What if I told you that choosing to not make money was a key reason for a company’s success?
This NQ is focusing on what makes organizations and leaders distinct, and there are few things in today’s economy that will lead to distinction than choosing to leave money on the table. But in some ways, that is exactly what Chick-fil-A, the family-owned and operated fast food chain, has done since its inception.
Numerous business schools have run the analysis to show that the chain who is closed on Sundays (a hallmark of the organization) is forfeiting significant profits. But for Chick-fil-A, this choice rests hand in hand with its purpose “to glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us. To have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A.” They are closed on Sundays because Truett Cathy, their founder, believed it was the right thing to do, not the financial thing to do. CFA says that the choice to close one day a week gives their leadership, home office, and Operators an opportunity to be with families and to worship. In the stores it also gives their equipment and assets time to rest, and it grants their customers time to get excited about Monday at Chick-fil-A restaurants.
However you think about this decision, it is great example of how organizations can operationalize the distinctness of who they are and how they serve. It is an example of internalizing values, not merely publicizing them.
As Chick-fil-A has grown they’ve committed to remaining distinct. There are three layers to Chick-fil-A’s distinctness as a brand and a business. Their purpose statement is the first. As you speak with any employee in their home office in Atlanta, or with an operator out in the field, they truly want to have a positive influence in the world. The second is that at almost $7B, they are still family-owned and led and the intent is to stay this way. This creates a foundation for many of the decisions they make about what they do with their brand and what they won’t. The third critical component is that CFA puts their operator at the center of everything they do. The emphasis on “local ownership of a meaningful brand” is fundamental to how the organization serves the communities in which it operates. These layers of distinctiveness have been in place since Truett Cathy founded the organization. But they have perhaps never been more tested than in recent years as the organization has experienced phenomenal growth in an industry with significant pressures to perform.
So how does CFA retain their distinctness and what does it mean for those trying to do the same? In a recent interview with Andy Lorenzen, CFA’s head of Talent Development, we posed the question “how does the organization work to retain its distinctness in an environment of ‘sameness’ and regression to the norm?”
Selection, selection, selection: For Chick-fil-A, maintaining it’s identity during growth has not been easy, but it has been clear. “The key to staying true to our hallmarks, is how Chick-fil-A selects and hires employees. At the core of the process is a focus on character, chemistry, and competence” says Lorenzen. “In terms of character, CFA looks for a track record of someone’s decision-making and whether those decisions are consistent with the decision-making of our best. In terms of chemistry, we are looking for an ability to build and maintain relationships. Do they have deep relationships and nurture them over the course of time? CFA has some of the longest supply and vendor relationships in industry and this is a consequence of having been a positive influence over many years. We also have good judgment about when a relationship needs to end and we do it in a way that is kind and generous. Lastly, as it relates to competence, we select people that have ability to learn and develop for a lifetime. Our employees often don’t know much about Chick-fil-A at the beginning. We expect they continually learn and layer that over the course of time.”
A Listening Ear: The organization’s success can also be attributed to finding people that are both hungry and humble at the same time. They find people hungry to have a positive influence and do good work, but who have an others first mentality. This can be seen through the many stories in the news of Chick-fil-A operators who are involved with serving those in their neighborhoods (as one viral story of a Tennessee restaurant operator did by feeding a homeless man who entered his store recently highlighted). CFA, perhaps better than any organization in their industry, is attune to the desires of customers nationally and locally. The Chick-fil-A Support Center (home office in Atlanta) also does an excellent job of remaining focused on the Operators and meeting their needs. Andy said they use the phrase “local ownership of a meaningful brand” to remind everyone that their brand is much more than a cow commercial or a national identity. It is about listening, understanding, and staying connected to the customer at the local level.
Willingness to change what can be changed: But perhaps the biggest key to retaining your distinctness, is truly understanding the non-negotiable versus those things that may seem immutable but are actually important to adjust as the world around you changes. For CFA the latter includes things like adjusting its menu, or moving from mall based stores to free standing units. As Andy, a long-time leader at Chick-fil-A, describes it “people in the world focus a lot on making good decisions; we have focused at CFA on making our decisions good.”
You and your organization may not need to leave money on the table to retain your distinctness, but if Chick-fil-A is any example, perhaps we all should be willing to consider such things in in the light of our purpose if we are to remain true to our distinct values.