Eat Mor Chikin: Inspire More People

Eat Mor Chikin: Inspire More People by S. Truett Cathy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

S. Truett Cathy is not only a great business man but he is indeed a great godly man. If you want to learn more about Mr. Truett and more about the beginning of Chick-fil-A then this is the book for you. I trust you will enjoy the quotes from this book:


The lesson that is continually reinforced in me is that to take advantage of unexpected opportunities, we must leave ourselves available. If we had set lofty long-range goals for our company’s [Chick-fil-A’s] growth, our capital might have been so tied up in construction that we would have been unable to respond to these opportunities [WinShape Centre Foundation, which supports foster homes, summer camps, and college scholarships].  ~S. Truett Cathy


Harvard Business School Press in 1996 published a book titled The Loyalty Effect, which showed the correlation between loyalty and corporate profits. The author, Frederick F. Reichheld, stated, “Businesses that concentrate on finding and keeping good customers, productive employees, and supportive investors continue to generate superior results. …[Loyalty] remains one of the great engines of business success.”

“Loyalty leaders,” Mr. Reichheld wrote, “see people as assets rather than expenses, and they expect those assets to pay returns over a period of many years. Loyalty leaders choose human assets carefully, then find ways to extend their productive lifetimes and increase their value.”  ~S. Truett Cathy

My style has always been low-key with regard to my religious convictions. I hope that people see something attractive in the way I live that leads them to seek the One who leads me. In my own personal way I had committed the company to His purpose but had not done so publicly.

It became obvious that the [Executive] Committee was moving toward doing just that. By the end of the day we had developed two statements, which became Click-fil-A Corporate Purpose:

To glorify God by being faithful stewards of all that is entrusted to us.

To have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A.
~S. Truett Cathy

Instruction is what we say.
Influence is what we do.
Image is what we are.  ~S. Truett Cathy

But look at what it means to be average. You are the worst of the best and the best of the worst. You’re not achieving anything unusual, choosing instead to go with the flow. When we do less than our best, we become discontent and “burned out.” Occasionally, I will have an Operator offer to terminate the franchise agreement with the explanation, “I’m just burned out on the restaurant business.”    ~S. Truett Cathy

It is when we stop doing our best work that our enthusiasm for the job wanes. We must motivate ourselves to do our very best, and by our example lead others to do their best as well. People like to follow those who are excited about their work, not workaholics. ~S. Truett Cathy

My attitude regarding the distant future is to do the best we can every day and take advantage of unexpected opportunities. That combination will lead us to success. I don’t want to set some arbitrary target out there that might lead us to make inappropriate decisions just to achieve it.  ~S. Truett Cathy


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