Dan Cathy, Chick-fil-A Chairman & CEO—The Method Changes, The Mission Doesn’t

How Leaders Lead with David Novak

Today’s guest is Dan Cathy, Chairman & CEO of Chick-fil-A. With Dan at the helm, Chick-fil-A has become the envy of the restaurant industry. The average unit volumes in their stores are absolutely unheard-of – even though they’re only open six days a week. And they’ve had sales increases every single year of the 75 years they’ve been in business.

You can’t do that kind of growth for that long without being really good at innovating and adapting. But somehow they’ve done it while also staying true to their founding principles and values.

The secret, Dan says, is to “marry the mission and date the methods.”

That means they’re not afraid to try new ideas or get rid of whatever’s not working – whether that’s a strategy or a process or a menu item. But the core mission never changes.

If you’re the kind of person who wants to chart a bold path forward but you don’t want to lose sight of what got you to where you are, then you’re going to love this conversation.

You’ll also learn:

• Two often-overlooked aspects of innovation
• How to create margin for unexpected opportunities
• One key step you need when you develop your idea – and it’s something most people skip
• The most important thing you need to get right in order to delight customers