Dan Cathy, CEO of Chick-fil-A Addresses the Sandy Springs Perimeter Chamber

Photo by Kyle Valencia, www.valenciaproductions.com

Dan Cathy, CEO of Chick-fil-A, Inc., one of metro Atlanta’s favorite and most successful home-grown businesses, shared his recipe for success with members of the Sandy Springs Perimeter Chamber, guests and local officials at the Chamber’s June membership meeting. Cathy, who was named Chairman, President and CEO in 2013 by his father, Chick-fil-A Founder S. Truett Cathy, said the story of the company under his father’s leadership could be termed “Chapter One”. Now, Chick-fil-A has begun Chapter Two. “Chapter One is where you set up the story. Chapter Two is where the drama begins,” he joked.

Chick-fil-A and Sandy Springs have a long history together. Decades before there was a City of Sandy Springs, the company opened a restaurant on Roswell Road and Hammond Drive in the early 1970’s. It was a popular gathering place for students of nearby Sandy Springs High School and for area families. A second location in what was then the new Perimeter Mall followed. Today, there are three Chick-fil-A restaurants within Sandy Springs’ city limits, with many more just a short drive away.

Chick-fil-A has survived and thrived for over 70 years in a rapidly-changing world, and Cathy attributes this remarkable accomplishment to keeping the focus on why Chick-fil-A exists. “We must always communicate internally and externally why we are in business. Chick-fil-A exists to serve others. How we do it is through our restaurants. But, I find the more I talk about the ‘why’, the less I talk about the ‘how’,” he said.

Cathy offered his thoughts on four principles of thinking that he has found helpful as he steers his company into its next phase of national and international growth. “First, I encourage you to learn to ‘Think differently’ and have confidence in new ideas. Differentiation is a huge part of this game. Just look at our Chick-fil-A cows. ‘Get in line’ thinking will stifle growth.”

Next, Cathy encouraged the audience to “Think forward”. “You can’t expect to move forward if you hang onto everything that came before. You have to carefully prune out some of the old to truly embrace the new. We have had a great response to our new menu items, but we made room for them by letting go of some of the long-time sides like coleslaw and carrot raisin salad. I really loved our coleslaw, but it was time to introduce some new items. It’s a lot easier to let go when you know where you want to go,” he said.

Cathy’s third principle is “Think cool”. “This was a new thought for me,” Cathy admitted. “We traffic in talent, and we need that ‘cool’ factor to attract the best and the brightest. One of the ways we’ve embraced this idea is to completely reorganize our Support Center. The senior staff and I have given up our private offices to work in a more collaborative, open space that encourages interaction and creativity. It’s less ‘me space’ and more ‘we space’, which appeals to the kind of employees we want to attract and retain.”

The fourth and final concept Cathy shared with Chamber members was “Think shared ownership”. “Chick-fil-A shares ownership through our unique Operator model, which sets up our restaurant Operators for success and inspires passion and commitment. No matter what market we enter, two of our operating principals are non-negotiable: our Operator model and closing every restaurant on Sunday.”

Cathy concluded his presentation by passing out earplugs to the audience. “I want these to remind you to ask yourself this question: ‘Are my ears popping?’,” said Cathy. “I’ve had a number of mentors in my career, including my dad, Walmart’s Sam Walton and Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank of Home Depot. All of these men used to ‘walk the shop’ and interact with their customers and employees. It gave their employees meaning and significance to see the top person working alongside them. At the same time, each of these men was just as comfortable addressing a room full of industry analysts. They could go from the shop floor to the top office suite, and they could do it so quickly their ears probably popped. I think it’s important for anyone in a leadership position to be able to do the same thing and to make it a practice to move comfortably from one situation to the other.

“I ‘walk the shop’ at Chick-fil-A, too, whenever I can,” Cathy concluded. “It’s a great reminder that our company exists to positively impact people’s lives. God just gave us a chicken sandwich and waffle fries to do it with. That’s what Chick-fil-A is all about.”

About Chick-fil-A, Inc.

Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A, Inc. is a family owned and privately held restaurant company founded in 1964 by S. Truett Cathy. Devoted to serving the local communities in which its franchised restaurants operate, and known for its original chicken sandwich, Chick-fil-A serves freshly prepared food in more than 2,000 restaurants in 43 states and Washington, D.C. Chick-fil-A system sales exceeded $6 billion in 2015, which marks 48 consecutive years of sales growth. Chick-fil-A ranked first for customer satisfaction in the Limited Service Restaurants industry according to the 2015 American Customer Satisfaction Index and received the highest ACSI score ever in the industry. The company was also recognized in 2015 as America’s “Top Chicken Restaurant Brand” by The Harris Poll and the only restaurant brand named to the Top 10 “Best Companies to Work For” by 24/7 Wall Street. www.chick-fil-a.com

About the Sandy Springs Perimeter Chamber

The Chamber was formed in 2008 to serve businesses in the City of Sandy Springs and the north Perimeter area. With leadership from an elected Board of Directors, and working in partnership with city government, the Chamber’s mission is to maximize the business success of its members, strengthen the competitiveness of the Sandy Springs business community and enhance economic prosperity of the area. Ongoing initiatives include workforce and economic development, business education, community service and networking opportunities for members. Tom Mahaffey is president of the Sandy Springs Perimeter Chamber. www.sandyspringsperimeterchamber.com