Pete Gazlay grew up in an entrepreneur’s family and caught the bug early with his own lawn mowing and landscape installation company. The road to business ownership was never a straight path. The “five-year plan” got interrupted by children and Pete had to support his family and launched his career as a police officer. He rose rapidly in the leadership ranks but saw his future with bureaucrats and politicians and knew that he was a square peg in a round hole. He did the unthinkable and retired mid-career to launch his speaking career. He wasn’t quite as successful as he hoped and after three years he found a “real job” again.
He worked for an incredible entrepreneur in the Facilities Maintenance industry and was exposed to site operations and Fortune 500 companies and world headquarters in the US, Canada and Costa Rica.
In 2009 he left that company and in 2010 he and Linda started Total Facility Care with zero clients and zero employees. A truly bootstrap company Pete did business development in the days and cleaned buildings at night to get things off the ground. In 2022 Pete and Linda exited the company with sales in excess of $5M and 145 team members.
Pete attributed his ability to exit to two primary decisions. First, he joined an Owners Accountability Group in 2015 that grew his network and gave him a place to process business and marketplace issues. In 2018, Pete lead the self-implementation of the EOS® System in Total Facility Care, and over the next few years the business became less dependent on Pete and more reliant on a leadership team. This increased the value of TFC and enabled Pete and Linda to make their exit.
"After exiting my business I had several opportunities to pursue what is next. They included becoming an EOS Implementer and leading other peer accountability groups. I'm a huge fan of EOS but decided Acumen's exclusive peer accountability groups were the perfect match for me and my skill set. I look forward to bringing these industry best groups to Northern Colorado."
Isolation.
"The number one challenge for many CEOs is being isolated and having no one to really be able to solve difficult problems with or bounce ideas off that aren't direct reports."
Focused Time.
"The pace of business and change is so rapid that many CEOs and business owners are "In" the business constantly and don't take adequate time to work "On" the business. Your Acumen Council days are for you. It might be the only time in your month that is truly focused on you."
I recharge by reading scripture and other wisdom literature to ground myself in God's presence every morning. Without this, I am not my best. I also love to spend time with my family and any time on a river catching those elusive trout!
Entrepreneur
Risk Taker
Problem Solver
Anything in the mountains, hanging out on a patio with friends drinking a glass of red wine or a nice glass of bourbon, staying young with our grandkids, and anything they are doing.