‘I focused on the laundry and not the batter’

Failure may be hard to take, but it can be a wonderful teacher.

Terry Marks was on his way to living his dream of becoming a pro baseball pitcher when reality struck. He made it to the minor league with the San Francisco Giants before his self-defeating mental approach led to a quick and permanent exit from the mound.

But what Marks, CEO of Atlanta-based Hooters of America, learned from the disappointment helped to prepare him for the corporate world. Before taking the top job at Hooters 18 months ago, he had risen in the Coke system to lead the North American operations of Coca-Cola Enterprises. He then became CEO of The Pantry convenience store chain of more than 1,600 Kangaroo Express locations.

Now Marks, 52, is trying to rejuvenate the Hooters brand, which had grown tired after 30 years. Among the issues for the 420 restaurants — reinvigorating the menu and decor to compete with faster growing rivals like Twin Peaks and Tilted Kilt, and updating the skimpy waitress uniforms while expanding the customer base to include more women. He discusses those challenges, as well as how his failure to make it as a major league pitcher became critical to his success.

Q: What early experience helped shape your life?

A: My dad was 47 when I was born. I was the youngest of five kids in an Irish Catholic family in Rochester, N.Y. Because my parents were from the Depression era, I got that experience from them firsthand. They were very conservative with their money.

My dad went to work every day thinking — if I don’t do a good job today, I’m going to get fired — literally. My father’s mindset was — what do I have to do to ensure I get to go to work tomorrow. He was a supervisor in a manufacturing plant.

That definitely had an impact on me. I was motivated by fear, which is a powerful motivation.

It is so important to have the discipline to be poised, professional and courteous at all times because you’ll never know when one momentary lapse may haunt you. It may affect the job that you never knew you were up for, but didn’t get.

Q: How did your baseball experience change your approach to life?

A: I wanted to play major league baseball. I was a pitcher and played at the University of Southern California. I signed with the San Francisco Giants after my junior year in 1982 and played minor league ball. I got released later that year.

I learned one of the most important lessons in my life from that experience — never be intimidated again.

When I was on the mound, I didn’t see some 19-year-old kid that I was pitching to. Instead, I’d see a Phillies uniform or a Dodgers uniform, and I allowed myself to become overwhelmed by where I was. I focused on the laundry and not the batter. I’m convinced that I did not do as well as I could have because of that.

It left a real mark on me. Early in my career, I was working for Coca-Cola Enterprises in Los Angeles and had to make a presentation in front of (then-Coke President) Don Keough. That was pretty intimidating. I got nervous. But I ultimately told myself I was not going to let myself be intimidated by the environment again. I flipped a switch and I nailed the presentation. I learned that you have to trust yourself.

Q: At Coca-Cola Enterprises, you were entrusted with managing both white-collar and blue-collar employees relatively quickly. What did you learn that helped you later in your career?

A: I learned a lot about connecting with people. I was always mindful of the need to earn my stripes. I didn't go in with the mindset that I'm your manager. I knew I had to earn the respect of the organization.

The way I did that was to be there at 6 a.m. to kiss those (delivery) trucks good-bye and to be there at 7, 8, or 9 o’clock at night to welcome them back in again. It was a real grind, but I knew that was the only real way I was going to win their respect, since I had not spent my career running a route. I had to demonstrate I was willing to work as long and as hard as they were, and establish credibility.

I can remember the time before I fully understood the implications of taking union work. During a holiday weekend, everyone was going as hard as they could. One night, a local supermarket called and said they were running low on Coke. So I took out a truck and delivered it myself because I wasn’t going to ask any of my guys to work any later on a holiday weekend.

The Teamsters filed a grievance because I took union work. But they rescinded it because the guys told the shop steward I was trying to do the right thing. That would not have happened if I was not trying to earn their respect.

Q: You’re trying to remake Hooters. How?

A: There's a tremendous opportunity to breathe life back into this brand. It needs leadership and work.

When Neville Isdell was picked to lead Coca-Cola (in 2004), he went on a 90-day listening tour. I borrowed that playbook. I talked to employees and I listened. I talked to franchisees and I listened. And I commissioned a comprehensive consumer study of the brand.

The conditions of the restaurants varied widely, the food was inconsistent and the brand was tired, not topical. Admittedly, the brand is polarizing to some. I respect that. But many want to be given a reason to reconsider it.

The first thing we did is improve the quality of the ingredients on the existing menu. Some restaurants were using frozen hockey pucks for burgers. That’s long gone. We use fresh-ground Angus beef.

We have an aggressive remodeling schedule for our restaurants. We want to be a destination for a broader variety of occasions, such as a weekend dinner, by making it a comfortable place for women. We added entree salads.

As for the uniforms, I get asked that question more than any other. We are listening to consumers. We are listening to our teammates — the Hooters girls. We think there’s an opportunity for them to evolve, but we are very respectful of the iconic status of that uniform. We’re working on it.

Q: Do you have advice for students?

A: The person who hired me at Coke in Los Angeles liked the fact that I played baseball at USC. The first thing he said was, "What do I need with a broken down pitcher?"

I always told my kids, “Don’t agonize over the reputation of the liberal arts education of the college that you’re going to go to.” I promise you, sometime later you’re going to sit across from a person interviewing you about a job and the difference will be whether you both say, “War Eagle” or “Roll Tide” or “Rocky Top.” That connection is invaluable.

And if you’re an athlete, the connection is much greater. Even if you’re on the bench, don’t quit. It is a personal brand that you’ll carry with you for the rest of your life.