Will Your Company Legacy Live On?

Truett Cathy remains as chairman and CEO of Chick-fil-A, but his son Dan has taken over the day-to-day operation of the company. While sustaining rapid growth, the company values remain the same. Pay attention to cleanliness, be cheerful (listen for how many times you hear “My pleasure” when you dine there), and maintain spiritual values. (“We think our food tastes better on Mondays because we are closed on Sundays,” Dan Cathy likes to say.)

I agree with those who say that excellence in business is quickly detectable, that it is clear when you walk into a company’s office or headquarters. Excellence is reflected by the pride taken in the appearance of the office or waiting area, the realization that this is the first impression that many will have of my company.

When I went to Chick-fil-A headquarters in Atlanta for the first time, I got that immediate recognition of excellence. From the cleanliness of the lobby, to the friendliness of the receptionist, and on past the lobby to the collection of classic cars on display, the only word to describe my impression was “values.” Tradition was displayed in the “museum” off the main lobby where the history of the founding and the growth of the company is tracked via press clippings and photos.

I asked myself, as I looked around the Chick-fil-A home office, how many companies had tradition and values at the core of their operation? How many upheld beliefs and principles that were as clear as those at Chick-fil-A, that their employees simply knew would drive the decisions from the top? My mind wandered to the numerous times I had stood in waiting areas of companies and had detected nothing in the form of pride, values, or tradition. No feeling of excellence, nothing detectable. The differences at Chick-fil-A were clear and observable.