T


he foodservice equipment industry was built on a diverse blend of startups, small businesses, and


larger established companies. Founder- driven firms operate alongside family- owned and generational businesses. Fast-growing new entrants share the market with organizations that have spent decades refining and expanding what they built years ago.


Every company has its own playbook,


but a core set of business rules applies across the board. Distributors and manufacturers need the right people in the right roles, cash to support growth, and disciplined execution to transform ideas into reality. More importantly, they need a strategy that doesn’t fade once the focus shifts back to the daily work. Verne Harnish has spent his career studying that exact challenge, and he’ll share his approach to solving it at this year’s FEDA Annual Executive Leadership Conference, Sept. 15-18 in Park City, Utah. As the author of Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It ...and Why the Rest Don’t and founder of Entrepreneurs’ Organization, Harnish focuses on the systems, habits, and accountability that help companies grow beyond their current stage. Harnish’s insights are derived from


more than four decades of helping companies turn ambitious visions into sustained growth through disciplined execution. His experience spans a range of industries, from designing HVAC systems for chain restaurants to serving as vice chair of the Riordan Clinic and chair of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology CEO program. The breadth of those experiences has given him a distinctive perspective on the leadership tenets and operational methods that enable organizations to scale successfully.


The philosophy and principles that Harnish will share with conference


By Bridget McCrea And Tim O’Connor


attendees build naturally on the ideas keynote speaker Jim Collins brought to last year’s event. At the 2025 conference, Collins, a highly-regarded business author and researcher, presented his flywheel concept, a way of visualizing how great companies build self-sustaining momentum through progressive actions. The flywheel structure was positively received by FEDA members, with some companies, like USA Restaurant Suppliers, developing their own versions. “What made Jim Collins’ flywheel concept useful for us is that it turns strategy into something visual and repeatable,” Devon Zielinski, CEO of USA Restaurant Suppliers, said. “It is very easy to get pulled into the daily chaos: quotes, vendor issues, freight, substitutions, installs, service problems, customer timelines, and the constant pressure to move faster. The flywheel helped us step back and ask, ‘What are the few things that, if done consistently and repeatedly, create momentum for the entire business?’” Through the development of its own flywheel (see sidebar on page 18), USA Restaurant Suppliers clarified that its mission is not merely to sell equipment. Rather, it is to remove friction from the process of purchasing equipment — one of the most frustrating parts of opening or operating a restaurant. The flywheel gave the distributor’s leadership and teams a map they can visualize to better align their work with the company’s overarching goals. “Instead of each department only thinking about its own tasks, we have asked them to think about how their work adds or removes momentum from the larger company flywheel,” Zielinski said. The effect has been that everyone now sees how their role impacts the next piece of the company’s business. A delayed quote not only hurts sales, but it also erodes trust. The impact of a sloppy handoff goes beyond operations; it generates friction for the customer. For Zielinski, creating a flywheel clarified that


adding more activity without the systems in place to support that growth created drag. “One of the biggest changes we made was putting more emphasis on process, data, and accountability before scaling further,” he said. “We started focusing more on quote accuracy, clean project handoffs, vendor follow-up, customer communication, and internal visibility. The goal became not just to grow, but also to create a business where each completed job makes the next job easier, cleaner, and more profitable.” Where Collins showed conference attendees how disciplined thought and action build momentum, Harnish will focus on how companies can create the operating habits, priorities, and accountability needed to keep their flywheel turning. “For dealers and suppliers, the companies that grow sustainably will not just be the ones with the most products or the lowest prices. They will be the ones that build systems where people, strategy, execution, and cash all reinforce each


SESSION INFORMATION Keynote Presentation


Sept. 16, 10:50 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. MT


VERNE HARNISH FOUNDER


ENTREPRENEURS’ ORGANIZATION AUTHOR, SCALING UP


Session Sponsored By:


Summer 2026 17


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