Prepare to be prepared

"We have a meeting coming up."

I'm sure this phrase has been uttered by countless people banking on one thing we hope shows up at the meeting-change. 

That's what we meet for where I come from. If you aren't there to change, you didn't come with the right purpose. 

Why did it take me so long to figure it out, this meeting thing? 

Here's a short list of how great meetings are ran:

• agenda is sent out prior to the meeting
• the key people are invited
• there is a time keeper and a preset length to the meeting
• 75% of the meeting should be spent on performance issues, if you are here to communicate-send it to us in an email
• decide who runs the meeting, and who is going to keep time
• document all action items for follow up 

It's not rocket science. 

I have a meeting coming up tomorrow that's the first of it's kind for me. I'm super excited and ready for the challenge. 

As for finding the others-I've made considerable progress on the ODDF, before I release it, I have some more kinks to work out. The website exist, it's just rough around the edges because it's free and I don't want to pay for services just yet. When it is ready to be shown to you, my awesome readers, I'll provide a link on my website. 

Pride in the making

Do work you are proud of. 

Merry Christmas! 

What now?

The forum I've been dreaming about became a reality through the internet and some friends. 

From my view, our restaurant is packed. Busier than I've seen it since I got here. The crowds in front of the shopping outlets are jammed to the max. 

And my mind wanders to what my goals are...

What now?

I've done some things, I've crossed items off my to do list, and I've shared moments with friends when they needed me to. 

What now is my next question? 

What do I need to be working on now? What's next for you? Is it another book before the end of the year, is it a letter you need to write, is it a difficult conversation that you need to have? 

Whatever's next. Do it. 

Find the others

There is nothing new under the sun.

We know there is purpose to our day. If you haven't figured it out yet, you might need this. 

I have an idea about connecting a group of people who aren't currently connected. 

I work in Chick-fil-A and we have a lot of resources, but our most valuable resource-people, are not being utilized to our fullest potential. 

My idea is an Operationally Driven Discussion Forum to happen within the walls of our intranet. All over the country-Tampa, San Antonio, and multiple other places on the East coast groups of leaders are meeting together to solve problems in their own restaurants. They idea share, collaborate, discuss, examine, quiz, and find out about each other's business. Meetings are a great way to share. 8-12 people get in a room once a month and talk about what's going on with them. It's already happening and it's making those teams better.

It's REMARKable. It's building community. It's solving real problems together. It's creating raving fans.  

Our hinderance as a company comes when we are not connecting Tampa with San Antonio. 

I want to see Chick-fil-A create a digital space where people who aren't Restaurant Marketing Directors or Owner/Operators can connect. 

What would a discussion forum look like if 3 key leaders from each restaurant contributed to a website that was based on making Chick-fil-A better? 

A connection will be made from Greendale, WI to Flagstaff, AZ and the business, team members, owners, home office staff, and the individual who contributed will be better for it. 

Connections. Where are the others? How do we connect them? 

I just created my own BHAG-big hairy audacious goal. I'm scared. I'm alone, and because of the current form @cfahome, this might not work.

And that's ok. I'm not scared to dance with failure, I've done it once and I plan on doing it again. 

#yourturn

The difference between clean and dirty

A conversation.

If intentional, you have the ability to do anything. Compound time, effort, failure, and learning, and you can take a Garland grill from dirty to clean.

Holding a brief meeting with the right people can affect the outcome of your day. Do it for a week, and your business can do things that you never thought imaginable.

What would you do if you knew you could not fail?

Sunday Night, B League

I don't know a lick about basketball.

I'm terrible at it. 

Last night I fouled out of a men's league basketball game. If you include the hunger that was setting in, I quickly became hangry. For those of you who have either seen me hangry, or have experienced this phenomenon yourself, it's rough. 

In between wind sprints designed to calm me down, I had a conversation with my Maker. After about nine sprints I asked-What are my options? 

Gripe. Or keeping learning. 

I choose continuing ed. I hope you do too. 

Writing Scares the Be-Jesus out of me

Every time I look at the "publish" button I get scared.

Because I don't know what happens after that. The unavoidable. The unknown. I met a man last night and told him I was a blogger. I've had a blog since 2006 and that's the first time in public I've made that statement.

I write so I can clear my brain of thoughts. But I also write to connect.

I want to know which post you have most enjoyed and why.

The first two people who comment below and tell me which blog post and why will get shipped Seth Godin's new book "What to do when it's your turn (and it's always your turn)".

Simple eh? Let's see who the first two readers are!

#yourturn

The power of associations

Who am I around and what are they doing to me?

It's really easy to see how people are living their lives by looking at the people they spend time with. I know that the rule of thumb is that your salary is similar to your five closest friends. I want to know if that's true. I would like to see someone comment below to either enforce this idea or reject it. (a good way to tell might be looking at your recent calls on your telephone and see if it holds up)

Why should you care who you are around?

After a couple of questions to people share what they are doing and who they are doing it with. What shakes me up is that they want changes in their life and don't change their friend circle.

If you goal is to get to point A. And you know people who have not been to point A, why continue to spend time with people who can't help you get to point A.

This stuff shows up every where. All it takes is someone to stop for a moment and do some introspection.

Who am I around and what are they doing to me? And is that ok?

There are some people who you can be around for a few minutes, but not a few hours. There are some people you can be around for a few hours, but not a few days. There are some people you can be around for a few days, but not a few years.

This stuff is so subtle. If you don't notice the gentle nudge in your back, you might wind up off course.

NASA's space ships are only on course for their destination 3% of the time. The rest of the time they are adjusting their course. Brief, but minute, focused adjustments.

I hope you take a moment and comment below with who you friends are, and if your salary is similar to theirs. I'll go first.

Who are you going to sit next to?

At work, we deal with people problems. All day long. There isn't a problem we have that is without a person attached to it.

After reviewing some personal notes I have on HR, I see how important that function of a business is. If you are able to get the right people on the proverbial bus, then good things start to happen.

A reflective question for you-Who have you hired to come into your life? Where have they got you going? How late do they have you staying up? What type of conversations do you have with that individual to make you stretch for a goal? If you aren't having challenging conversations with people, are you sure they're your friends?

One of my favorite parts of interviewing is the silence. I like to see how people respond when you aren't speaking. Are they comfortable? Are they uneasy? What posture does one take when silence lingers? For me, it's always been a way to get more information out of person about an answer, or it's been a way for me to see if they were confident in their first answer. Silly? Probably, but it's how I roll.

What's be a good human resources idea that you've used that seems to help you get the right people on the bus?

More on associations.

Celebrate the little wins

Do you remember the day you figured out how to ride a bike? No training wheels, no parent pushing, no more anything but you and the open road?

I think it's easy to celebrate this kind of victory because it's tangible. You can immediately see the result.

In my mind, after we learn so many physical skills, how do we know what to celebrate?

In our business, we celebrate learning. As a team we have been sharing our new vision statement with each other and with our team. And when you hear a team member say it to you after never hearing it before...

#winning

What will Chick-fil-A look like today?

Warning, the video that I am sharing has foul language and is not for the faint of heart. 

What’s the difference between us and the competition? 

People like me exist. People like Alex exist. And a cord of three strands is not easily broken. 

Alex and I wore the same uniform to work one day, unfortunately. 

We are Chick-fil-A, it’s not just what we do, it’s who we are. I don’t say this because of ego or because of some goal we want to accomplish. In our marketing training classes, our home office tells us that we are the brand. What we say and do as individuals within that brand, make the brand. 

What have you done with another person for 17+ years? 

John Maxwell says that everything rises and falls on leadership. We trace our success back to a single person-our leader-Truett Cathy. If that’s the case, think about what our executive committee does. A group of like minded men who run Chick-fil-A get together once a month for over 17 years and discuss leadership. You can’t just let information like that sit, you have to write about it, you have to produce some results with the ideas you have formed. And out comes a brand-Chick-fil-A. Out comes a book. Out comes training classes. Results are produced by people. 

The closest example I know of that is outside of business is marriage. Think about what it means to have labor pains, and what that life giving formula has produced for us. Every leader we have has been born with a mother who went through labor pains to get that child to take it’s first breath. 

Men get together and produce a company, when a man and women meet in marriage they produce another life. 

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 

This group of verses has a stark contrast from one verse to the next. In v9-they have a reward for the partnership, and in v10- there is a warning to an individual who falls by himself. Believer or non believer, how does one warm himself when he is alone? 

It takes two.  

Presidential

Last week the President of Honduras spoke at Chick-fil-A. In February The Chick-fil-A Foundation opens up the speaker series begins again.

I wanted to share some takeaways from his time with Chick-fil-A. 

Schedule your day: I could not believe at the level of organization that this event went through to make his trip easy and efficient. The security, the time of the arrival of the food, the greeters, the contracted marketing team to help run the event, and numerous of other small things that made a difference in the event. Mark Miller says if it doesn't get scheduled, it doesn't get done. 

Travel with someone: There wasn't anyone who was alone at this event. The President traveled with an entourage. The reporters who came knew the people they were around. The home office staff for Chick-fil-A had many represented. I took a coworker with me and we had one of the most productive conversations I've ever had. I don't know if she would reply with the same, but I got to practice asking good questions just because I had a buddy to go with me. 

Introduce yourself to strangers: I got to shake a President's hand. I'll never forget it. I was taking notes-he introduced himself to everyone he met and shook hands warmly. I met a brilliant lady with tons of life experience from Singapore who had experience in bringing in dignitaries from other countries. 

I'm not sure how to phrase this next part, but my friend and I were the only team members who were able to make it. Now in a room of 300, I'm sure I missed someone, but to our knowledge we were it. How were we able to get in that kind of space with those kind of people? We decided we wanted to, we scheduled it, and we went. 

This next quote which I love to share by a business philosopher has a good way to sum up our visit the President. "If you don't make plans of your own, guess what? You'll probably always fit into someone else's plans. Guess what someone has planned for you? Not much." Jim Rohn

What do you have planned this week that's worth remarking about? 

Make it a "REMARKable" day!

Systems and Processes

I have been asked by everyone I have told about my job change in the recent weeks, "What do you do for Chick-fil-A?" And the answer always seems to surprise people, "I sell chicken." I'll admit that most people at first either laugh, don't get it, or name a wholesale chicken company like Claxton or Purdue.

As of right now I don't have a title and for those at the home office for Chick-fil-A and for some people I know, that can be a bit scary.

A brief conversation with my boss yesterday clearly summed up what I was thinking but not articulating. It went like this:

Alex "You know why you're back there right?"
Austin "Not really, I mean, I think I have a good idea."
Alex "I put you back there so you can figure it out."
Austin "Got it. That makes sense now."

30 seconds conversation and I have a new heading. A new job description.

For anyone that hasn't worked in a restaurant, the kitchen is where the magic happens. According to a recent study done by Chick-fil-A's marketing team, they stated that the top two important things to guest when trying a restaurant for the first time was order accuracy and taste.

If we make a sandwich with pickles and the guest ask for their sandwich without them, that's a big change in the way they ordered it, and the way it taste. Two strikes and they haven't even taken a bite of the food yet.

My job right now is to focus on the systems and processes of what happens in the kitchen. What role each person has-to what they do when they are in that role. I don't know if they make titles for people who work on list, but that's the short version of what I do.

Yesterday I made a list, today I will edit the list our team edited overnight.

I have heard the old story about Jack Welch, famous CEO at GE for a number of years. The story goes, during a class he was teaching a student raised his hand and asked, "What's the most important thing in a business?" He pauses for a long time before answering. Almost uncomfortably long, and about that point you want to ask someone, did you hear me, he raises his head and says, "Who does what," in a long and exaggerated tone.

This story and statement is true of our restaurant. Who does what is the most important thing. I spoke with three disgruntled team members yesterday who are not in their sweet spots of roles. What kind of magic could we create if they were in the right role?

Looks like room for improvement if you ask me.

Have you ever had a brief conversation that changed your role and the way you did business? Feel free to comment below.

Make it Happen Monday

I love working on Monday's. Dan Cathy has been quoted by saying "Thank God It's Monday!" TGIM for some.

I like his perspective. As a business, we get two full nights of rest before we start our work week. If done right, that could be about 16 hours of rest. If you were disciplined enough to go to bed and rise at a reasonable hour, Mondays might be easy for you.

When you start off on the right foot, it's easier to keep that trend going. Come this Monday morning, you have the chance to get started on the right foot. If you're interested. I know a lot of people aren't interested. They rather complain about the sorry state of their presence and make sure others feel the same way. But not you.

What would happen to the people around you if you showed up early and prepared on Monday?
How would people respond to a Positive Peter in the work place on Monday? How are you greeting people when you walk in on Monday?

I know that I am asking you to literally be different than you may have been your whole life, but I know the magic that comes from the attempt to make your space/world better.

Who knows what sort of transformation you might make happen on Monday's.

What has been the biggest challenge you have overcome on Mondays?

What do you do when there's nothing to do?

At some point the mailbox goes to zero unchecked messages.

At some point the machine you are working to clean gets cleaned.

At some point you have cooked enough chicken.

At some point there are no more dishes to wash.

What direction we are going as a team is more important than the task that are done as the team.

Mark Miller points out that the most productive time thinking is deep thought which leads to insight and discovery.

When you are asked what are you thinking about, what's your typically response at work? What high level of thinking could you be doing to add value to your team? Comment below!

Rome wasn't built in a day

As for my third day at Chick-fil-A:

I hopped on the position that I am weakest. Not surprised. Something tells me my boss had something to do with that. Not my buddy Alex, but my boss.

We have a great team of people at Atlanta Highway. Everyone I work with is already way ahead of where I thought they might be.

Before I started working today I said I would model the behavior I am looking for rather than ask for it. That's a tall task. Walk instead of talk. I won't know the results of my labor for probably six months. But it will be worth the wait.

As I am cleaning a machine, my mother's word echo in my brain, "Austin, you know Rome wasn't built in a day." I mumble something righteous and pass her comment off like a duck shakes water from its' back. And now her words come back to the limelight.

What sort of behavior do you see needs changing on your team? Are you the model of that behavior?

The one where we meet the new boss

Today at Chick-fil-A...

we met for the first time as a team.

Meeting was simple, to the point and covered some of the high points of Alex's philosophy, his personality assessment, and vision statement for the store.

A couple of unique things happened that I'll share. I'm not sure if they have any insight you want to take away, but I do want to share the personality of our restaurant, so that as we go on the journey together you can have a better understanding.

1. Since it was a Sunday, things just are different and I need to share this brief conversation.
Team Member, "Would Alex mind if I used the restroom?"
Me, "He would mind if you didn't."
Team Member, "Ok, thanks."

2.  We have 30 days to make any major repairs and report them to the Corporate Office so they can fix them for us. When Alex shared with the team this information, we actually had people clap in approval. If something needs to be fixed, why hasn't it been fixed by now? Rhetorical question, but it needs asking.

I am setting a goal for myself to post on this three times a week using this similar format. I will have a title of some sort that hooks you, then I will pull back the curtain on what happens within a Chick-fil-A that is internal as opposed to what the guest sees everyday.

There have been many lessons I have learned while clocked in and working on the tile. It is my goal to share with you what I have learned along the way in a constructive fashion. Upon reading I hope you say, "Wow, that's interesting" or "I wish I would have known that before I got myself into that mess" or "I didn't know Chick-fil-A did that".

What ever the case may be I hope you continue to read and share if so inclined.

What's the silliest first-day question you have heard?

PS I usually don't have pictures, but I will post the one from today, tomorrow.

When the Leader Leaves

I have been looking to refine my blog to a subject matter I feel comfortable with and my subject matter is Chick-fil-A. It's where I work, it's where I play, and it's where I learn. From that learning I have been encouraged to write document and share. I feel like God has blessed me with the ability to share stories and I want to do that with my professional life using Chick-fil-A and this blog.

Most of you know that a major change is happening in my life, I am leaving home and moving home. I am leaving one home-New Port Richey and am moving to my home state to the town of Athens, GA. This transition has brought back many laughs, stories, and people back into my life in a short period of time. From the moment I found out Alex was relocating, I had six weeks. 

"Everything rises and falls on leadership." John Maxwell. 

The moment Alex told me he was leaving, things changed. We blinked and he said-let's hold off on events. Most of our success has come outside of our restaurant and to hold off on events means for me to change roles in the restaurants. What I have been working on for the past 18 months needed to cease immediately. That's like telling water not to be wet. Good luck with that. 

Since we had that conversation I had to change my behavior professionally. Prior to his announcement my role had been boiled down to three specific things: focus, develop people, grow sales. "Holding off" on events was not what I wanted to hear, but it's something we had to do. We had to slow down. We had to shift our focus. We prepared to shift gears. 

We had schools to contact, we had to reach out to the city of NPR and their staff. We had coupons and flyers with specific promotions in place for individuals. All of that had an end date. One of the most challenging and difficult experiences I endured was to tell a business partner that our relationship is ending. 

That's not fun. 

I didn't/don't like telling people no. I have been trained to tell everyone yes. Yes we can make that happen. Yes we can do that event. Yes you can have the cow at your party. 

And then we had to say no. We had to stop participating. We had to sit this one out. 

In six weeks, our culture has drastically shifted. We have gone from a growth mindset to a "be ready for anything, change is coming" mindset. We have had one purpose with clear goals and incentives to drive us to be the best. And they are no longer a priority. 

My mentor Jim Rohn wrote a fantastic book on the subject that applies to changes in ones life. The Seasons of Life is a phenomenal read. 

The strange thing that kept popping up in my face was "know which season you are in". For the past six weeks I have tried to pull back, I have tried to tone down the activity level at work. It didn't work. We still did events after our cut off date. I'm still bringing in a group of people for milkshakes on my last day of work. 

Change is tough. Change is really tough. 

I feel like I am getting close to the matter but I am not hitting the bullseye. 

Know where you are what season you are in. If you don't, you will have a mell of a hess pushing on something that needs to be pulled. 

How do I know if I am successful?

I have just finished reading Napolean Hill's classic book, "Think and Grow Rich" for the second time.

Books on being a successful are possibly countless. This is just the one I was told about. In it are some "recipes" for success. At the end of the book I was left to ask myself this question-am I successful and how do I know?

I know for some of you similar thoughts have passed through your head about how success has been defined by answering questions like- Am I in the right job? Is this the way my romantic relationship is supposed to go? Could I have better friendships? Am I in the right religion? Am I making smart choices?

If I were to ask you, if you consider yourself successful, how did you get that way? How did you go from being unsuccessful to being successful? I want to use my professional journey as a way to look at what we did and see if we can come to a conclusion about what success looks like and how to attain it.

Professionally, by our company's standards, we have been successful. We have a positive sales trend and most of our customers have positive things to say about us. From a restaurant point of view that is successful.

My friend, Alex had a goal to move back to his home state and take over a restaurant there. He told me his plans for relocation over two years before it happened in a business plan.

By the end of the month we will be in Athens, GA with that goal crossed off our list. This change of scenery was desired, planned, hoped for, prayed about and achieved. Alex has successfully accomplished his goal of relocating. How did we do that?

Did we read a special book? Did we have the right friends? Did we have the ideal business partners? Did we have the perfect training plan? What role did our religion play?

One of the best questions I have ever been asked and have asked others-When was the last time you got angry? My answer was I get angry when I see people's potential not lived out. When people don't even attempt to be better than they are.

When I see an athlete not hustle, when I see an employee not go the second mile for their peer, when I see a church member complain about empty pews and do nothing during the week to change it, I get a little angry.

My next thought nest between that answer and the examination of how my professional life has been labeled successful.

How does one become successful? You choose.

Success is a choice. In "Minute with Maxwell" and I'm sure in other writings of his, John Maxwell says success is determined by our daily agenda. The choices you make today either make you successful or not. 

Napolean Hill said to have a definite major purpose. Alex Clark made up his mind before he even began his plan. Napolean and Alex decided what they wanted, wrote it down, made a plan, and then worked really hard at making it happen. 

Let's take some notes. Let's watch how they do it and then apply it to ourselves.

If you are somewhere between a rock and a hard place and don't know which way is up-take time to decide what you want, focus on it, and then work at becoming your own version of successful.

The Secret

Mark Miller has revitalized his book The Secret with Ken Blanchard. It is a great read. Easy to dive into and grab from it what you need to develop your leadership capabilities.

Get a copy. Share it with friends after reading it yourself.

Why not you?

I got fired up reading a quote this morning and I wanted to share it with you. Hat tip to Michael Hyatt. The quote is at the bottom.

You are not born a winner, you are not born a loser. You were born a chooser.

We have the power. We have the choice. We choose what we want to do with it. I can't think of a better way to encourage someone today than to share this phrase with them.

Pass it along and see if it transforms their day.

Assocaitions

A wise man once said that there is a time and a place for everything. 

You show me a man's friends and I can show you his character. Who you associate with will either help you or hinder you. If you want to be happy, spend time with happy people. If you want to be rich, spend time with rich people. 

If you want to separate yourself from the rest of the bell curve in life take time to evaluate your associations and see if you need to spend more time or less time with those folks. 

In the words of Dan Cathy, "TGIM!" Thank God It's Monday! Make it a special one. 

My first bite of Apple

I took my first trip to an Apple store this week. I wanted to share with you some of my experiences.

From the look of the place I was intrigued, I mean it just looked cool. The glass store front, the two humans waiting out front for you to walk in and be greeted, it just looked they were just waiting for me to walk in and ask some questions.

As I entered the lady at the front warmly greeted me and asked how she could help. I told her there was a small problem with my charger. She walked me to the back where another person waited with another apple product in his hand.

From this point, instead of just walking off the lady said, this gentleman will take care of you, and at any point you have a question or a problem with anything just ask to speak to a manager and a manager will come speak you. As she walked away I was kind of like, ok. I don't think I'll need a manager for my charger, but ok.

The gentleman who I was now talking to needed to know the reason I was there. I need to take a second and mention that this guy was not fixing any problems himself but mainly just directing traffic. And did I mention he was sweating. He was in an air conditioned room, working his tail off, sweating just getting people where they needed to be.

Once he realized it was a hardware problem he pointed. Another gentleman made eye contact with him and me and waved me over. He said that man will take care of you today. When I walked back to the fella I told him it was my first time in an Apple store. He commented briefly and started to take a look at my phone. He fixed the problem, handed me a charger and told me to have a good day.

I asked how much I owed him, and he told me nothing. Thanks for coming in today.

What? Chargers don't grow on trees. They cost money.

I told him that and he said, don't worry about it.

I was blown away. He is this international company with a small store inside a mall in the US and for a first time visitor bent over backwards just to make me feel good about being there.

Did I mention that I went on a Wednesday afternoon and it was packed? There was about 60 people in a small space?

That is the level of hospitality I expect from a hotel or restaurant, not a tech company. But Apple's isn't just a tech company, obviously. They are something different.

How many opportunities do we have on the other side of the coin like this? How many times, if we just look, could we surprise and delight someone is a special way? What type of company knocks your socks off like this?

Help, I've fallen and I can't get up

If you have ever had back pain, then you know exactly what I am talking about.

There are few activities or medicines that actually remove in its' entirety the pain in the back. Such is the moments that I am living in now. I am hurting like I have never hurt before. I have played some football with some big strong men who have hit me very hard. I have had to date, five concussions. But back pain puts you in a different position. No pun intended.

Ok it was intended.

As I lay flat most of the day I have drawn some conclusions about what I can learn from back pain.

1. Dependency on others.

I cannot do this alone. I need help with most activities, primarily driving. I cannot sit upright for more than about 30 seconds without intense pain. So driving is pretty much out of the question. I instantly have moved from driver to passenger. Um, I have control issues and this ain't helping.

With most intense pain comes medication. I have to be reminded what time it is in order to keep the pain subdued.

2. Flexibility

It's definitely a pun at this point. This week I had some excellent plans. I had lined up meetings, and set up schedules so that I could make the most out of my time. Most of my plans have changed because I cannot tolerate the pain that it would take to drive myself places.

Dinner with the family had to change because I can't sit at a table like a normal human.

3. Seek help

I have brainstormed with every person that I have told about my back pain about the options. Who to talk to, who can I get medicine from, what are my options?

I know there might be some overkill on the analogy, but when life lines up a beautiful blog post, I'm going to bend over backwards to see it through. (I just had to get one more in.)

When has a physical constraint changed your daily activities? How did you learn to deal with the stress of change? What did you learn from pain?

The First Time I Met Truett

It was at Chick-fil-A LeaderCast 2011.

I had volunteered to help out with lunch. Two things I was told about lunch-we don't have enough people to help and we will be feeding a lot of people in a short amount of time.

Chick-fil-A has the incredible ability to do more with less than any group of people I have ever seen. We served 3600 meals in a hour and fifteen minutes. Overwhelmed would be the best word to describe how we felt when we finished.

We were told that after we got done working, we could go and listen to the afternoon speakers and walk around and such. The work experience was fine, but I wanted to listen to who was talking and hear what they were saying.

When the conference was over I said to myself, I bet Truett is here, let me see if I can't shake his hand while I'm here. I found a small crowd of people and realized it was Truett who was at the center of attention just saying hey to people.

I waited my turn and said my rehearsed line like I had practiced a million times in my head before that moment. I shook his hand and said, "You have no idea how easy you make my job, thank you for all you do." I will never forget his response.

"I'm sorry that I don't know the team members like I used to, it's people like you that keep me with a job."

The hair on the back of my neck stood up. I didn't know what to say. I think I sort of smiled and walked off. The rest of the memory is blurry at that point, but the meat of what was said has been engrained in my brain ever since.

How humble. How grateful of a man.

Have you ever met Truett Cathy? What was it like? Where were you? Do you have a favorite story about him? Have you read his books? Have you seen his car collection? Please share.

I'm a little tea pot

Short and stout. Here is my handle here is my spout. When I get all steamed up, here me shout. Tip me over and pour me out. 

This Sunday I was with my family and friends at church. I held my niece, until she cried for her momma. I held another small family me never after she ran to me and didn't speak. I whole hands with my men friends and I hugged the old ladies. 

And I was full. 

Full of joy. Full of happiness. Just downright full. It's like I had Sunday lunch prior to church and I need to loosen the belt a notch or two. 

When I moved from Atlanta to Tampa I didn't know what kind of lemons life would hand me. 

One lemon was missing loved ones. That's a hard thing to handle without any family nearby. I've been home for three days and I'm still full. 

There are good people everywhere. If you search, you will find. And in the words of my electronic mentor-Jim Rohn- in order to find, you must search. 

I'm here to encourage you to keep searching until you find a spark that lights your fire. 

When in your life have you been empty and then became full? What did it take? What did you have to struggle to overcome? Was there a book you read or a class you took that made the difference? I want to connect with you, and I hope you will answer. 

Scouting, Part 3

The last thing I wanted to share about scouting was the Scout Oath. 

On my honor, I will do my best

To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law;

To help other people at all times;

To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight. 

I just realized how similar the phrases here are in my life's purpose. I didn't connect the dots until now because the time gap between when I repeated this phrase weekly and the day I wrote my life's purpose is a span of about 7 years. 

I think it's fitting to share a phrase from the good book. 

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. 

Scouting, Part 2

Scouting, take two.

As I look back on my scouting experience most of the highlights I can remember are moments wrapped up in learning. For about a stretch of four and a half to five years, I injured myself in some way on every campout we went on. About the time I finished scouting, I grew into my body and became less clumsy. I say less clumsy, because a bull in a China shop doesn't know any better. 

I know there is a reason that First Aid is always one of the first topics covered, and I am that reason. 

Another learning scenario would be rank advancements. One of the powerful tools scouting has to offer is the idea of meritocracy. If you desire to advance in rank, you can put yourself in a position to do that. Before you earn a rank, there are lots of criteria to cover. You must past test, have people sign off on which activities you have completed, and on and on. 

My dad told me, again, that experience is the best teacher, but also the most painful. 

The rank advancements were a challenge to me because I had trouble getting the uniform right. At work, right now, there is roughly nine specific things I wear everyday to make sure I am dressed correctly. When I was in scouting there is about 20 items I had to have on my person when I went for my "Board of Review", the meeting before the meeting to make sure you passed the rank advancement test. 

Double. 

Are you kidding me? For a 13 year old? I thought the people in charge were nuts. Look at the numbers of what I had to go through to make it to another rank. That's hard work. 

Fast forward to my professional life. 

The uniform/clothes we wear play a major role in the story. At Chick-fil-A there is a look. There is a culture. And the two go hand in hand. When we want people to perceive us in some way, we dress the part to get the desired outcome. 

I taught a "how to get hired" class at Fivay High School. One of my favorite classes was the one where pictures were put up for everybody to see and then the discussion. 

A look at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Shawn White and it's easy to see the difference in the personality. One was a preacher, the other a skateboarder. 

What does your attire say about you? 

What is your favorite outfit to wear? How doe it make you feel? I want to know if you have go-to pair of shoes or a tie that sets off the ensemble. 

Scouting, Part 1

Scouting is a game with a purpose.

The game is backpacking, canoeing, hiking, camping, merit badges, the uniform.

But there is something neat about scouting that you can also find in REMARKable organizations. Within Scouting lies a lightbulb moment for some boys. The moment where someone says, hey, I can do this differently if I just tried a little harder, or cared a little more. With this small amount of effort, look what I might accomplish.

I love those moments.

Have you ever seen that happen for someone who is close to you? Personally, professionally?

The moment where someone just gets it. And then, as calmly as a light pushes out darkness in a room, that person is transformed into what they were in to what they might become. And the thinking is "if, then." If I try, then I could do it. If I major in this subject, then I can become successful. If I care for someone else, then someone might care for me in the future. If I give, then I will begin the process of receiving.

After about a 45 minute conversation with my former Scout Master several nights ago, he encouraged me to never give up on someone. Never. He and I have been taught to look for the lightbulb moments and kids.

I wanted to share a piece of the puzzle that is a part of my make up. It is the Scout Law.

A Scout is...
Trustworthy
Loyal
Helpful
Friendly
Courteous
Kind
Obedient
Cheerful
Thrifty
Brave
Clean
and Reverent.

When this principles are instilled in you from age 12-18 every week and sometimes on the weekends, you can't help absorb some of this stuff. It's simple. It's easy to read, it's easy to memorize.

The hard part is execution.

I have spoken with several Eagle Scouts and one time I heard one tell me, "I can tell when I meet another Eagle Scout." I replied, "How do you know?" I remember very clearly him say, "You can just tell."

I don't know whether the fella was just pulling my leg, and maybe you have found this to be the case. When someone around you has an enormous amount of confidence, you wonder where they get it. For me, Scouting has and continues to play a vital role in my development.

What program have you gone through that has given you a lightbulb moment?

The Idea of a Shepard

What do sheep need?

Water. Food. Protection. A shepherd.


What does the shepherd need from the sheep.

Its' coat to make wool. Its' milk to make butter or cheese. The sheep must stay alive for the shepherd to profit from it's natural resources.

What is the correlation between us as individuals and our need to behave like a shepherd or at times, like a sheep? 

I want my cake and the ability to eat it too. 

I want water, food, protection (financial, physical or otherwise), and a leader to guide my efforts in making this happen. I have to search for these things. I have to read, and study and be ready for my number to be called. But on the other hand...

I also want to look at the proverbial sheep and to be able to derive a profit from it's natural resources in order to make a living. I want to see a process that is natural and look for ways to earn an income from it. Like one might put a windmill on their own property because they have a lot of wind. I want to be the leader who looks ahead and steers clear of present danger. I want to be a protector of what is mine. 

At times we are the sheep or the shepherd, but never both at the same time. 

Which category do you fall into and why do you fit there? Do you like being a sheep? Do you understand the pressure involved with being the shepherd? 

The Day that Turned My Life Around

I thought you might like to know a story about me.

The only reason that I think this story is necessary is because multiple people have mentioned it specifically to me in the past couple of weeks. It deals with my personal life change.

I was in my house with my roommate that I rent from and his mom was over. I was talking to her about my future and how I might need to stay somewhere else for a couple of months. I mentioned her second house that she has and she said these exact words, and I'll never forget what she said:

"I'll never let you live there. You are way to messy."

Boom.

Slap to the face.

My electronic mentor Jim Rohn says people change for one of two reasons, inspiration or desperation.

I said to myself that night as I was having trouble falling asleep, "I'll never have anyone say that about me ever again."

And my house, room, and things have never, and I mean never been more organized in all my life. I made myself a checklist that I wrote on my mirror and I attempt to follow it every night. The reason I say attempt is because sometimes I don't do everything on there. The next day I say to myself-"Today, I will try again."

Here is the simple list I use title "Evening Cleaning":

• Clothes
• Papers
• Wipe counter down
• Dishes
• The Word

And that's all life ask us to do, try again.

What day turned your life around? Was it inspiration or desperation? Who said it? How did it make you feel? I'd like to hear about it in the comments section.

Down On My Luck

I have not posted for several days, maybe in a week. And I want to share why.

I'm scared.

I'm frightened.

What happens if I don't write something worth sharing the moment I click "PUBLISH"?

What about then? What happens after I write something that isn't remarkable?

I go back to work.

I have been discouraged lately about my infrequent blog post and not because I don't have something powerful to say, I think I am scared of failure.

It's hard being vulnerable and open. It's hard to build a platform and to connect with real people who want to make difference and matter to someone somewhere.

I know that the day will come when thoughts just flow out from brain to blog, but today isn't that day, and tomorrow isn't looking good either.

And here is the powerful thing...

I'm going to show up anyway. I'm going to keep blogging no matter how tired I am. I don't care about what happen last week. It's just time I did what I came to do. Write. And then let the writing do it's thing and watch to see what happens.

Thank you for listen. Rant over.

Why Social Media

If you want to stay connected, you will have to use it. 

I started tweeting today for the first time. I’m skeptical, but I wanted you to be the first to know that I started to use it. I don't have a clue what I am doing, but with God's help, it shouldn't be a big deal. 

I am going to get back on Facebook. I need it to stay in touch with people whose numbers I don't have. 

Sure I am still going to call people and let that be my best form of communication, but the internet has changed things, I will choose to change with it. 

Why do you use social media? What blessing have you received from its' use?

@theaustinwatts

You can tell a lot about a person by their shoes

I’m a fan of Forest Gump. 

I would like to finish the quote now-“where they going, where they been. I can’t remember my first Christmas, or the first time I went on an outdoor picnic. I bet if I think real hard, I could remember my first pair of shoes. Momma said they’d take me anywhere.”

There is ample truth to Mr. Gump’s statement. Just take a look at the athlete after a muddy day of practice, or the executive on his way to work, or the beach bum who doesn’t wear shoes. They all say something. 

Have you thought about what your shoes look like to others? Have you taken a moment and thought about what you wear on your feet and how that connects with who you are and what you are about? 

I work at a restaurant. These are the shoes I wear everyday. And the others are the worn out pair I used to wear. 

What can we tell? 

They are black, non slip, a little dirty. And used frequently. 

What does that tell you about me? 

I’m simple, maybe rough around the edges, and am learning to clean everything around me. With considerable disdain. 

I want you to take a moment and consider how you shoes will make you look today. It seems more revealing that Forest let on. 

What are your favorite pair of shoes? And how does it make you feel to wear them?

Fall down seven

Stand up eight.

Today I got an extra spoonful of humbling pie after a conversation with my boss. There is a reason that every great player has a coach. The reason being, you can't think of everything when you are playing the game.

After a tough day, I just needed to ask some questions.

Why is it I can't just figure it out?

What am I doing wrong? Why doesn't this have an easy button? Why do I continue to struggle with something I have tried to fix?

At the singular moment, I feel like I am the only person on the planet who suffers from prioritizing. If I heard it once I heard it a thousand times as a kid. "Don't let time slip away from ya Austin," she used to call as she walked by me watching another hour of TV. Powerful words from my Mom. I think I was ten. Sixteen years later I am quoting her sound advice.

How true she is.

It's hard to go back to work the next day with a smile, but I know I can do it. Core four to the max.

Same guy, more experience.

Here's to all my friends who have been knocked down, and got back up.

This one's for you.

Leaders are Readers

Books are a fascinating way to learn something, go somewhere or meet someone.

This morning I was reading a book and it referenced another book I read years ago about dreaming big. Really big. The book I was reading was Platform, by Michael Hyatt and the book he referenced was The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz. My copy of the David's book is about to fall apart. I read it about 6 years ago and it forever changed the way I viewed the world. It was powerful stuff to me because I wasn't thinking largely enough at the time.

This morning I got all misty eyed because I could feel the connection between David, Michael, and myself. Now I know the power of associations, but when I came across a book that I read, that meant a lot to me, and to a writer I like, it was euphoric.

I want that feeling again. Connection-emotion-intimacy. I know how masculine those previous three words sound and I'm not shying away from them. I want to feel the way I did this morning again.

I only did it through reading. Picking up a book and seeing what is inside. You gotta try. See if you can't find an experience that could move you to tears. Why not? You want to wake up and just float through life without friends and family, and a closeness that only you and the other person can feel?

Books can give you that if you just let them in a little.

Failing Forward

What would you do if you knew you could not fail?

You are going to fail anyway, so why not try. John Maxwell says the quickest way to succeed is to double your rate of failure.

What have you failed in the past 90 days? Did that provide leverage to continuing to push forward?

Framework for solving problems

If you are problem free, then we need to talk. Everybody has problems, and it’s how we deal with those problems that reveals our character.

 

Three possible ways to look at problems. 

1. You are just getting out of solving a major problem.

2. You are in a problem right now. 

3. You are about to get into a problem.

Know theses three things above, I want to provide you a frame work to help you solve problems within your restaurant. 

Ask for help

• I have been very surprised how many people have problems they don’t talk about while working. 
• If you are struggling with an issue, take it to someone and work together to solve it. Two heads working together with the goal of resolution is powerful.

Use the core values of Chick-fil-A as a guide to asking the right question which can lead to the right solution.

1. Customers First

Does this problem represent an opportunity for better service to our guest? If we worked this out, would our guest notice a difference in how we conducting business on a day to day basis? Have you thought about the problem from the guest perspective? 

2. Working Together

Am I using the resources around me to help me solve my problem? Am I tapping into the team for ideas and inspiration and accountability? Does the manner in which I am working to solve this problem reflect teamwork? Are we treating team members with honor, dignity, and respect? 

3. Stewardship

When looking at the problem, should I note how well things are taken care of in the restaurant-labor, facilities, materials, time, sales, money, human capital? Am I being responsible for what task have been given to me? When looking at me, does my team see that I take care of things with care? 

4. Continuous Improvement

Does the work I do today show improvement over yesterday? Am I the model for continuous improvement? What have I done in the last ninety days that demonstrates improvement?

5. Personal Excellence

Is this my best work? How could I have personally done it better? Does the work that is entrusted to me have my stamp, my brand on it?

When you are in the middle of the problem, it is hard to see the forest for the trees. 

5 Reasons to Get Fired Up to Work at Chick-fil-A

Now I know there are more than five, but these are just the basics. If you want more, create your own list and then let’s compare and see how close I might come from a list you might make.

1. Remember that what you do counts, to the end user-our guest

• One of the main reasons to work for Chick-fil-A is because they cater to my mom and dad. When my parents are there, they get exactly what they order quickly after ordering it. They get excited about eating a chicken sandwich for dinner. It is for that reason I chose not continue to embark on my career in the sport industry. After an internship I came home and started a part time job with Chick-fil-A and was hooked. These people get excited to serve good food to good people. What I was doing mattered to someone, and I got fired up to work at a place that took care of my parents, with pride I might add. 

2. You matter. 

• Chick-fil-A does not exist without it’s team members. One of the most powerful quotes that our founder has is, “There are no cash registers at the home office.” The money came in from the field. The work you matters. It matters to your Operator and their family. If you are a parent, it matters to your child. If you are teen still at home it matters that you get some knowledge outside of school from your place of employment. You inherently matter to your business because you are local, you contribute and you are a gold mine full of ideas that is waiting to be mined. 

3. You can have what you want if you help enough people get what they want.

• Zig Ziggler said this one time and it has stuck with me ever since. I can have what I want? No way. For a while I did not believe it. I wanted to just do what I wanted and get what I wanted in the way that seemed right to me. And then I tried the paradoxical proverb out, and it works. Helping others get what they want clearly helps you get what you want. 

4. Chick-fil-A is just the beginning for you

• Not everybody who works for Chick-fil-A becomes an Operator or winds up working at the home office. It just doesn’t happen that way. We know statistically that all 70,000 of our current team embers are not going to become Operators(the beating heart of the company). Most will move on to something better suited for themselves, and rightfully so. Knowing this, it is part of your role as a team member to become as knowledgeable about business as you can before you leave. When you do leave, we want you to look back and know that your time spent there was worth it. 

5. When you show up, you get paid. 

• Every kid wants to get paid. And if you are hired at Chick-fil-A, you will get paid. In the three years working for them, I have never heard of someone earning money and not being paid for what they earned. How exciting is that? Every day you work earns yourself income. 

I almost lost it tonight

I was asked a hard question at lunch today.

“When was the last time you were angry?” 

As lunch ended, we parted ways and my mind lingered on the topic, when was the last time I was actually angry?

borrowed from here

It got me thinking about that moment and the other person in the conversation and their feelings. Sure I knew how I feeling, but how did the person who I directed my anger feel? At the time I am thinking to myself, why were they asking those questions? What angle were they trying to take? I thought about how rash my voice and body language was, even to the point of scowling. I felt confused and a little crazy, but what really surprised me was the answer to my friends’ question. What was I supposed to say about the last moment I was angry? Do I tell him the truth, or do I "beat around the bush" aka lying? 

It was a very revealing question, and I am glad he asked. 

My mentor Jim Rohn gave me these wonderful words: “Emotions must go to school. It’s OK to kick and scream and fall on the floor when you are three, but not thirty three. By the time you are 33 you must have your emotions so well educated that they work for you instead of against you.” What an incredible philosophy. 

As a leader we, myself included, need to learn how to handle our emotions so they work for us instead of against us. 

When was the last time you were angry AND took the anger to school and let it work for you instead of against you? 

When we are seniors, we are going to...

do it differently.

Everybody who gets to senior year wants to make a name for themselves. All of the sudden you get excited about the events you used to dread. Maybe it was prep rallies, maybe you actually showed up to a Friday night football game, maybe you dressed up one day during homecoming week.

I don't know what it was for you, but things changed when you became a senior.

For me, one of the most powerful life lessons I learned as a leader was leading up to my senior season of football. I had been behind the starters for what seemed like forever waiting my turn to get a shot at playing. We just had a wonderful mini camp in which I came out of the starting linebacker. I was pumped. It was getting good. I was getting some recognition for the previous three years of hard work.

Until I showed up late.

As I walked out to practice that day dragging my head, our head football coach gathered the team together in a brief but pointed meeting. He never looked me in the eye, but addressed the whole team, "The quickest way to move down the depth chart is to show up late." I had lost my starting job.

I was crushed, all the momentum I had been building was all for naught because I had not gotten up on time for practice.

My coach never referenced the moment again. The point was made, I was late and had to pay the consequence of losing my starting job.

Where ever you are, if you want to make a good impression-show up on time. If you want to make a terrible impression-show up late. Someone once said, "I do good and no one remembers, I do bad and no one forgets." Both speak volumes.

Wow

I was reading Michael Hyatt's book Platform last night and WOW. He is good at what he does.

As I move forward I think the post will come less often and with more wow. I know that I only share what is stimulating to me. Adversely, I want you to share something from this blog with someone you know who might need encouraging, some training, or maybe just a pat on the back.

I need wow to show up. It will take more form as time goes on, but I want the wow to show up so that you get so excited to share what you have read that you do it immediately.

Seeing a new addition to my family wowed me.

What has been one of your "wow" moments in life? Post about it in the comments below.

Sharing is Caring

Michael Hyatt is one of the best bloggers online. He is hosting a limited space webinar on My Recipe for a Killer Blog Post.

I wanted to invite my friends that might be interested. See you there.

Who is the real Truett Cathy?

One of my toughest days at work had the unique combinations of things. I was by myself on a Sunday finishing something I should have done the night before. My Operator was out of town. I was the only one in the restaurant at that time that could complete the task because of the complexity of the task. I was tired. I was worn out. I didn't really want to be there.

I was sitting thinking about where I could find some encouragement and I went to the Orientation Videos that every new hire watches. I clicked on the S. Truett Cathy Story and watched.

Everything our business is stems from who Truett is. Several examples of this would be keeping the hot food hot, and the cold food cold. Treating others with honor dignity and respect. Leading with real food. Leveraging the power of the cows. Everything Chick-fil-A does is because Truett wanted it done that way.

If you are ever in a jam, feeling down, or need a pick me up-look to Truett for guidance. Take a moment and listen to what he has to say. Read one of his four books. Watch a video. Ask people about him. By his example he can turn anything around.

Six days labor

One day of rest.

It's a unique ratio. Other than Chick-fil-A, who subscribes to that philosophy?

Something extra

I found an encouraging paragraph yesterday that talks about team work.

Take a battery, a piece of wire, and and a flashlight bulb. Lay them out on a table. What you have is three pieces-three individual things, that's all. Now, hook those three things all together. What you get then is one thing composed if three pieces. Each piece is different-but if each piece works as its suppose to, and if you get them all hooked together right, you get something extra. You get a fourth thing you didn't have before. In this case, light. 

How are you connecting the pieces at your store to make, say light?

What to expect from this blog

is-encouragment, training, and equipping people on the culture of Chick-fil-A.

From today moving forward I am going to be writing to my friends at Chick-fil-A.

From my beginning days of blitzing in Fayetteville, GA to where I am now at Gulf View Square in Port Richey, Florida, this blog is going to reach out to the team members I have come in contact with over the course of my time with Chick-fil-A. 

Seth Godin insist on a person asking permission before we market to them. I am going to insist that if you have heard about this blog it is due to word of mouth-the most powerful tool in the marketer's toolbox. My tribe is Chick-fil-A. There are many reasons to want to work for Chick-fil-A, but the main reason I enjoy being employed is because I get to work with my friends. 

Over the course of the next few weeks I am going to be ironing out the topics, the references, and the format to which this blog happens. Sometimes it won't be pretty, but it will be pretty clear that I am the one working on it. 

I hope you join me on my journey to encourage others to fulfill their potential, learn "how-to", and embrace what we are trying to do at Chick-fil-A. 

This blog is for you, and if you have a question-ask. If you aren't sure on how to do something-ask. If you want to know more about a subject-ask. 

I saw Dan a while ago at a opening and he said that when you quote scripture, the wind is at your back. As a Bible based business I will end with a scripture that has helped me foster my aggressive learning capacity. "Ask and it shall be given you, seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." Matthew 7:7.