the world, especially to Japan, Germany and Norway. Your entire K2 experience will make you a more effective future president and CEO—one day soon.
Actually, becoming an effective leader is a lifelong mission of yours. You’ll be tested early and often on attaining this personal goal. It won’t be easy—and sometimes it’ll be downright scary. Like, during your first job after undergraduate school as a night shift supervisor managing 23 people at a Doritos factory for Frito-Lay in Lubbock, TX. That’s where your first experience at disciplining an employee is met with a threat of bodily harm. After delivering a written warning to a young man for attendance issues, he responds by asking if you’ve heard of the local motorcycle gang and that, for $50, he could have your kneecaps broken! Fear not, this doesn’t happen. He actually goes on to become a model employee, because this is where you’ll learn the importance of empathy, as well as the fine art of engaging with all employees. You’ll use this key leadership skill throughout your future career endeavors.
Leadership is an ongoing learning process where you keep acquiring new skill sets to make you a more effective leader. Like discovering the power of a positive team that’s aligned and focused on a shared vision. It’s critical to a company’s success. You’ll discover that after becoming Managing Director at Bona U.S., a Swedish family-owned hardwood floors company. The division is losing money and team morale is at an all-time low. You introduce some required reading: The Energy Bus: 10 Rules to Fuel Your Life, Work and Team with Positive Energy by Jon Gordon. Every employee is invited to get on the bus, but with one stipulation: they must have a positive attitude and leave the baggage behind. Some are unwilling and will be asked to get off the bus. But the team that remains will help create a vision for the future and, within five years, sales and profitability increase by over three times! Then, in 2013, you’ll accept the offer to become CEO and president of Superfeet Worldwide, where you’ll apply your 30-plus years of leadership and management experience to help the organization reach its fullest potential. It’s a dream job and where you’ll discover that making a profit and giving back to the community are not mutually exclusive. Superfeet will be recognized as Washington’s “Philanthropic Company of the Year” in 2018. The power of an engaged and positive team will be on full display when it becomes 100 percent employee-owned in 2020. A year later, employees will craft their shared five-year vision to grow the business and aid in the creation of the type of world they want to live in where all people thrive. The dream of making a positive difference in people’s lives will only be enhanced in 2021 when Superfeet is acquired by Westward Partners, a Seattle-based private equity firm, giving it the financial strength to create even better products and give back more.
In parting, the most important lesson you must take to heart is to maintain balance during the journey of life. Because life is a juggling act of five balls: faith, family, friends, health and career. You can easily drop the more important balls when you’re spending an inordinate amount of time focused on career. Understand that life is a journey, not a destination. It’s filled with ups and downs, and you’ll make some wrong turns along the way. But you’ll learn and grow from them, and you’ll always get back on the road to success. Above all, life is good. You’ve been incredibly blessed. Trust me, you won’t want to change a thing. Just remember to enjoy the ride!
Sincerely, John
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developing long-term partnerships between wholesalers and retailers, and I don’t see that changing.
Will there be enough independents to help tell your story in a meaningful way going forward?
I know there’s a lot of talk about how retail is dying and everyone is going DTC, but retail is very much alive. Recently, I visited several of our independent accounts in Brooklyn, one of which was 14th Avenue Shoes. First off, Floafers was not built with those stores top of mind—our shoes were originally aimed at resort areas, water parks, marinas, etc. Well, the owner tells me that in the last 60 days she has sold almost 1,000 pairs of just our kids’ shoes! During our visit, her phone kept ringing and when I asked why she wouldn’t answer, she said because she knew what it was for. She then told me to answer it. It was a customer asking if the Floafers shipment had come in. I couldn’t believe it; I thought I was being Punk’d. She tells me to answer the next call and it was another request for Floafers. I answered like 12 calls during our visit. The story gets better. The FedEx guy then comes in carting like 30 to 40 boxes of Floafers, and behind him is a bunch of women. Again, I think this must all be a stunt for my birthday or something. But those women tore through the boxes and bought about 20 pairs in the few minutes we were standing there. By the end of that day, the store sold 200 pairs. The hair on my arms and neck stood up as I was just amazed by what I saw. I thought this can’t be possible. But then we went to a few other stores and it was a similar frenzy.
Taking into account recent supply chain issues, are you able to keep pace with such demand?
Fortunately, we have big factories producing our lines and can meet our demand. But I’m flying in a couple of thousand pairs here and there to keep some core styles in stock as best as I can because of the container shipping delays. It costs a lot, but my aim is to get our customers at least our core products on a regular basis and then sprinkle in some of the licenses and collabs we are lining up.
Such as?
We have collabs with Robert Stock, the founder of Robert Graham, Mossy Oak, Muddy Girl and Lifeguard. We’ve also just signed a deal with Crayola for a kids’ collection that I think will be huge. Our shoes will look and smell like their Silly Scents line. So yellow/pineapple, white/coconut, red/cherry… we’ll even have a holiday-themed style featuring a Christmas lights motif that will smell like pine. And there are more collabs coming as many people want to partner with us. That’s going to help keep up brand momentum and excitement. For example, we just did a test with Baja Llama, a West Coast apparel brand that use a lot of cool animal and floral prints. It’s a good vibe for our brand. There are many others that we can’t talk about just yet.
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As you look out to holiday and Spring ’22, do see any sense of normalcy returning?
This is normal. We’re living in it. The world has changed. Consumers are looking for product that is casual, comfortable and versatile—even if they go back to the office. They are used to working from home. That’s the new normal. People want that casual versatility: a suit and tie for the Zoom meeting paired with swim trunks and Floafers. And as the country emerges from the pandemic, I expect that there will be lasting changes in the way we work and play—and what we wear. Loungewear has become the new workwear and playwear. But even diehard slipper lovers will eventually want to step up their look, and that’s where Floafers comes into play.
How will you winterize Floafers?
I originally thought this would be a six-month-a-year business, but so far we’ve beaten the prior month as we see people wearing our shoes with socks. The vents are a way to show a little fashion pop, and the socks with Birkenstocks trend helps. We’ll also be adding new silhouettes soon, while staying mindful of our loafer-based roots. The brand is called ‘Floafers,’ so I’m going to stay with loafer-like, slip-on constructions. I want to stay in that space because I believe it’s unique, it has a reason for being and the consumer is gravitating to it. I also believe that staying on-brand is critically important. That said, I understand that our loyal consumers want to expand their wardrobe with Floafers. In fact, I have the next three product stories lined up. They’re innovative and imaginative concepts that are, let’s say, loafer-ish. We can’t wait to show our extensions of this new lifestyle.
Where do you envision Floafers in three years—a big HQ filled with employees, or more of a flex situation where you are still outsourcing certain aspects of the business?
Outsourcing will definitely be a key for us going forward so I can focus on building and selling shoes. That’s what I do best. We also have a golf style coming out as we’re selling to golf shops and just signed Cabela’s and Bass Pro. We’re also exploring accessories, such as bags, belts, shirts, floats and other categories that move us toward becoming a lifestyle brand that’s sold in sporting goods stores, theme parks, hotels, marinas, traditional shoe stores, etc. That’s what makes Floafers so unique—I’m not just trying to figure out what the next toe or heel shape is going to be.
So no plans to add brands?
Hell no! We’ve got more than enough growth potential with Floafers. Along those lines, we’re just getting started on our international distribution. The pandemic put a crimp in those plans, but we have distributors for Canada, the Caribbean and Israel, and we expect to sign up to 10 more agreements this month. We’re just scratching the surface there.
You’ve had great runs at great companies, but what might make Floafers even more special?
I feel like everything that I’ve done in my career was to get to this point, in addition to the fact that I’ve been doing all those jobs at Floafers! But we’re bringing people to our team. We just hired a merchandiser and a bunch of salespeople, including a couple of old friends of mine. Help is on the way. As for what makes Floafers even more special, it’s the most unique brand opportunity that offers the most growth potential. I’ve never seen shoes sell this fast, and I don’t see things slowing down anytime soon.
What do you love most about your job?
I love everything I do, so it’s not a job to me. I’m just living my dream. I also love that I get work with my son, and I love working from home. I have flexibility that I didn’t have when I was commuting two hours into the city each day. This is really fun, and I believe if you’re passionate about what you do, stay focused and surround yourself with great people then success is inevitable. •
