Tom Talks

A: My Catholic vision, creativity, persistence, motivation-those are things that I seem to have had early on. But I have to be very humble about it. Those things came from God. And I've always kind of enjoyed work. When I was and orphan at 12 years old, I was knocking on doors, going down Main Street asking for jobs. I started a garden and sold vegetables. I would take my wagon, go and catch some fish, clean them and take them door to door. I set pins in the bowling alley. I worked on lots of farms. I worked like a man.

Q: Do you miss your job at Domino's?

A: What I'm doing now is much more important. I don't miss the pizza business.

Q: Are there any other opportunities that you find interesting from businessman's point of view?

A: If I were a young man starting over, I could see myself getting into development. It involves visualizing something and then making it happen. Putting all the pieces together. And that's basically what we've had with this university. When we get to that permanent campus in Ave Maria town, that's going to be something tangible.

Q: What are your thoughts about corporate philanthropy?

A: It's good business. The more you give the more you get. My philosophy is that I want to give to where it will do the most good. There's only one catastrophe in life and that's to lose your soul. I don't want to spend eternity in hell and I don't want anybody else to. If I can affect that, I think that's the most significant accomplishment. Other charities [that help] the arts, museums or medical research are all good things, but people are all going to die anyhow and what really counts is where they spend eternity, and what I'm doing with my limited resources is to impact that. Not too many people do that. And when you do, you don't get the same applause across the board [as if you say you give in other areas]. I get a lot of criticism. That's something I'm willing to accept.

Q: Some CEOs get a bad rap for pulling in huge salaries and bonuses even when their companies are doing poorly. Is that criticism justified?

A: It's supply and demand. I think it's penny-wise and pound foolish to try and save money [on CEO salaries]. If you have a good, effective person at the top, like Jack Welch, he might have made the company make billions more than the average CEO. And in losing companies might be losing a lot more if they didn't have the right leadership.

Q: With corporate scandals such as Enron, what will it take to regain people's trust?

A: Earlier I said the number-one target of the American media is the Catholic Church. The number-two target is the big businessman. It's out of proportion. For anyone to get to the top of a corporation and stay there, they have to be a straight arrow. You're not going to get promoted if you don't treat people properly and do things that are unethical. Usually if you do, it catches up to you and you fail. Truly, I think the higher up the ladder you get, the more power you get, and the more temptation you have to act unethically. That's why Ave Maria University is so important. It will serve as a moral compass. If I didn't have my faith, I'd make Hugh Hefner look like a piker. I mean, because I just love life. One thing faith can change is some restraints, and consequently, I think I live a lot happier life than Hugh Hefner, although I can't speak for him.

Q: Describe your management style.

A: I've always been criticized for being unbusinesslike. When the University of Michigan graduate business school used Domino's as a project for a year, they they got involved in Domino's in every way. I thought maybe I was going to get some valuable advice. They came back with their report, one after another, the team leaders gave lengthy descriptions about how messed up we were, how unprofessional we were and how if we don't make a 180-degee turn we weren't going to survive. It was the early '80s and we had the fastest growth in the restaurant industry. I totally ignored everything they said.

In 1989, when I decided to sell the company to do what I'm doing now, I stepped aside as president to show buyers that the company could get along without me. And the company didn't sell and was in limbo for two-and-a-half years. I had to come back in 1991, and it was a disaster. I owed a half-billion in debt to 30 some banks. They said I was going to have to hire a professional president. And I said, "What about me?" The first year was a blood bath. We laid a lot of people off and closed stores down. The second year we had a record profit. I hope some of this luck will be transferred to Ave Maria.