Sheridan, a 25-year Brooks employee who took the reins as CEO in April 2024, fondly recalls his encounters with Buffett over the years, including the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meetings. These gatherings, often a pilgrimage for investors and business enthusiasts, also became a time for Brooks to celebrate milestones with its famously hands-on owner.
At first glance, the maxim sounds simple. But as Sheridan points out, “The truth is, that’s a huge thing for us to do. You have to do a thousand things to keep your brand strong. You have to create great product. You have to keep your morale and your culture going. You have to keep your customers happy. For me in my leadership role, that’s how I think about it: Is our brand strengthening every season, in every market?”
Sheridan has adopted a leadership mantra learned at Munger’s heel: Avoid the “ABCs” of corporate decay. “He talks a lot about organizations avoiding the ABCs: arrogance, bureaucracy, and complacency.” For Sheridan, this is more than a cautionary tale; it’s a daily discipline.
Sheridan’s intolerance for bureaucracy is equally strong. “I often say I’m allergic to bureaucracy … even in nonprofits or school committees that I’m asked to be on, my first question is, ‘Is there a lot of bureaucracy in this organization?’ I can’t function in that. I don’t know how to function in it. And so, Brooks is a place where there’s low bureaucracy,” Sheridan remarked.
That growth, according to Sheridan, depends on ruthlessly avoiding complacency and focusing on daily execution. Brooks’ recent expansion—from Olympic athlete partnerships to surging popularity in China and Europe—has been fueled by this mindset.
For this story, Fortune used generative AI to help with an initial draft. An editor verified the accuracy of the information before publishing.
