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Being a leader&mdash;what does it take to be a great one? For a company to succeed, a lot has to do with who is at the top of the totem pole. If there is no real leadership or someone who isn&rsquo;t exuding leadership qualities, that company could end up in turmoil.&nbsp;

According to a recent Fast Company article, the top five qualities of a great leader include flexibility, the ability to communicate, humility and presence, being responsible, and a group of characteristics including courage, tenacity, and patience. One company&rsquo;s leadership is showcasing all of those qualities--Jersey Mike&rsquo;s. More specifically, Chief Marketing Officer Rich Hope, who displays a variety of those leadership qualities on a daily basis.

Rich Hope has been the CMO of Jersey Mikes for the past seven years, and has maintained the same quality of leadership throughout his tenure.

&ldquo;I have always had the same approach to leadership, and that&rsquo;s to empower people to do their job. I&rsquo;ve never micro-managed and have always given them the space and resources to do the job,&rdquo; Hope said. He also always tries to lead by example and work harder than his employees every single day.

He has also noticed that a positive attitude goes a long way.

&ldquo;Looking at things negatively never works. Yes, it&rsquo;s much easier to be negative, but try and approach everything with a positive attitude. Positivity goes a long way in this world, and it&rsquo;s an important aspect of leadership,&rdquo; said Hope. &nbsp;

When it comes to his proudest moment at Jersey Mike&rsquo;s, it&rsquo;s one that has come every year for the past seven years during Jersey Mike&rsquo;s Month of Giving in March. Hope organized this event, and during this month, Jersey Mike&rsquo;s partners with around 150 local charities and asks for customers to donate to the specific location&rsquo;s charity partner. On the final Wednesday of the month, their &ldquo;Day of Giving,&rdquo; 100 percent of the sales will be given to to a local cause. &nbsp;Last year they raised over $4.1 million, and this year, they hope for over $5 million. Hope stated they started at $700,000 seven years ago, and it makes him proud that that number keeps growing&mdash;a clear indicator that they&rsquo;re helping more and more people.

Aside from the &ldquo;Month of Giving,&rdquo; his other favorite thing about working at Jersey Mike&rsquo;s is the people.

&ldquo;I work with an extraordinary group of people with passion for the brand. You can feel this energy and positivity in the air and everyone that I work with are great people to be around.&rdquo;

As far as advice to a new or experienced leader goes, it&rsquo;s the same for both.

&ldquo;Empower the people you work with. That has been a long-standing mentality in my career and it allows them to do their job. I don&rsquo;t want to do their job--I want them to want to do it. And I can&rsquo;t say this enough&mdash;it&rsquo;s vital to always stay positive.&rdquo; &nbsp;

How Jersey Mike’s Chief Marketing Officer Uses Positivity to Drive Success  

1851 Franchise

Jersey Mike’s Chief Marketing Officer, Rich Hope, explains how he lets a positive attitude fuel his leadership style.  


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How Jersey Mike’s Chief Marketing Officer Uses Positivity to Drive Success

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