*Note – many visiting this post are looking for Mr. Cathy’s statement to the Baptist Press about their organization’s support of the traditional family unit. Cathy said, “We are very much supportive of the family — the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that.†~Dan Cathy.
Now on to the original post.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Yesterday I posted my list of The Top 10 Christian Leadership Blogs You Should Be Reading. Of the 10 blogs I mentioned, the one which received the most clicks (over 10% of all readers) was the site of Chick-fil-A President and COO Dan Cathy.Â
The Cathy family are the finest Christian business leaders there are. Recently, Dan was involved in a Q&A session with Coke President and CEO Muhtar Kent at the Chick-fil-A Leadercast. The following are his leadership quotes and principles given during that session.
- Capitalism should be driving positive social change.
- When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.
- Don’t dismiss the importance of making fun a priority.
- The four fastest runners don’t win the relay race but rather the team that gets the baton around the track the fastest.
- Watch the subtleties of the mentor.
- I love doing things other chains would never dare to do…this continues our area of distinctiveness.
These additional comments were from an article Cathy wrote for the Leadercast workbook:
- One of the most meaningful truisms I have learned about leadership is that it’s all about action.
- At the heart of every great leader is strength and courage.
- Being a leader means being able to help others discover and then live out their potential by inspiring them to seek it every day.
- I have learned almost everything I know about leadership by following people who inspire me.
- Anyone can possess knowledge, but leaders are those who have been inspired to use what they know to do great things.
- I like to follow the “give more, get more” philosophy of leadership.
- Repetition is the mother of all learning.
- Repetition yields constants. Constants create cultures.
- Successful leaders view the journey more like the captain of a sailboat, relying on their skill and know-how, but knowing all along that the wind (help from other sources) is the force that will get them to their destination.
One of the nation’s largest family owned businesses, Chick-fil-A is more than a restaurant. It is truly a leadership culture. What leadership principles have you learned from this incredible franchise?
The following are additional resources from the Leadercast:
- 50 John Maxwell, Seth Godin, and Dave Ramsey Leadership Quotes From The Chick-Fil-AÂ Leadercast
- What Keeps Coke CEO Muhtar Kent Awake At Night
- 12 Quotes And Church Growth Lessons From Alison Levine Who Climbed Mount Everest