Meet Greg Fricks
Employees: 100-499
Region: Dallas/Fort Worth
Industry: Construction
Success with Vistage
- Developed a succession plan for assuming control of the business from his father
- Increased revenue from $12 million to $31 million in two years
- Won Vistage 2012 Member Leadership award
“To stand up to our father and basically demand that he show us respect and allow us to take the business and move forward with it was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do in my life.”
– Greg Fricks, CEO, The Fricks Company
Before Vistage
For Greg Fricks and his brother, inheriting their father’s concrete flooring company was anything but a smooth ride. Though the brothers had proven their business acumen, their father struggled to let go:
“My Vistage group actually processed this issue as our first issue in the new group. To stand up to our father and basically demand that he show us respect and allow us to take the business and move forward with it was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do in my life.”
Greg knew he needed to prove to his father that he could not only run their family business, but grow it into the future.
With Vistage
Greg’s Vistage Chair and advisory board gave him the confidence to speak candidly with his father about succession. They helped him develop a practical succession plan, as well as ideas to help him pitch his leadership vision for the company.
In large part, winning over his father meant convincing Greg needed to convince him he was capable businessperson. With the help of his Vistage group, he developed a clear plan to increase revenue.
Result
Greg gained his father’s approval. Shortly after their conversation, his dad stepped down from the business.
In the two years after taking the reins, Greg and his brother nearly tripled Fricks Company annual revenues from $12 million to $31 million. In 2012, Vistage honored Greg with a leadership award for courage.