How The N2 Company Built a Most Loved Workplace Through Visibility & Opportunity

Hi, I'm Lou Carter, and welcome to today's episode of The Leader's Show, where we uncover the bold and unexpected strategies that set exceptional workplaces apart. Today, we're flipping the script on employee engagement and retention. Forget flashy perks or big salaries. Research shows that one of the most powerful drivers of workplace satisfaction is something far more fundamental. The simple yet profound feeling of being truly known at work. But it doesn't stop there. Organizations that not only recognize employees on a personal level, but also create real opportunities for them to grow and provide benefits that genuinely excite them see higher engagement, lower turnover, and greater overall happiness, often outperforming companies that rely solely on financial incentives to keep their teams motivated. And no one understands this better than today's guest, Duane Hickson, CEO of the N2 Company. Under his leadership, N2 has become a most loved workplace, earning both national and global recognition for its people-first culture. Duane believes that when employees feel visible, empowered, and provided with meaningful opportunities, it doesn't just boost morale, it transforms business success. His approach challenges conventional wisdom, and today he's here to share exactly how you can apply these lessons to your own organization. Care about each other and we care about the customer. And that is the one legacy. That's the name of the game. And it, by the way, it's, it's not up here. It's here. It's in the heart. It's great to have Duane Hickson with us today. We're talking about some awesome things, which is giving opportunities to people to win, giving opportunities to people to, to be valued, to grow, benefits to get there, valuing who they are, making that people-first culture that typically it's counterintuitive to most people. We drive, we drive, we drive, we get results rather than looking at that individual, finding what values they have and we have and aligning them. Sort of incorporating those benefits that people get excited about and letting those best opportunities win and bringing that value to the team where everyone in the organization should be known. And we're going to learn more about that with today with Duane Hickson, who's a great person, great entrepreneur, one of the top most loved CEOs, and he is the CEO and founder of the N2 company doing a fantastic job. Duane, welcome to The Leader Show.

Lou, great to see you. Great to be with you today.

It's great to be with you. This whole concept, right, we were talking about, it's a bit counterintuitive sometimes. We get too much schooling and MBA, we sometimes forget these extremely important fundamentals. And I want to go into this with you today and learn how you've done that, this at the end too, being so attractive, not only as just as a franchise, but as a company, right? A very attractive franchise company, one of the top franchises, and for a reason. I always say that it's really the leader values that are behind a great franchise, and that's what Dwayne is doing. Tell us about some of those values, Dwayne, and what that means to your franchisees and what that means to your employees.

Yeah, gosh, it's— there's a lot of things that we value as an organization. We've been doing this for about 20 years now, so certainly we've learned some things along the way and gotten better. But one of the things that's been helpful for us and was helpful all along was to know the people that we're working with. And I think that to your point earlier, you kind of said it there in that prelude. By the way, that was a great introduction. You said no one knows this stuff better than Duane. I think it's a bit much in the introduction, but I appreciate it. But it's true that one of the things you mentioned is that people need to be known while they're at work. And I think that's just, we've always believed that's fundamentally true, that people actually wanna be known by the people that they're working with and feel like they have a voice, they can be heard, they can express themself, they have the right to share what's going on, whether it's good or it's bad, and that's okay. They can be heard in that piece of it. People know what's important to them and who they're, you know, who the people are or the pets are that are important to them in their life. And so I just always have felt that not only myself, I work hard to know as many people's names and faces as I can in the organization. And I've been shocked over the years how important that is to people. Honestly, as simple as that is, you know, are we— we have about 1,000 full-time people in the organization, so certainly I don't know everybody's name and face. Today. But when we, if we have a conference, we were just in Phoenix, all of our, a lot of our franchisees, we all got together in Phoenix, had about 500 people there a little over a month ago. And I have a slide deck prepared for me before each event with everyone's name and face of who is registered, who will be at that event. And I, starting a few weeks out, I start running through and practice and remember, okay, oh, that's right, that's Sally. Oh yeah, that's right, that's John. All right, that's That's, you know, Robert. I try to go through and remember who they all are so that when you see them at the event, you're able to say, hey, John, how you doing? Hey, Mary Beth, good to see you again. And you never know, like, the, the elevator door opens and there's someone right there, but when you remember their name on the spot, how many times people go, oh my gosh, like, that meant something. And it's really not— didn't cost the company anything, but that piece of just knowing who they are helps them feel connected and tied in. And it's, uh, it's not disingenuous. I actually do care. But the truth is, in a remote environment, you don't see people day to day in the same spot. So it's good to be reminded, oh yeah, who is so-and-so and what is their name, what is their face, because it's easy to forget. And I just— you don't want to be in a position where you do forget who they are. They're part of the organization, they are important, and, and you want to know who they are.

You know, it reminds me of Stephen Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. People— the one word people want to know best in the English language is their name, right? And it's so important what you're doing. And I wonder if we could— I would love to dissect what you do because it's definitely best practice, right? It's definitely best practice. And have you found that in memorizing it, what are some good ways to approach people with information you know about them or kind of steps you take when you talk with them? For people who perhaps haven't done this before and can learn from what you're saying? What does it go through? Do you do the hello with their name? Tell us about it. And how do you even, how do you memorize those people?

No, you're right. I think, yeah, there've been a couple of books and I think I even remember, I think I first learned it maybe Dale Carnegie. He was talking about same philosophy, how the name is so important and how to use their name right away. So when I'm introduced to somebody, all right, if you say, hey, I'm Lou, usually people are thinking about themselves. How are they presenting? What's their name? Are they going to shake their hand really well? Or how do I look? But instead to say, oh, you said Lou? Oh, hey, Lou, nice to meet you. My name is Duane. But to say it back immediately. So I definitely use that. But I also think it goes beyond that. It's if people are going to be part of your team, you're not going to accomplish anything by yourself. And them knowing that you know them or someone at the organization knows them. I don't know everybody. But I'm making sure that our leaders know their team. I remember years ago, Lou, I walked into— this is when we had offices pre-COVID, you know, when people had buildings. I know some people still have buildings that they work with their peers. But we had a building and we could walk in regularly. I walked into one part. We had a new person who had recently been promoted. And I walked in. There's only about 7 people in this part of the building. And I saw a new face and I didn't know who she was. And so I went in and saw this guy who just came from— I said, hey, what's her name? Who's that over there? And he goes, um, and he paused. And I was like, I started saying, are you kidding? There's 7 people on your team. Like, she's brand new. You need to know who that is. And this was someone who was new to leadership. And it just— I was like, listen, you've got to know not only her name, You know, you've got to know everything that's important to her outside of work, her hobbies, her interests. And so we had a conversation that day and drilled down to me like, this is— this matters. And, um, it was— and he got better. So it definitely can be learned because I saw him then improve and realize once you realize it is important that people feel the difference when you know them. You know, we had a girl who worked for us for years and she had a diabetic cat named Fuzz. And she didn't have children, but she had a cat named Fuzz that was so important. So, you know, I'd see her from time to time, "Hey, how's Fuzz doing?" And just to kind of like that, it's like, "Oh, that's right, you remembered." So for me, I think I just, I make it such a point and I do have a cheat sheet. So sometimes I do, I'll put stuff into like the CRM about people who work in the organization, like some things that are about them. Do they have children or not? Anything that's kind of unique about them, I'll try and type that in there and then review that just periodically. You know, a couple times a year I'll open that up and roll through there. But without question, the names and the faces, that PowerPoint slide is so important. I use it for every event that I go to. I'd recommend any leader, if you've got more than, you know, a handful of people that are easy to remember, if it's getting challenging, have someone help you. If you can't yourself, get names and faces put into a PowerPoint slide and then just review it, review it, review it. When you're flying somewhere, you're rolling through there. It makes such a big deal for people. To know that they're known. In fact, we last, 2 weeks ago, we were in Mexico with our top franchisees. We had our Founders Club and I had, you know, every attendee and their spouse's name. And I had my assistant reach out to everyone who was going and say, hey, what does your spouse like to go by? Does he prefer Lou or Louis? It's like, oh no, Lou is what he goes by. Great. So when I could see them walking around the resort, you know, hey, hey, hey, hey, so-and-so, hey, Lou. And it was just like, Wow, he knows my name too? That's crazy. And it just helps them feel like they're a part of something. And again, it's free, it takes time, but it has been— I've been shocked at the impact that it has in the organization.

It's so highly people-focused, right? Because that is the job, especially franchisee owners. It's about people, it's about their livelihood, it's about how they make money and their families bring food on the table. And the, the culture that you're creating and you're leading into is exactly what they'll bring to their customers, right? It will help them sell. So they're learning from you. Love this, this, the cheat sheet PowerPoint. Learn something about their life as well. Say their name while you see them, right? And they notice it, they see it, they hear the name, they feel something that connects to you. And I could, I could understand that, Dwayne, just right now. You, we We're saying our names, right? We're acknowledging each other. So you have this resonance, right? This emotional connection immediately that you do through recognizable elements and things that make you feel good.

It's important. And I think it's also important to make sure you understand how they say their name properly. A lot of times I've seen people do recognition for people in their company, and they'll phonetically get the name wrong. And so, You know, if it— especially if it's a name that you don't know. So, you know, we've got a lady who's from India. And so I had to go, okay, is it Shupangi? Shupangi? How do you say it? And make sure I learned it and then write that down. That's it. So now when I see her, it's Shupangi, how's it going? And she knows I'm getting her name correctly. Or if you recognize them, hey, let's— you know, Shupangi had this— did this great thing. If you mispronounce her name when she's getting recognized, It's just not as valuable. It's just so not important. But if you get their name correct, now it means something. So I think that just those details, they matter.

And you've been tremendously successful knowing this about being known, right? Everyone should be known. And let's go more into the known. What other more knowns do you do? Coming from me, are there awards or things that you, where you recognize others in more formal ways? And how is that manifested?

So I don't know that— everyone has a bandwidth, everyone has a capacity to know people on their organization. And so again, when our company was small and there's a few people, I knew everything about those few people. And the company continued to grow and grow, and I saw myself learning less and less about people. And then it became, hey, listen, I'm going to know these people in my organization. These are the people that I need to continue to know well. But I'm going to ask now these who are leaders to know their team really well because I can't know everybody. And so we would just coach and teach about knowing what's important to them. And again, going back to how you kicked off the show, people— and we'll get into this, I'm sure, here at some point today on kind of what we've done. But you need— everyone's motivated by different things. And so it's important for me to know as a leader, the people on my team, what is important to them. And if I don't know what's important to them, it's going to be really hard for me to keep making sure this is a place that they want to be a part of. If I know the most important thing to them is, is financial reward, that's very different than someone who— no, no, no. Like making sure they have time with their kids or they have a parent who's aging and they're taking care of them for a short season here. And that's the priority. They've all got different priorities, what they're looking for. But if you don't know what it is, to that person, you can't really create an environment that they're excited to be a part of. You must force everybody down one path.

I totally agree. I totally agree. Because that's the reward for employees, right? Because we're— I find that I'm investing in that something that they're going through right now. Literally, I'm literally investing. You're putting money down on whatever their challenge is in the moment because you're supporting it. And there's a loss there too. There's opportunity cost loss. There's loss of time. And you have to mentally think as a leader, as an owner, this is worth it because this is a human being. And in the end, we'll be together in something really special. Right? And you're right. Yeah. Yeah.

So many people will— I mean, I think you've probably— everyone that you've met in business will tell you if you ask them, what's the most important resource, the most important part of your business? And they always say people, but very few actually, I think, mean it or know what it means. Because to your point, there is a real cost to you as the leader when someone's going through something to take time to ask questions. How are you doing? How are things going? You're not really accomplishing any business in those moments. You're not, you know, building something, coding something, selling something, but you're investing in that person. If you really believe people are the most important resource, that's an important step to know that they feel like they're appreciated and respected and a part of the organization. And then when that season is through, they become a star again and continue to do a lot of really good work.

And Duane, you know, people may think that this stuff is fuzzy. If they knew that we're putting our money down on it and time on it, it won't be so funny. Because the truth is that it can't get any harder quantitatively and qualitatively for business owners like Duane and I to be empathetic. There's nothing funny about that, and there's nothing fuzzy about that. It's serious, and it costs us time and money. So I really want to call out to others out there today to think differently, please, as an employee, about how much sacrifice that CEOs and founders like Duane do to create community and create understanding and love inside the workplace. It is not easy. It's challenging to do what we do. It's challenging to learn names, understand others, give all we can, bring them through those very challenging times. And that's something to thank people like Duane for doing. And I think there's a reciprocity that needs to be brought up to more social consciousness, into more, so that more people really appreciate that from this perspective, which is why I really want Most Loved CEOs to like Duane to discuss more about what he does, because I want more people to do this, right? It's an investment. Duane could put it into Tesla. It's a great price right now. Instead, he puts it into people and their lives so they can come back and be back on his team and be even stronger. That says a lot about you, a lot.

Oh, that's nice of you. Thank you. Appreciate that.

Let's, let's go into more. I can, you know, because people stay at your company, people love your company. Let's talk about, you know, what the why, what, what is it that else keeps them, you know, doing what they do, right? And, you know, because we talked about that knowing who they are in the, in the, in the walk-up, um, and, and how you do it, right? These strong values, this entrepreneurial spirit, and this experience that they have. Tell me more about it so we can kind of dive into more of the practices that makes Duane really most loved?

Well, I think another piece that really fuels us that I believe wholeheartedly is that the best opportunity should win. And here's what I mean by that. I think some business owners are so afraid when they have people on their team that, or maybe they're misguided, they think that once they're here, they're always going to stay here and be here. And that's not actually the case. That's people are going to do what's best for them. And I think that's just, that's common sense. And so don't hide from that. Don't think that's not true and to own that. And so I've, there's been many times throughout the years where sometimes we'll have someone who maybe is being recruited away to another organization. Instead of feeling threatened by that, hey, listen, if that's the best opportunity for you, by all means, take it. And if I can't create a better opportunity for that person, then I don't deserve for that person to stay here. And so it's nothing for me to be upset about, but it's a challenge and a reminder to me and our leaders that we've got to make sure we're creating real opportunities. So our jobs and our careers, I think we're building here, um, it has to be focused on what's good for them. And now that also means we're not for everybody. I think that's a mistake that some business owners might make, that It's for everyone. I think about, you know, if you've got a heating and air company and you need technicians to go repair equipment, those people are driven and motivated. They have different hobbies and interests than someone who loves sales or graphic design and wants to be artistic. And so creating an opportunity that is a legit opportunity on its own, and it might be great for people for a season but not forever. They might be there for a little bit. It's really good for them. But going back to earlier, I've encountered a lot of people in the last 20 years that came to N2 in one season of life. And then, you know, they are maybe just out of college and then they get married and then they have kids and now they have different— their life looks very different than when they joined. And so they might not be here. So our goal is just to always make sure that we have a good opportunity for each person. And that just drives us again to know our people, to know what's important to them and also to give them other opportunities. We've had people who are graphic designers and they love designing, but then they see the money that salespeople make. They're like, "Dang, how come I can't make that money? I want to make that money." And I'm always like, "Hey, listen, great news. We have other sales opportunities available across the country. You can go be a salesperson and yes, you can make more money, but you also know that there's no guaranteed pay there." You might make nothing. Like sales is, it can be bigger, but it can also be less. And to have that conversation with a person who might be feeling disgruntled because they, people, we just inherently tend to see what everybody else has and think that it's better. And that might be better. And if there's different careers, well, I heard my friend gets this much time off and this friend gets this kind of health insurance and this person gets this pay and they forget, well, what kind of hours does that person have? And the roles are all different. So I think for any leader just to know, here's who we are, this is what we do, this is what we provide, and it's good. And if it's not for everybody at all times, that's okay. But let's make sure we're finding the right people who this is good for and make sure that they know that they're cared for. And then let the chips fall where they fall and not to be intimidated when people leave for some other opportunity.

I love that brutal honesty, candor, right? Radical candor. And saying what it is that people need to hear to be successful because there are guardrails for them. And it's so important to be honest like that, right? I mean, Duane, it'd be, you know, one thing if somebody says, oh, I want to get into sales and all of a sudden they're doing the same cushy salary that they always had, but they don't, they don't see the need to develop the skills they require, right, to actually make it to the sales they want and to the numbers they want. So, you know, that radical candor is so extremely important so that it's a balance on both sides. You're doing that right.

Yeah, it needs to be addressed in front of the team because again, sometimes a little bit of negativity, not even from jobs outside of your own company, as a leader, you just don't have people who are jealous about other people in the company and what they're making or what their life is like and what this is. And it's always good to remind people, look, there are opportunities that exist even here. But it also means that you might put in extra time. You have to go back to school. You have to work extra hours. You're going to have to develop a whole new skill set. And then it's like just a reminder of, oh yeah, I would have to go through that. Oh yeah, actually, I do kind of like that the work just comes to me and I just do it and there's no commission. My paycheck is very reliable. Actually, I kind of value a consistent paycheck. I value security and reliability more than I do the uncertainty of this role. It could be more— it helps people walk them through all the different positions that are available to help them either move on if they're negative or come to terms and be good with like, hey, this is what excites me and I get to do this work here. That's great. There's no role that's perfect. I'm not going to get the exact job I love and the highest income in the company. And it comes with the best time off. You know, so just helping people weigh out the pros and the cons of each role, whether it's in our organization or even outside of our organization. But we believe the best opportunity should win.

The best opportunity should win. And the best opportunities that connect to what they want, right? It's just like how you pronounce their name properly, right? It's like, this is how I can pronounce your best experience properly, right?

That's right.

It's all this constant iteration. And I always say, if somebody tells you something, you should believe it. Right? Some people want to make them into something different that they want, but in reality, they're telling you what they want. And we need to listen more, hear more, and understand more what you're doing. I mean, truly hear it, right? It's one thing to say, oh, I've heard, I've seen this before. Oh, you, you want to have a house and, and you get to get married? Well, wait, come with us, stay with us in our community. We'll just keep going. We'll have lots of fun at conferences. You don't need to do that now. No, I don't think you heard me. I want to get married and, and I want to go and, and live in a house. And the minute that happens, right, that they say, I want this, I want to move, I want this to happen, support needs to happen or help them out to get— go somewhere else. I, I had my greatest story, Dwayne, you like this. Rofi, she's— I hope you're listening, Rofi, but Rofi had My best employees. She was awesome. And she knew that she wanted to move to Boston with Paul, a wonderful guy. And I actually told him to marry her. He came to me, he says, what do you think, Louis? I said, she's the best ever. Don't make the worst mistake of your life. Marry her now. And he did. And I said, Rofi, I want you to go enjoy your life and make the family you wanted. And now she, 10 years, 15 years later, she's an SVP at this, her company, right? And she was, she started with me as a, you know, an associate, right? And she's an SVP now and she has beautiful kids and she's with Paul and she's enjoying her life. And had she stayed right in this environment, she wouldn't have gotten to where she wants to go. And I blessed it. I said, please, Rofi, go do it. Find your passion, find your life and what you want. And I can't imagine anyone holding someone back. From what the life they want to live.

And Lou, it's— what's, what's important about that is you can tell them the way you tell the story that you care about Rofi and you're excited the way it worked out. No doubt that came at some cost to you. Like, I got to replace Rofi. She's irreplaceable.

She was.

This is what's best for her. And again, I think as a, as a leader, I think the good, the good leaders, the best ones, as you mentioned, that you've got a heart for the people who come, and they might be with you for just a season but to appreciate that season and then to see them go on and do what is best for them. And we do our best to make sure this is a career that people want to stay and be a part of. But again, for some people, it's their life changes and things are presented in a different way. And whether they're with us or they're not, we just want to support them and see them do well.

And how I heard you describe it is it's actually a lifetime experience. And I've seen that at massively successful companies like Allstate. Where they have people who stay there 20, 30 years and they help them through all the life cycle. It's set up like that. Also another franchise business, interestingly enough. And so I see that in you, right? There are life cycle, season, reason, lifetime, right? You seem like a lifetime company.

We do our best. In fact, I was just getting caught up this morning before our call. We have a, we have a lady who's been a franchisee with us for 15 years, and she sent me a video of two of her daughters, and they were 5 and 7 when she started working with us. And she had to record a video because now one's a schoolteacher and the other one is in real estate. And these videos are these of her two daughters talking about how their life has been impacted watching their mom in N2. And they said, look, you know, we grew up, not that our mom worked with, with, with N2, but she did the magazine for our neighborhood. And so they tell stories about how the kids all would get the pictures each each month, and they were all looking to see if they were in it, and how they all thought their mom was so cool, but how their mom was like an example to them. So yeah, to this point, it's like those videos were perfect for me before coming on here because it's such a warm reminder, like, wow, like, there are people here who not only are they impacted, but the impact they can have on their family. And their kids are watching them run a business and watching mom run a business and do really well, how it was inspiring for them to then go off and be a hard worker as well. So Yeah, it is fun when people can come stay with you for their full career. It's a big deal.

That's awesome, Dwayne. You're the real deal. And this kind of generational passing on of success, right? And that's what we're all about and America's all about, passing on success to our generations and ensuring that we all together can enjoy the success through hard work.

Yeah, you're right.

Duane, it's been great that you joined us today in the Leader's Show. Love all of your really important leadership tips about knowing people, what it truly means to know people and run a company that is a lifetime experience for employees and truly respects what they want in life. Duane, thanks for joining us.

Thank you, Lou.