When the tide turns

As I watched the tide turn in the USAvGermany Women's World Cup match I could feel a deep sense of relief run through my fellow countryman. 

We want to win. 

We expect to win. 

But we have, as spectators no impact on the match. 

We still know and feel in our hearts that from goal one to goal two to final whistle, that the tide is turning. 

We saw it in the players faces and we marvel that they changed disposition so quickly. From the grimace of a PK against them to the relief of "wide left". We watched the tide turn. 

Today at work we hit several highs. Got an award, got a compliment on social media, got an atta-boy from another Operator, and we got recognized for our efforts. 

We leave work knowing that the tide has turned. What will tomorrow bring? What will we learn? Who might we meet? What new emotion could we learn from? What type of impact are we leaving behind? What's going to be our eulogy?

Even with a US victory and gains within a small business; every great leader ask, what's next?

Gas Pedal

I'm trying to scratch my brain and think about what I learned this week at Chick-fil-A. It didn't take long for me to come up with a topic. As I left Saturday afternoon I saw several things that I'm sure you can relate to.

• Tired faces
• Dirty Equipment
• Weaken spirits from belligerent guest
• Lower than usual morale
• People still putting in work

That last one is where I want to focus. 

I've been impressed by the resiliency of my own team. I've seen people work the "tougher shifts" with smile on their faces because that's what the situation calls for. 

I think about my own time at Chick-fil-A when it was especially hard-just graduated from college and was put in a kitchen for three months with older people who didn't really seem to embrace the culture I had seen elsewhere. Heaven help me it took four weeks for me to figure out which way the henny penny handles went when cleaning and pumping the oil back up. I often wonder why my Operator put me there. I found my answer when our business needed an extra set of hands and I was able to help. It was a tough time in my life and I had to get used to working with that team. 

As we grow tired and weary I take heart from a few sources of inspiration. 

• The book of Proverbs. The wisest man to ever walk our planet looks to the smallest creature for guidance. In Proverbs chapter six it refers to the ant as the way a worker should be. "Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has to commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in the summer and gathers its food at harvest." I think the point is, it doesn't matter who your boss is, there should be only one level of work-excellent. 
• Also from the Bible, the author Isaiah refers to another animal as a way to feel when we wait on our Maker. Isaiah 30:41 says, "but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength and will mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not be faint." I think really hits home when you are tired, because as the Christian faith points out that the hope of Heaven trumps any worldly struggle. 
• Theordore Roosevelt "It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." We're going to get better, or we will die trying. 

When I think of my team, this is the type of attitude that we share. People who work hard not just for the money, but for the pleasure of improvement and self discipline. The glory of my restaurant will not be what sales we can produce, but will be how many people we help on their own road to greatness. 

So put your hand on the starter, and your foot on the gas! 

The high school story

It's hard to avoid thinking about high school when a girl you went to high school with is on TV playing soccer. #gonumber5

In addition to that I moderated a small panel who spoke about their academic life and the transition into their professional life once school ended.

A couple of pieces of background information:
I've never worked with UGA before, I've never been a moderator of any panel or led a live discussion, and I had never met anybody that I worked with before starting. We shook hands and then got to work.

Some takeaways from my first-time-feeling-event:

1. We are looking for answers.
Everybody in the classroom was a journey. We didn't quite know where they were going, but we knew a few things, and one of them being the search they were on.

2. We are looking for people with the answers.
I think what really floored me was that I used to be in their seat. I used to go to conferences and get contact information from people and follow up. I used to be the guy who would always ask, "If you have a some time, could I ask you some questions about what your journey's been like so far?" I'm still looking for people with answers.

3. We are looking for people with answers who are willing to help.
We know when we have met someone if they are going to help, or they are there for some personal gain. If you don't know what I'm talking about, tell me, how long did you wait before you skipped an ad on youtube? Or closed out a pop up ad?

The reason that in field training events are so popular is because the community that is created upon arrival and developed throughout the workshop. Makes me wonder about how to connect and lead the community of Chick-fil-A at large and the leaders within restaurants-ex: GM, HPLT, and Directors.

Have you have had a watershed moment when you knew that you had left one group and stepped into  a different group? I would love to hear about that process for you in the comments below.

Drip by Drip

Who remembers the aunt/uncle who squeezes your cheek as soon as they see you at Christmas and say one of three cliche things:

"I'm going to have to put bricks on your head to stop you from getting taller than me!"

(See Watts DFO; I was a tall kid)

I think it's interesting to be viewed as someone who has grown tremendously in a brief period of time. 

How does this work for our business? 

First-it's got to be an expectation. As a leader, if you haven't answered the call to grow, you'll soon be looking for work. If you don't expect to grow, it won't happen. 

Second-you've got to have the skills. Our upbringing. Our self education. Our willingness to take classes and be an understudy. We've got to develop skills in order to grow. The phrase "what got you here, won't get you there" applies to the second standard of growth. 

Resources- how many people in America have a library card? Answer: very few. Have you seen what a librarian can teach you? Research. Searching. Book clubs. Foreign languages. An entire group of people meet on a daily basis seeking to improve themselves. Human resources are all around. Sometimes they come in the form of an old friend, an ex-boy/girlfriend, a former teacher. We live in America, what else do you want by way of resources? Sure we have issues with some of it, but take a look at what the government doesn't prevent you from doing? Loving people, reading, writing, learning, taking classes, talking to people who care about the work you are doing. 

Lastly, consequences. When we look to grow we need to know what the consequences are going to be before we start. Negative: There's going to be some haters. John Maxwell says that if you're getting kicked in the rear, it means your out in front. People are going to be skeptical. When's the last time you trusted a stranger? That's what I thought. It's been a while. Positive: you're going to grow! You will meet new people who are on the same road to growth. You will create and cultivate relationships that can and will change your life. You get to feel better. I can't speak to the science behind new "feels", but I know one thing: it happens. Why do people watch stories on TV that make them gleeful with tears in their eyes? They like how it feels to see someone being helped. I'm a firm believer that our bank account changes when we grow. So keep you eye on that.

What we just walked through is the ESRC Model at Chick-fil-A. Expectations. Skills. Resources. Consequences. It's not über special. It's not rocket science. And it's easy to do. 

I think it's time to reevaluate how we are growing and why we are doing it. 

If you already are, you've got a friend in me. 

That moment when things change

I promised I would share the music video about frosted lemonade when it came out and here it is. We just surpassed a mark none of even thought we would when it comes to views. If you like it, I hope you share it. If not, that's ok too.

Not only have we made some professional gains today, but I hit some personal ones as well.

I met the others.

Chick-fil-A's home office is creating something that is social that connects us together. As a leader in this movement, I'm glad I'm not alone. It felt lonely for a while. I wanted to give up and give in to the lizard brain. But I didn't.

A wise man once said, if you search you will find. The reverse is also true, in order to find you must search.

I want to serve as a testament of someone who saw their ideas through to fruition. Sure Chick-fil-A's home office beat me to the punch, but who cares? I don't. I'm glad the work that needs to happen is getting done. We need real and instant connections with each other to help solve real problems in the restaurant, without fear of being in violation of the Operator agreement or cutting corners inside the restaurant.

Instead, we are creating a place for people within a massive corporation to connect with people in real time for results and solutions to their problems.

The home office isn't going to move as fast as I will. So, let's get to work helping each other.

If you know someone who needs connecting to this, tell them to find me on LinkedIn here.

It's time to decide

I got a text from a friend that said, "Hey, I need some advice."

After the conversation started I knew my friend was working for a boss that he disagreed with on multiple levels. 

After hearing him out I said the decision is simple: you can either stay or go. 

If you've never left a job before this can be turbulent times. My friend hasn't left high school and is very mature, so this is a big deal to him: what do I do? How do I decide? 

Countless thoughts run through your head: am I going to find a job that pays the same or more? How will this affect my relationships with my current coworkers? Will I be able to secure a letter of recommendation? Should I even ask for one? Will my conscience be clear? Is this the direction I want my life to go: swapping jobs when things aren't perfect? How can I solicit my Maker for guidance? Where will I have the most influence? If I decide to stay, how can I learn to work under someone I disagree with? 

I think what's hard about this is we can't see the future. So, we must invent it. Is leaving more profitable because of a more clear conscience? Or do I stick it out and pay the bills and obligations I've created for myself?

Most people I've met will move jobs multiple times throughout their professional lives. How to decide is where the challenge lies. Here's a couple of things to think about:

View your industry: is this the environment you want? Can you create the change you would like to see? 

Since my friend works for Chick-fil-A, one of the questions that has driven many Operators from within the company is: do you think you could do better? 

I guess that's the real challenge. Are you bold enough and patient enough to stay and make changes? Or do you not want to do that, turn in your two weeks' notice and be gone?

I don't know if I've really answered his burning questions but I do know how to exhaust at least some of the options. 

Good boss or bad boss: you can lead from anywhere. 

Crucial Conversations: A Book Review

I just finished reading Crucial Conversations: Tool for Talking When the Stakes are High by Patterson, Grenny, McMillan, and Switzler.

First off: when people say it's a great book, I think they mean it was a great book for me at that time. And such is the case here. I needed to hear what this book had to say. Two people who were close to my at the time of the reading of it said these things to my face:

"I've seen you change over the past three days just in how you talk to other people." -AP

"This is the first time I've heard you be completely transparent and vulnerable in a long time." RJ

This book caught my attention like a school kid getting jerked to a stop by a principal for running in the hall way. Boom. Immediately.

I was watching and listening to how people responded to me and I didn't like what I was seeing. I wasn't effective as communicating how I felt, I wasn't good at responding with a lack of emotion and a clear thinking cap on.

I basically was struggling to communicate.

This book as opened my eyes up to several ways to prevent those things. As I got to the end of the book my Chick-fil-A brain took over and my only question was, "Can I please have a print out of the major points so I can get back to work now!?"

Wouldn't ya know it? They put one in the back just for me! Page 214. I'm on my way to executing crucial conversations.

This book clearly explains how to maneuver crucial conversations: estate planning after the death of a loved one, a closed off teenage son/daughter, intimacy between spouses, and various business issues. I could not recommend this book high enough for those practicing the art of conversing.

Find it here.  Good luck.

 

The music industry

On Sunday at work we shot a music video. About frosted lemonade. After seeing a sneak peak of the video I'm even more excited that when this project began. 

I was sat watching the director, rapper, camera crew, extras, family friends, family members sit around our restaurant on a day when we are typically lights off and doors locked and a surreal thought came over me. 

It's less about me and more about we. 

There was no less than 45 people there that day helping in some capacity. Some were holding babies as they slept. Some held cameras as we recorded. Some pressed play, pause, and rewind on the song. Everyone had a part to play. 

It was really beautiful how seamless this production was handled. I'm thankful for an outside the box boss, good friends and the Rap Game in general. 

Without one, we didn't get the other. And without all of the pieces it wouldn't have happened. 

Sure this post will come out on Wednesday, but I think there is a message we need to grasp: it's less about me and more about we. 

"If you're on your second one today get your hands up!" 

Being Real

The 9 for IX came on ESPN2 Sunday before the USWNT step onto the field Monday night as they begin their quest for another World Cup title.

The documentary shows behind the scenes footage of one of the greatest soccer teams to grace the planet-The 1999 Women's World Cup Team. They were focused on being heroes to one another.

I heard something watching it a second time that I didn't quite hear the first time. Let me set the scene. The documentary covers the 1999 Women's World Cup. It's perspective is from the hands of a team member's video camera. One of the players documented everything they did from practice to post game locker room celebrations to half time pick me ups from their captain and their bus rides.

Then the documentary breaks out and there's the players in present day (14 years later) sitting on a field one afternoon talking about the days of old. They're reminiscent, jovial, serious and then light in their conversation.

Julie Foundy ask the question: "What do you remember about the team?"

One of the responses was "It was real community. And it was real closeness."

I got emotional because that's what I'm looking for. I think it's what we're all looking for. We want our businesses, family, and our circle of friends to have real closeness and community.

Some of us have even tasted it.

We've either been in a healthy business or we've been in a healthy relationship with our spouse. We've got people who can tell us who our best friends our because it's so evident. We've seen sports team that click on certain occasions and seem to transcend reality to accomplish something that was previously unattainable.

I think the reason we wait in long lines to see movies or we celebrate hero's and buy their books, or we enjoy a comic strip is because the characters get to play like we want to live. We want to be real people who connect with real people.

My emotion comes from a time where I had it for two weeks in a sport setting. If you played football for Georgia Southern University for Brain VanGorder and you started working out in the Spring of 2007, you know what I'm talking about. There's only about 100 people who can tell you what it was like. Because if you weren't in it, you didn't understand. But, and it's a big "but" if you were: it was real. It was intense and we were literally changing overnight both with our physique and mental toughness.

I can only share what I have. I have a certain set of experiences that have led me to share. Share what I'm passionate about: being real.

Thanks Team USA for being the girls next door and inspiring millions to be just like you when we grow up!

Be real.

"I'm not comfortable with that"

Chick-fil-A loves growth. We talk about how-to on a daily basis. Sales growth. Personal growth. Spiritual growth. Change in emotional intelligence. 

People who want to change and who want to grow seek counsel. They ask their friends for advice. They talk to their family before making big decisions. 

What I'm concerned with is how short sighted we've become at how uncomfortable it has to get in order to make the changes we are looking for. My Dad has been in the insurance business for a long time and I told him I knew some people who made it look easy and he chuckled. He laughs because that business isn't easy. And neither is the restaurant business. Truett has been recorded by saying if you asked me on the right day I would have given you the keys. 

The founder, telling us in an orientation video, he would give the business up because of how difficult it's become for him. 

I think we need to pause and say to ourselves, there's going to be discomfort. But after a while, it will get easier. 

And that's the hope we ought to hang on to. 

People Probs

The highest grossing Chick-fil-A restaurant has an Operator who was asked a lot of questions about himself and his business after he hit the 7 million dollar mark. One of the questions was "What are the major problems that you deal with on a daily basis?"

His answer surprised me: People problems.

He boiled everything he struggled with down to problems with people-either people were apart of the solution, or they weren't.

The three major parts to our business are sales, time, and material. If we have a problem with our food cost (material), where do we look?

• DRIP model
• Truck order
• organizing our restaurant
• tracking chicken
• refills
• paper cost
• overall cleanliness
• how we input waste
• food cost report

After we look at these items our next inclination is to look to the people who control those activities in our business. We talk to them, we ask them questions, we challenge them, we coach them. 

Communication is where the magic happens. Jabo Greezy says to Shag McNasty, "Hey man, why do you continue to drop my chicken nuggets on the floor? You know I can't serve those to guest?"

"When the why becomes powerful, the how becomes easy."

Convince enough people to be mindful of the "whys" and you could revolutionize your business. 

Find enough why's for yourself, and you could revolutionize your life. 

It takes a village

Every movie has credits. Hundreds of names quickly moved across a screen. There isn't a movie without them. 

They are for recognition. 

They are the reward. "Here, I built this."

They are a chance to showcase the team that built the film. 

At any point of your life you should be able to look back and say thank you. Just simply put, thank you. 

Our 16th President once said that every man is his superior in some way and from him he could learn. 

Hat tip to the Avengers 2 crew and cast.