Nick Sarillo focuses on Chicagoland businesses that benefit from his direct, personal involvement. Over a dozen other business owners have trusted Woodlawn with this hands-on approach to mapping their future. We work with two additional, growing businesses in Elk Grove Village, Cristaux International and Tri-Star Engineering. We treat each team as members of our family.
Nick began his career as a carpenter. His dreams led him to the restaurant business. His drive helped him to build the country’s sixth largest independent pizza company, which was also named as one of Forbes Magazine’s top 25 best small businesses in 2017.
Nick’s engineering mindset and training in organizational psychology led him to create a replicable “talent operating system” based on shared purpose and development. This systematic approach led to employee turnover of less than 25% and dramatically higher profit margins than industry averages. The resulting culture is the focus of his book, A Slice of the Pie: How to Build a Big Little Business. His team at The Trust & Track Institute also leverages the system to help other businesses to improve their culture and operating efficiency.
Nick Sarillo and Evan Gobdel lead Woodlawn’s Operational Development Practice. We begin every partnership by listening and learning. We then bring a systematic approach to aligning the values and refining the practices of the team and its individuals. We each make a personal commitment to do whatever it takes, either to step back as coaches or to get our hands dirty on the field.
