Chick-fil-A Founder S. Truett Cathy Pens Inspirational Road Map on Running a Business and Making a Positive Difference in People’s Lives
Cathy’s fifth book – “How Did You Do It, Truett?” – includes his 11 do’s and don’ts of proven success
As Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A, Inc. began celebrating its 40th anniversary earlier this year, chain Founder S. Truett Cathy again reflected on the question he is most often asked. What followed is Cathy’s fifth book, How Did You Do It, Truett? (Looking Glass Books, SRP $10). The book includes a personal note from businessman Warren Buffett to Cathy.This inspirational book reads like an extended conversation with Cathy, covering not only his advice for starting and running a business, but also his thoughts on the importance of living your life in the highest standard. How Did You Do It, Truett? is available in bookstores and through online retailers nationwide beginning in early December.
How Did You Do It, Truett? focuses on Cathy’s personal recipe for success in growing a mom-and-pop diner to become founder and CEO of Chick-fil-A, a chain with more than $2 billion in sales generated by more than 1,350 restaurants in 37 states and Washington, D.C. In the book, Cathy offers a number of tips on philosophies and principles for an entrepreneur starting a business, including his 11 do’s and don’ts of proven success.
During the course of Cathy’s 61 years in the restaurant business, he has been credited with introducing the original boneless breast of chicken sandwich to the quick-service restaurant industry and pioneering in-mall dining. Today, the company is one of the largest privately held restaurant chains and the second-largest quick-service chicken restaurant chain in the nation, based on annual sales.
The brand’s founding philosophies continue to be key contributors to the chain’s success. Chick-fil-A is almost as well known for being closed on Sunday as it is for its food. Plus, it has never wavered in providing the most attentive customer service and in establishing an emotional connection with its customers and the communities it serves.
“Chick-fil-A is what it is today because of its people, purpose and product,” said Cathy. “I see no conflict between Biblical principles and good business practices. Putting people before profits is how we’ve tried to operate from the beginning.”
Cathy’s approach is largely driven by personal satisfaction and a sense of obligation to the community and its young people. His WinShape(R) Foundation, founded in 1984, grew from his desire to “shape winners” by helping young people succeed in life through scholarships and other youth-support programs. To date, the Chick-fil-A chain has given more than $23 million in scholarships to its restaurant employees since 1973.
Through the years, Cathy has received countless awards which include: Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Poultry & Food Distributors Association (2005); Norman Vincent & Ruth Stafford Peale Humanitarian Award (2003); the Ernst & Young – Entrepreneur of the Year Lifetime Achievement
Award (2000); and Horatio Alger Award – Horatio Alger Association, Washington, DC (1989). He is also the author of It’s Better to Build Boys Than Mend Men (2004), Eat Mor Chikin: Inspire More People (2002), It’s Easier to Succeed Then to Fail (1989), and he is co-author of The Generosity Factor with Ken Blanchard (2002).
