In the late 1980s, Chip Fudge came to a realization that changed the course of his business. He was driving collection agency his parents started 20 years ago and one of his clients, Southwestern Bell, asked the team to help with some property claims he was trying to recover.
It was a lightbulb moment that opened his eyes to new possibilities, says Chip's son, Taylor Fudge. The entrepreneur. “My dad quickly learned that he liked negotiating with an insurance carrier and an insurance adjuster versus someone with an unpaid phone bill.”
This recovery work led to a pivot that eventually resulted in the debt collection agency becoming three different organizations: CMR (Requirements Management Resources), AnSR (Advanced Replacement Resources) and AMR (Account Management Resources).
The entrepreneur spoke with Taylor, managing partner of all three companies, to learn how he and the leadership team continue to innovate and grow their businesses while maintaining his grandfather's business legacy.
Entrepreneur: There are new ideas and opportunities every day. How do you decide which ones are worth your time and resources?
Taylor Fudge: This is something we face all the time. Not all opportunities are good opportunities. I often think of an image I saw of a German Shepherd jumping over a rock to bite a duck. Yes, he can duck, but that leads to nothing but bad news. So we focus on our strengths and our core competency. We do what we can be good at versus trying to be a jack of all trades. If you jump into multiple industries, eventually, you'll find that you're a master of none. But if we see one OPPORTUNITIES related to our core business, we pursue it with a sense of urgency and persistence. We lowered our nose to the goal.
How do you extend company culture across three entities?
We are one Lean Six Sigma shop, which ties the three organizations together. LSS is a process improvement methodology. We just sent 15 managers through a five-month training course. For all of our companies, we must produce better results for our clients than they could get anywhere else. Some of our customers operate in incredibly difficult spaces – no one likes to be called about a late invoice, right? So we invest in our people and send them NEGOTIATIONS classes to help them succeed.
What are some things you've learned about negotiating and getting results?
This is going to sound a little funny since we are mostly talking to people on the phone all day, but body language the issues. When you're sitting, this mindful alertness comes through in your voice, as opposed to slumped in your chair.
Another thing we talk about is consistency and how it can actually be a negative thing. For example, you have a problem connecting with someone. And so you follow up by calling them every Monday at 10:00 a.m. Well, it could be that the person you're trying to reach is busy doing something every Monday at 10:00 a.m. So you have to use your critical thinking skills. Change your approach a bit. That's why we give our people a process that we want them to follow, but also some freedom and liberty to modify that process to make it work for them and to make it work for our customers.
Related: Cultivating innovation and risk-taking in your business
What is your approach to solving problems?
We attack everything as a process. It's not about attacking people, it's not about attacking the challenge or the situation. You attack the process. We are data junkies. We document each of our processes. We visually determine where obstacles, problems and challenges appear most often. And then from there, we can attack whatever real issue is going on versus hoping that we're on the right track.
This business has been in your family for generations. How have you managed that family-work balance?
that LEGACY part is probably the part that bothers me the most. My grandparents were successful. My father has been successful in this space, and I want to continue this legacy. Now, I've never actually reported directly to my dad, and that was probably extremely helpful for us, especially earlier in my career. And at this point, we have a pretty good handle on our individual roles. In fact, he is retired. He is the visionary and the money man. Some of our other partners and I are handling the day-to-day operations. My role is really focused on all things external and client facing. I tell everyone that my job is to make sure our customer relationships are happy, healthy and profitable. But really, it's a team effort. I couldn't do the things I do without trusting my internal team that we're going to kill it in the end and reward our customers.
Your father is famous for his love of vintage racing cars, as are you. Any skills that transfer from running a racetrack to running a business?
High stress work at high speed, and sometimes the brakes are not so great, so it's hard to slow down! (laugh) Both are extremely stressful and extremely fun. High risk, high reward is certainly a motto that fits both. And, of course, focus. You need to stay focused during a race, and when meeting with clients, you want to bring that extra level of focus and dedication to ensure you're executing the way you want to execute.