Joined: May 10, 11
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yet another 1.....more to come!
A book report on the book, How Did You Do It, Truett?
Order ID 2644922382
I. Truett's Story:
a. What was your favorite story Truett tells in the book and
why? How did that story have any bearing on the success of this
CEO and his company?
My favorite story is the one about opening new stores and
franchising his company. He would only allow 1 operator per
Chick-Fil-A branch to make sure they were available to manage
the business 24/7. He also required someone who was integrated
with the community.
The reason I liked this story so much is because I think it is
very relevant to today's business environment. Given the current
financial crisis, multitasking as a means of cost cutting has
become the trend. Consequently, managers end up spreading
themselves too thin, sometimes at the expense of business
operations. I also liked the fact that Truett recognized the
need for integration into a community. With regard to being
responsible for a new franchise, it's difficult to tailor a
store to fit a new place without knowing anything about the
place. Every store has to fit in with the people it will be
catering to, otherwise it's not going to have too many
customers.
This story contributed to his success as a CEO in the sense that
he did not try to do too many things at the same time. Every
aspect of his job always got his undivided attention at a
particular time. I think this value of integration into a
community is manifested in his attitude of listening to people
and giving them what they want, which was reflected in the
earlier part of the book.
b. Of all the advice Truett gives in his book, what piece of
advice did you most take to heart? How do you think you could
apply this advice in your life right now, as well as in the
future?
I don't think there is a better advice than the Golden Rule
itself. This really hit home with the fact that Chikc-Fil-A is
closed on Sundays and the employees are not required to work.
Many companies today close on a Sunday for religious reasons but
require their employees to report for that day.
I think this advice will always be applicable to remind me to be
considerate of other people and to respect them as I would
respect myself. If there is some dirty job I want done but don't
want to do, most likely neither will anyone I pass it on to.
This advice is definitely applicable when we are tempted to
blame other people for whatever goes wrong be it at work, school
or home without considering what we did wrong. This advice is
about empathizing with our fellowmen and trying to understand
how we would feel if we were put in a situation we don't want to
be in.
II. Chick-Fil-A's Success Story:
a. Truett discusses many "mantras" or ways of doing business
that can be seen at any Chick-Fil-A restaurant. Which of these
policies, or "mantras" do you think delivers the most value to
their external and/or internal customers? Why?
The policy of offering free meals goes a long way. Again, I
cannot help but point out the financial crisis and how this kind
of value added service can help customers and clients. This
definitely makes Chick-Fil-A stand out amidst the other
restaurants which are either downsizing their people or their
servings. I see no reason why Chick-Fil-A customers and clients
would opt to go anywhere else when they see how well they are
treated by this 1 company.
b. Based on information from the book as well as outside
information (optional), to what do you attribute the success of
this company? Be specific and give examples where appropriate.
This company is successful mainly because of the personal
relationship that Truett managed to build with his operators. He
respects opinions, he engages in dialogues to arrive at the
right decision for the whole company. This attitude of making
his leaders feel involved and important is what keeps them
around in the long term.
Truett also believed in luck but was not sidetracked into
believing that this was going to be the be all and end all of
his success. In other words, he believes in luck. And he found
that the harder he works, the luckier he gets. Hard work matters
and this was evident from the way Chick-Fil-A upholds quality
and cleanliness in their products.
Last but not the least, Truett trusted in a higher power to show
him the way. He was not arrogant enough to believe that he alone
was the reason for his success. He kept Chick-Fil-A closed on
Sundays to make sure everyone acknowledged the presence of God.
c. Do you believe that Chick-Fil-A is an ethical company and
please support your answer.
Definitely. I will never forget these lines: there is no such
thing as business ethics, there is just personal ethics.
Business ethics are just a reflection of your personal ethics. I
think what makes Chick-Fil-A an ethical company is the very
strict selection when it comes to managers and employees. People
are hired based on their 'servant leadership' and willingness to
treat others with the highest respect possible. Cathy emphasized
the value of going the second mile, going above and beyond
expectations, and serving from the heart. Ethics start from the
top and it starts from the people who have it. A company cannot
expect it's people to behave ethically if they don't have a good
example to look up to.
d. Take one topic covered in class and examine its application
at Chick-Fil-A, based on information found in the book. For
example, if you choose the topic of research, how did Chick-
Fil-A conduct research when launching its product? You may
choose branding, distribution, relationship marketing, or any
other topic we've discussed over the course of the semester.
I choose relationship marketing. As far as Chick-Fil-A is
concerned, I think this will also overlap with research. Chick-
Fil-A established relationships with customers and clients by
finding out what they like. There was a portion of the book
which explains how nuggets came to be a part of the menu and not
just part of the party platter – because Truett talked to
customers and found out that this is what they wanted.
Conducting informal interviews and surveys is a way of
researching to gather data. At the same time, letting a customer
know that a company is interested in learning about their
demands so these demands can be satisfied creates the long
term connection that relationship marketing aims for.
III. Conclusion:
a. Your reaction to the book – Did you like it? Hate it? And
why?
It was a beautiful book. I would recommend it to any
entrepreneur who believes that he can claim to be an ethical
person while pulling all sorts of stunts to evade liability to
employees, customers and even the law. This book is a reminder
that a business is a juridical person composed of real persons.
A juridical person has no soul but the real persons composing it
have.
What makes this book so appealing is it's far reaching
implications. While it was intended to be for business people,
it has stories which apply to ordinary people as well. It
teaches ordinary people the value of hard work, faith, and
believing in what other people have to offer.
If there is any criticism I can offer for this book, it is the
lack of depth on public relations and management tactics.
Again, it is intended for business people, and I think it would
have helped them more if Cathy gave specific tactics on how to
lead people within the world of restaurants and headquarters.
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