Managing change in a changing business environment

         CITY OF INDUSTRY – Andrew Cherng sums up his inspiration for starting Pandra Express pretty simply.

          “I didn’t want to be poor,” Cherng, founder and chairman of the board for the Rosemead-based restaurant chain, told business leaders this week.

         Forty years and 1,600 stores later, Cherng sits atop the largest chain of Chinese fast food restaurants in the United States – generating an average of $1.4 million in additional sales for each of the 100 to 110 new stores a year Panda Express opens.

          Speaking at the quarterly Executive Luncheon of the Industry Manufacturers Association, Cherng talked mostly management and leadership style in a rapidly changing business environment.

          “My real job is about managing change,” said Cherng, who grew up in China and came to the United States in 1972. He helped found the first Panda Inn restaurant in Pasadena the next year, and in 1983, expanded the concept to fast food. Today, Panda Express employs 23,000 people in 42 states.

          “I’ve just had a very strong desire (to succeed),” Cherng said, though that will was tested the day the Panda Express chain opened its 100^th store. At that point, “I was way over my head … I was exhausted. I didn’t know how to adjust.”

         With the help of TEC, a national organization of chief operating officers, Cherng  learned how to improve his business juggling skills – to build “the kind of environment that allows change to happen quickly and smoothly.”

          He said the most important thing an effective leader can do is to model change.

          “It’s really not possible to force your will on people, to force them to change,” he said. Instead, ask yourself “what changes are you modeling for your organization?”

          In Panda Express’ case, being vigilant about customer service and expenses – and fixing mistakes quickly – have been key. An example – teed up by a member of the audience at Wednesday’s luncheon – was a barbeque pork dish the company has discontinued serving because it didn’t meet Panda Express’ standards.

         “The key is to run a company the right way so it lasts a long, long time,” Cherng said.

         IN OTHER REGIONAL BUSINESS NEWS: The San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership has launched a digital tourism initiative, "Discover SGV." The site -- at www.discoversgv.com -- offers insight on places to go and things to do throughout the San Gabriel Valley. There's also a Facebook component ... The Ontario Airport Alliance has hired Frank Williams as interim executive director. Williams, retired head of the Building Industry Association Baldy View chapter, will manage day-to-day operations of the nonprofit organization. The alliance was formed to rally business support behind Ontario's efforts to gain control of ONT from Los Angeles World Airports ... Snak King, the City of Industry-based snack food producer, reports that it introduced 107 new products in 2012. Snak King acquired Chicago-based CJ Vitner in 2011, and is one of the nation's largest producers of private-label and self-branded snack foods ... In an op-ed piece published in the Riverside Press-Enterprise, Glen Becerra, president of the Southern California Association of Governments, said reform of the California Environmental Quality Act could accelerate job creation in the construction industry by more than 102,000 a year. CEQA reform is gaining wide support across the state from sources as unlikely as Gov. Jerry Brown.

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