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THE TRIANNUAL MAGAZINE OF P I S IGMA EPSILON NATIONAL SALES, MARKETING AND MANAGEMENT FRATERNITY

Spring 2017

A Lasting Legacy Begins and Ends with How You Treat PeopleBy Mike Hawkins, Enterprise Holdings

Vice President, Sales & Business Development – North America

From USS Enterprise to Enterprise Holdings Jack heeded his country’s call after the attack on Pearl Harbor drew the United States into World War II. In 1942, he enlisted and served as a decorated Navy Hellcat pilot in the skies over the South Pacific.

Then, like so many others of the “Greatest Generation,” Jack returned home to raise his family and start a business. Lessons he learned in the Navy – including the values of integrity, hard work, team spirit and simply doing the right thing – helped shape his personality and made their mark on the company he founded in 1957. He even named his company after one of the aircraft carriers on which he served – the USS Enterprise.

In a tiny lower-level office in a St. Louis Cadillac dealership, Jack started a car leasing business with a

fleet of seven cars, one employee and a commitment to provide a uniquely personal brand of customer service. He was fond of saying that his goal in life and business was simply for people “to think I’m a nice guy.”In the decades to come, he accomplished that and much more – turning his startup into one of the business world’s greatest success stories.

A Man with a VisionShortly after Jack founded his company, he saw an opportunity to provide a service no one else was offering. Enterprise began offering vehicle replacements for customers whose personal vehicles were being serviced or in need of repair. As the rest of the car rental industry focused on serving airports, Jack pioneered the “home-city” or neighborhood car rental market. By providing convenient, affordable rentals right in

From humble beginnings, Enterprise Holdings – which owns the Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car brands – has steadily grown into the world’s largest car rental service provider. Through our integrated global network of independent regional subsidiaries and franchises, we operate more than 9,600 fully staffed neighborhood and airport offices in more than 85 countries and territories. Our robust network offers a total transportation solution that extends well beyond day-to-day car rental.

But we wouldn’t be where we are today if it weren’t for the leadership and vision of our founder, Jack Taylor.

In a tiny lower-level office in a St. Louis Cadillac dealership, Jack Taylor started a car leasing business with a fleet of seven cars, one employee and a commitment to provide a uniquely personal brand of customer service.

C H A R A C T E R

the neighborhoods where customers lived and local businesses operated, Enterprise quietly but steadily developed a market segment that has become larger than the airport-based rental market.

But aside from his great idea to serve an unmet need, it was how Jack ran his business that really set him apart from the competition. His mission was grounded in a simple but enduring philosophy: “Take care of your customers and your employees first, and the profits will follow.”

Over the years, we’ve formalized Jack’s approach to business into a set of Founding Values that every employee can understand and embrace:

• Our brands are the most valuable things we own.• Personal honesty and integrity are the foundation

of our success.• Customer service is our way of life.• Our company is a fun and friendly place, where

teamwork rules.• We work hard ... and we reward hard work.• Great things happen when we listen ... to our

customers and to each other.• We strengthen our communities, one neighborhood

at a time.• Our doors are open®.

This simple, yet powerful set of beliefs is what drives us – and how we hold ourselves accountable every day.

Keeping the Focus on ServiceIt’s one thing to say you’re committed to putting the customer first. It’s another thing to put it into practice.

When Jack started Enterprise, he knew he’d have a competitive advantage if he hired eager, customer service-oriented people and gave them the opportunity to grow. Today, we keep this vision alive by hiring highly motivated, college-educated men and women into our renowned Management Training Program. It’s a hands-on learning experience that teaches Trainees how to empower teams and provide excellent customer service. In fact, one of the first things we teach our Trainees are our Founding Values and the role they play in our continued success as a business.Employees who work hard and embrace our values have a chance to advance their careers quickly, thanks in large part to the thorough preparation they receive from the Management Training Program and our company’s promote-from-within culture.

We reward employees based on performance – not seniority. From the day Trainees become front-line employees, we tie their career advancement directly to their success in completely satisfying customers. In fact, each year thousands of employees are promoted or take on new challenges in various positions throughout our global network. It’s what keeps our team invested in delivering the best service possible. We’re also constantly monitoring and measuring our progress.

Every month, we conduct hundreds of thousands of customer surveys asking two simple questions:

• How would you rate your last Enterprise experience?

• Would you rent from Enterprise again?

Each one of our locations earns a ranking based on the percentage of its customers who say they were completely satisfied with their last rental experience. That ranking is the standard of customer service excellence we set for ourselves. We call it “top box.”

Regional scores are compared with the corporate average and play a major role in decisions about employees’ advancement.

This simple but effective “manage-what-you-measure” approach, combined with our ability to continually develop new and better ways to meet customer needs, has helped fulfill Jack’s vision and made our name synonymous with superior customer service.

Jack Taylor named his company “Enterprise” in honor of the aircraft carrier aboard which he served as a decorated

Hellcat pilot in World War II.

Giving BackAs one of the country’s most successful businessmen, Jack felt a sense of duty to invest in causes that would make the community a better place. As a result, Jack established the Enterprise Holdings Foundation in 1982 as a way for our company to give back to the communities where our customers and employees live and work. To date, the Foundation has contributed more than $266 million to thousands of local nonprofits focused on community improvement, education and environmental stewardship.

Jack’s generous spirit is shared by many Enterprise employees who are driven to make the world a little better than they found it. Last year 89 percent of the grants made by the Foundation fulfilled requests by employees to help community causes they personally champion and actively support.

In fact, just last fall, the Foundation announced one of the largest donations aimed at fighting hunger around the globe. The program – called Fill Your Tank – celebrates the company’s 60th anniversary by providing $60 million to address food insecurity in the form of $10 million annually over six years. The Fill Your Tank program is a natural extension of the good work employees are already doing in their

local communities. Our local Enterprise operations determine how half of each annual donation is distributed within their communities, while the other half is distributed to three of the largest food banks in North America and Europe.

The Legacy Lives OnWhile we were all saddened by the passing of Jack last year, as a company we’re just as determined as ever to keep his spirit alive.

Jack was a thoughtful and inspirational leader. He believed in hard work, but he also believed it was just as important to have fun along the way. He loved this business. He loved his colleagues and customers. And they loved him right back. While Jack accomplished great things in his lifetime, I think the secret to his legacy is actually quite simple. It all comes down to treating people the right way – with kindness, fairness and respect.

This culture of caring that Jack created was a powerful thing. His approach to meeting customers’ transportation needs while inspiring and motivating his team transformed an entire industry and set a standard for customer service that few companies in any industry can touch.

Enterprise hires highly motivated, college-educated men and women into its Management Training Program, which teaches employees how to run a business, empower teams and provide excellent customer service.