Best-selling author and trusted advisor Tom Gegax served as Chairman and CEO (head coach) of Tires Plus Stores for twenty-four years. By the time Tom sold the company to Bridgestone/Firestone in July 2000, it had mushroomed from a concept sketched on a restaurant napkin to a market leader with 150 upscale stores in ten states and $200 million in revenue. The company was so well managed and profitable that Tom was able to bypass outside investors and retain ownership control. Pioneering the tough-minded, warm-hearted “coaching” style of management, Tires Plus under Tom had a healthy corporate culture that was legendary in business circles for its focus on the well-being of its employees and customers (or teammates and guests, as Tom preferred to call them). The unique pairing of hard-nosed efficiency and a caring environment was a core ingredient in the company’s secret sauce. Tom’s comprehensive, no-nonsense management system catapulted Tires Plus to the top in a competitive industry populated by some of the largest companies in the world. Tom’s groundbreaking management methods have been featured in newspapers and magazines across the country, including the New York Times and Fast Company, and on ABC, FOX, CNN, CNBC, and PBS. He has been named a Midwest Entrepreneur of the Year by Inc. magazine and Ernst & Young, and was the youngest inductee into the Minnesota Business Hall of Fame™. Tom has served on numerous corporate and nonprofit boards, including the Center for Ethical Business Cultures. "Winning in the Game of Life: Self-Coaching Secrets for Success" (Random House), Tom’s first book, is a blueprint for building a productive, well-balanced life. It received critical acclaim from Publishers Weekly and Booklist and endorsements from mind-body pioneer Deepak Chopra. National business and political leaders, including Curt Carlson, Founder/Chairman, Carlson Companies, and former vice president of the United States, Walter Mondale, also praised Winning. Tom’s "Big Book of Small Business: You Don’t Have to Run Your Business By The Seat Of Your Pants" is endorsed by America’s leading business minds, including Ken Blanchard (The One-Minute Manager), Harvey Mackay (Swim with the Sharks) and Richard Schulze, Founder and Chairman of Best Buy. With snappy stories, humor and wisdom, Tom connects the dots between every aspect of a business with unprecedented breadth and depth. Titles Setting Up Shop: What Every Budding Entrepreneur Needs to Know Pouring the Foundation: Laying in Your Mission, Vision, Values Snatching Up Stars: Embracing Your Hire Power Growing the Culture: Seeding an Enlightened Environment Building a Systems-Disciplined Organization: Crafting Pitch-Perfect Processes Communicating Clearly: Sending Static-Free Signals Coaching Others: Cheering and Steering, Not Domineering Educating Employees: Riding Employee Development to the Top Coaching Yourself: Guiding Yourself to Peak Personal Performance Business Function Dos and Don’ts: Key Concepts and Killer Tips Topics Leadership, Employee Retention, Hiring, Human resource, success, Management, Motivation, Team Building, Executive Development, Business, Coaching Click topic above to see more speakers on that topic Speaker's Asking Fee Range $10,000 - $14,999 Click on fee range to see more speakers. This is the starting keynote fee range - other programs may be higher. State MN Click on state above to see more speakers from that state. Fees The fee range quoted means the speaker's fee starts somewhere within that range. Note that speaker's fees are subject to change and some speakers may have special fee quotes.