Inspect What You Expect: Interview with Marty Langenderfer, Founder and CEO of Spavia

I recently went one-on-one with Marty Langenderfer, founder and CEO of Spavia.

Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks, or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?

Marty: Early in my career, my introduction to business was as a CPA. It was a fun ride in a Big 4 CPA firm in Denver with clients like Vail, Copper Mountain, and Steamboat Ski Resorts. Moving on to get some polish at Cornell’s Johnson Graduate School of Management for an MBA, I then ventured to SABRE,  where I was part of a founding team creating the internet travel pioneer Travelocity. My last corporate executive position at Dish Network was intense, to say the least, engaging in a leadership role driving subscribers to 10 million. 

Instrumental to my leadership has involved creating and scaling systems, a challenge faced during Spavia’s early days. Some amazing successes and of course, some failures. Failures are where deep learning occurs. Each one becomes part of an invaluable tool kit.

Adam: In your experience, what are the key steps to growing and scaling your business?

Marty: The emphasis on building a cohesive team and establishing scalable systems has been fundamental to Spavia’s remarkable growth as it plays a role in navigating the complexities of the spa industry. Building a cohesive team that’s not only experienced but also forward-thinking allows us to adapt swiftly to market changes and find new opportunities.

As examples, recently, with labor shortages, we are prototyping a Massage Trade School, St. Mortiz Massage Academy. And to focus more on Gen Z, we are launching a new urban concept called Sway. Both are exciting new adventures that leverage our systems and skill sets. With St. Moritz, we are innovating the education experience to develop and train the best massage therapists. And Sway ensures that Spavia continues to resonate with a younger, mobile demographic, contributing significantly to our ongoing success story.

Adam: What do you believe are the defining qualities of an effective leader?

Marty: An effective leader must have a strong need for achievement and high energy.   These qualities help lead by example which is important for building a strong culture and team.  Your team of not only employees but supporting partners and vendors see your energy and drive and will want to be with a winning organization.   

In the early stages of leading a company, having good communication and organizational skills are important to keeping everyone moving in the same direction.  Early on, you can’t hire all the skill sets needed.  How do you balance, organize, and communicate with all the players, including insourcing and outsourcing of needed skill sets?  How do you find experts that fill the void and provide needed expertise?    You do need to be incredibly organized and have great communication to have hybrid insource and outsource teams and keep everyone in their lanes. It’s incredibly challenging to develop a cohesive brand and organization with all the constituents.  I love the challenge.

Lastly is having a clear vision of where you are headed.  As the leader of both the corporate team and franchisees, a franchisor CEO must be forward-thinking, consistently aligning the team with your vision. It’s not just about steering the ship; it’s about understanding the industry’s trajectory, staying ahead of industry trends and functioning as a beacon, guiding teams and providing a roadmap for others to navigate successfully.

Adam: How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?

Marty: Aspiring leaders need to immerse themselves in the core of their business offerings. This involves foundational knowledge and continuous learning.  As a CEO, it's imperative to have a basic knowledge and competency in all disciplines.  A franchise system really demands a high level of competency. Every franchisee has a different background and learning approaches and these new franchisee owners are learning a brand new industry.  It’s the leadership team's responsibility to set up the structures and training to guide them through this learning curve.

Without this foundational understanding, a leader risks losing the respect and commitment of their tribes.  Imagine trying to lead a team when you don't have the experience or knowledge to lead – it's like navigating uncharted waters without a compass. Once the CEO has a fundamental knowledge base, they can authentically lead, guiding their team with a clear vision and actionable insights.  Think undercover boss as a snapshot of CEO’s not in touch.

Early on, through some terrific mentorship, I realized that staying close to the customer (guest in our case) matters. Too often we see executives in an Ivory Tower having lost touch with the reason their company exists, which is servicing customers.  

In advising new CEO’s or leaders who want to progress to the next level, the challenge is in balancing the different areas to create excellence.  My advice:  build a great team,  immerse in the business foundational knowledge, develop scalable systems, take the time for deep thinking and stay close to the customer. 

Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives, and civic leaders?

Understanding the unique strengths and talents of your team members is the foundation of effective leadership. Recognizing and fostering these strengths creates a dynamic and collaborative environment that contributes to both individual and collective success.

Secondly, understand the driving force behind your organization and cultivate a sense of purpose. Know your why and communicate it.  Passion fuels sustained commitment and innovation. It's not just about what your organization does but why it does what it does.  Leaders who can articulate and instill this sense of purpose inspire their teams and stakeholders, creating a shared vision that propels everyone forward.  Having a passion for the company's mission will keep an executive focused with strong drive and energy.  By sharing this passion, leaders create a ripple effect, instilling a sense of purpose and commitment in both their internal teams and stakeholders.  

Thirdly, effective leadership demands active listening and the skillful alignment of strengths with objectives. Listening is often underestimated in its importance. By truly understanding the needs, concerns, and ideas of your team and stakeholders, you can make informed decisions that resonate with your organization's purpose.

Adam: What is your best advice on building, leading, and managing teams?

Marty: Building a team starts with hiring for intelligence, energy, and need for achievement.  These are traits that you are difficult to teach and innate for an employee.   You can’t make someone smarter or create energy or drive for them. If they have high energy it’s pretty much part of their DNA. Difficult to give anyone more energy.  Finally, the need for achievement is deeply grounded in a person.  All these traits are really important to winning and we want to win!

Workforce flexibility is essential while leading cross-functional teams that consist of your own employees, partners, and vendors. These teams can be geographically dispersed.  The ability to lead such diverse teams requires a flexible approach and strong communication that accommodates various work structures and dynamics.

For example, opening a new location is a multifaceted endeavor, involving numerous individuals across different disciplines—real estate, construction, marketing, operations, and more. Does your team and your vendors have the competency and communication to deliver?   We are fortunate to have some amazing partners.  A single spa location may have as many as 50 people contributing to its opening success or overcoming sometimes daunting challenges.   Managing these teams to work together in a cohesive way is an incredible endeavor.

In the opening process, the architect, for instance, may not be located in the city where the spa is being built. This geographical separation can be both a challenge and an opportunity. It's about strong communication, ensuring the energy and efforts put into opening a spa are aligned and collaborative.

Our Spavia franchisees play a pivotal role in upholding the high standards we've set at Spavia. They lead this effort by following the playbook  Spavia has in place, utilizing robust systems meticulously crafted through years of industry expertise. This playbook serves as an engaging guide, ensuring consistency in operations and the delivery of exceptional spa experiences across all our locations.

By channeling our energy across all our amazing teams and partners, we strive to create a world-class spa design and operational model. This approach allows us to maintain excellence and uphold our commitment to providing accessible luxury. It's about creating an environment where our tribes, regardless of their physical location, communicate effectively and work seamlessly toward a shared vision of delivering unparalleled spa experiences to valued guests.

Adam: What are your best tips on the topics of sales, marketing, and branding?

Marty: When it comes to marketing, we emphasize developing social engagement that authentically delivers on our brand promise. In today's digital age, connecting with our audience through social media channels is vital. We strive to create content that not only reflects our brand values but also engages our audience in meaningful ways.

Consistency is often overlooked but holds immense significance. Some franchise owners may be tempted to reinvent the wheel, changing the branding to be more eye-catching or colorful.  Fatigue can set in, which is always a marketer's challenge.  You see the brand every day, but consumers see it much less often.  A marketer gets tired of the same, the consumer does not.  The strength of a brand lies in its consistency. 

It’s really over long periods of time that people recognize and trust a brand when its look and feel remain consistent. The average consumer may not see the brand all the time, but repetition makes it instantly recognizable. Providing strong brand guidelines, customizable content, and marketing resources not only ensures a unified brand identity but also keeps it recognizable while adapting to diverse consumer preferences and market dynamics.

By striking the right balance, leveraging social engagement, and maintaining consistency, we've been able to establish Spavia as a recognizable and trustworthy brand in the wellness industry.

Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?

Marty: Inspect what you expect.  So many times the theory doesn’t translate to practice.   Heading back to the customer, see what they see.  You’ll find that it holds accountability to everyone. Rather than the devil is in the details, I like to say the angel is in the details. 


Adam Mendler is an entrepreneur, writer, speaker, educator, and nationally recognized authority on leadership. Adam is the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one on one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal-winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities, and non-profit organizations. Adam has written extensively on leadership and related topics, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. Adam teaches graduate-level courses on leadership at UCLA and is an advisor to numerous companies and leaders. A Los Angeles native, Adam is a lifelong Angels fan and an avid backgammon player.

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