During a work-from-home Zoom interview, Self Esteem Brands co-founder and CEO Chuck Runyon discusses what his team has done to help 5,000 franchise owners deal with everything from negotiating rent deferrals and abatements to reopening safely. He talks about the value of culture and decentralized decision making. And the talks about the future for the world’s all time fastest growing franchise company, as ranked by Inc. magazine. 

This is a One Take CEO Interview with no edits. The video version is available on YouTube, and more about Runyon can be found at MNPerspectives.com.

This is the first in a series of recorded-via-Zoom CEO interviews during the weeks in which Minnesotans were required to work from home in order to avoid catching the new, most deadly-yet version of the Coronavirus dubbed Covid-19.

It's one CEO's take on how best to move forward, and it's a one-take recording with no edits. It's a frank conversation during which Paul talks about how today's Covid-19 economy compares with situations ranging from from the fall of the Berlin Wall and the rise of hostile takeovers, to 9-11 and the Great Recession. He shares how Faribault Woolen Mill is moving forward in these uncertain times, and how retail in general will change (watch for more items being sold in coffee shops). Paul also discusses ways leaders can use this situation to be even more effective, how the workplace will be forever changed and the importance of focusing first on what customers need and want. (The video of this interview can be seen on YouTube).

This One Take interview is sponsored by The Platinum Group, Minnesota's most experienced advisory group helping business owners and leaders with extreme challenges including financial setbacks, lender/landlord re-negotiations, turnarounds and bankruptcies. 

One Take is produced by Dale Kurschner, an executive consultant with the Platinum Group and former Editor in Chief of Twin Cities Business magazine (2010-2018).