Navigating the Remote Workforce: Gregory Carafello Of Cartridge World America On Strategies for Growing a Geographically Dispersed Organization

Quality and consistent communication. One of the best things we did was create a weekly newsletter, which is now bi-weekly. People who care about success need to be involved and kept up to date.

An increasing number of organizations are tapping into the global talent market and building semi or fully-remote workforces distributed far and wide. While harnessing diverse talent can be a boon for innovation, this operational model is not without its challenges. In this series we ask seasoned HR and operations professionals and leaders about what it takes to run a geographically dispersed organization. As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Gregory Carafello.

Gregory Carafello’s career began over 41 years ago as a copier sales trainee, and he rose through the ranks of Canon to become their youngest branch director at 26. He went on to found his own company with his wife, which the couple later sold after nearly two decades to focus on franchising. In July of 2003, Gregory joined Cartridge World as a Territory Master, bringing along his profound knowledge of the printing and franchising spaces. Today he serves as the company’s President and Co-founder of Executive Franchise Group, LLC.

Thank you so much for your time! I know that you are a very busy person. It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I am a true believer that we never fail, we only have learning experiences. The only time you fail is when you do not get off the mat to fight back. In other words, quitting. In owning any size business, you must be willing to embrace and look forward to the fight each day. It makes you sharper, work harder, and do better. The beauty of owning your own business is you can always outwork and outperform your competition. When I initially opened my first digital printing center in 1990, we printed business cards and failed to put the name of the individual on the card. He politely called and said there was a mistake, so I asked what it was because they looked beautiful, and he said that his name was not on them. I asked, jokingly, — “did you want your name on the card?”

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful for who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

Without a doubt, you always need a mentor — no matter your age. That mentor will change over time though as you and your needs grow. I had 3–4 mentors who were keen on my development and in helping me create a sound foundation for long-term success. A note here is that you as the leader of your own firm or any organization, must- without question invest in your greatest asset- which is YOU. You are the leader of the team and need to re-invest annually in learning, sharing, meeting with your mentors, helping others grow, etc. “Live like you are going to die tomorrow; learn like you are going to live forever.” I am lucky to have great parents who instilled a hard work ethic, a brain to make good common-sense decisions, and see the world is your oyster — if you want to grab it. My father owned an insurance brokerage, so I saw him work on Sundays and Saturdays, get involved in the community, coach, etc. Today it is normal to work any hour; in the 60’s and 70’s it was not. Also, both sets of my grandparents owned businesses all their lives. Then, in my first job in New York City with Canon, Joe Picariello trained me to make business owner decisions even though I was an employee. It taught me to treat my area of the firm as my own business under Canon’s umbrella and keep my business model simple — similar to a franchise model. I am still very close with Joe, but we both are in different roles now. My brother Jack has a great level of business acumen, we speak daily about life, cars, wine, and all aspects of the business. He has no motivation except to share sound thoughts on business and life.

I am close with Joe Mancuso, who created the CEO Clubs of America, now worldwide. He is an encyclopedia of business knowledge for small to medium-sized businesses. He is willing to share all aspects of knowledge, but more importantly, he brings business owners together to share and help each other.

You are not on an island; the sooner you ask for help, input, and ideas, the better off you will be. I am 63 years old. I have done well, I have been down in the hardship area, and now I am back; yet I still look for people to share with and help grow. I also do my best to give back and share my experiences with all business owners, no matter what size or stage their business is at.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

I have a bunch of them I live by. My first is my grandmother’s saying- “You are dead a long time.” So basically, while you are on this earth, don’t squander your time and life. My godson moved to open the west coast division for a New Jersey-based firm, and a local told him not to wake up ten years from now at the pool and wonder what happened to his youth and time.

“As a business owner- you can always outwork your competition.” The bigger the competition is, the easier it is because success has a way of eroding most people’s inner energy and drive to kill for success. I hope to never lose my drive to grow and succeed.

“Cash flow outweighs profits many times.” It would be best if you had the cash flow to succeed. Profits are what I measure, but to be profitable and have no cash flow will cause issues in your business.

“When in doubt, SELL something.”

“High sales cures many issues.”

“You are only as good as your last delivery/sale.” You and your team must have consistent quality, deliveries, invoicing, collections, etc. We lived on a motto in our digital printing business — “ 99% right is 100% wrong.” Do not push products out the door if it is almost good enough quality. You will be short-lived.

The one ingrained in my body is: “Live like you are going to die tomorrow; learn like you are going to live forever.”

Thinking back on your own career, what would you tell your younger self?

I would drive home earlier to invest in my knowledge from the earliest days of my career. I have started seven firms. I also would have a diary as my life experience has a broad level of success and hardship while continuing to move forward. I would join executive or entrepreneurship groups and associations as soon as they would let me in to learn, learn, learn.

I would also advise my younger self, if you think you are working hard, you are not — work harder and learn more — because you have more in the tank than you think.

Let’s now move to the central part of our interview. What are your “Top Five Strategies for Growing a Geographically Dispersed Organization”?

1. Quality and consistent communication. One of the best things we did was create a weekly newsletter, which is now bi-weekly. People who care about success need to be involved and kept up to date.
2. Understand the needs of different segments of the country. In our case, that is with vendor partners with four and five warehouses with local inventory which is important to the end user, franchisees. That is also important on our end to ensure we have the products that sell in their region, not simply standard inventory across the nation.
3. Ask the franchisees and employees what they need, what problems they are having, and what they would do if they had an open book to create the most productive tools and services they could. The people on the street will offer a gold mine of inside knowledge the headquarters facility cannot gather.
4. Recognize hard work and results from afar. Many managers need help to handle what they cannot see, the person working. Even though your team is dispersed, it is vital to acknowledge their hard work. Our economy is a results-based game, and people who you respect and trust will outwork others who are not of that integrity. Hire and keep the right people; this is crucial in any environment. Be sure to check the homework so the people you work with see you are reading their hard work and give them feedback.
5. Try to get some face-to-face time in person on top of the constant Zoom calls we have mastered. Zoom is great, but being in person for hours working together and going over issues can be even more effective. We are social animals and need to meet in person for many reasons. Try to get a consistent rhythm of when you meet and where.

Tell us a bit about your workforce, where are your people based?

Our corporate team is spread throughout the U.S. between Wisconsin, Illinois, and North Carolina, with fractional executive support in Canada, and we are part of a global system with Singapore, etc. Our corporate team meets three times a week with set times to review any and all of the hottest topics. Our 130 franchisees in the US are spread out in nearly every State.

Why did you decide on a remote model, how has it benefitted your organization?

It was a COVID-19 response, but made perfect sense well before 2020. The benefits of less overhead costs are great, and the labor pool is not restricted to a local area. The world is our employee search pool.

What are the main challenges of operating a remote workforce and what strategies do you use to overcome them?

You must be comfortable to be a results-only management style. This is the wrong model if you need to know what your employees are doing every minute. I do not really care if they work at two in the morning or any other time as long as the work needed is done on time and with the highest of quality. They must attend our meetings on time and be well rested, though. You can text or email people today at all times and get a response shortly. Please do respect family hours as I expect they would do with me. Rarely do I text or email well after hours.

Which tools do you utilize to help run a remote company?

We use Zoom and Microsoft Teams often, along with Google Docs and Microsoft 365 for email and calendar sharing. Most of our documents and agreements are signed with DocuSign.

What strategies do you use to find, attract, and hire remote talent?

We are just beginning to hire for growth and are looking at online program kind of firms. I would also still use recruiting agencies where needed, as they have a human touch, which is helpful.

What are your 3 main tips for leaders who want to build a geographically dispersed workforce?

1. Be open to meeting in person with each candidate and employee.
2. Use Zoom-type programs to get an eye to eye with the people you are looking to grow with.
3. Could you explain the realities of the position and being dispersed/remote? Let them know you will be meeting them several times per year, the schedule you will keep with them, and clearly spell out what you expect of them.

We are very blessed to have some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world whom you would love to have a private lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this.

There are so many great leaders I would love to sit with to match notes and listen to. Elon Musk and Warren Buffet for starters. There are a few female leaders that I’d like to speak with since they have so many more things to deal with along with other leaders of their profession. But for Musk and Buffet, they happen to be famous, but I always look forward to learning from all leaders in the industry — big or small. I enjoy learning from the best in each industry, their challenges, work ethic, habits, etc. There are many more I could name, but I would be ok shadowing and sharing with these two.

Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!

An Interview with Richel Kline

Authority Magazine Editorial Staff