The Power of Potential

About the Book

“This is a powerful, game-changing book, a book for anyone who has ever built a hiring process or managed a team. Tom's approach is changing lives.”

— Seth Godin, Author of This is Marketing

Discover how supporting employees with autism unlocked new ways of running a business—and revealed transformative lessons for all of us.

Rising Tide Car Wash in Parkland, Florida, isn’t average in any way. When Tom D’Eri and his father John bought the location in 2013, it was struggling. Now it’s one of the highest-volume washes in Florida. Its employee retention rate is five times that of its competitors. It has spun off into two additional locations that have been immediately successful, and the business is absurdly profitable. Over 500,000 cars a year drive away sparkling. Rising Tide has become a media darling, featured on The Today Show, NBC Nightly News, and in magazines including Entrepreneur, National Geographic, and Forbes.

Why so much hoopla over a successful car wash? Roughly 80 percent of Rising Tide’s workforce consists of people with autism. While part of the success comes from their mission, that doesn’t explain the excellence that permeates every aspect of the business: service quality, customer experience, teamwork, management, and organizational design. Put any aspect of the D’Eris’ operation against other businesses, and you’ll find they have the edge.

The Power of Potential tells the inspiring, surprising reason why: The wash’s excellence isn’t in spite of their unusual workforce, but because of it. Thanks to their unconventional staff, the Rising Tide team was able to discover and correct common problems that typically fly under the radar in businesses. By spotting and correcting these hidden problems, any business, with any kind of workers, can achieve unexpected wins and leave average behind. The common problems include:

• You Hire Based on Interviews
• You Think Great Talent Is the Secret to a Great Business
• Your Managers Are “Good Enough”
• You Fire Your Worst Employees

To our surprise, solving the four problems changed who we were as a company. The result was four unexpected wins that added up to a culture of excellence—but leadership is needed to reinforce what matters.

• Every Employee Feels Safe
• Accountability is a Tool for Growth
• Your Work Has Purpose
• Customers Love Their Experience