It truly does not matter, since Chick-fil-A has the market cornered on both!

At the 55th Annual HRM Conference in Tuscaloosa, AL last week, I had the chance to interact with Lance Lanier.  Lance is the Staff Selection Senior Manager in the corporate office in Atlanta.  If you spend just a few minutes with Lance, you will find yourself handing him your resume and letting him know how much you love his organization.

There are plenty of books and resources out there that tell the story of Chick-fil-A and the history of the Truett Cathy family.  However, I want to share with you a few key nuggets (get it?) that I gained from Lance that perhaps we all can apply in our own organizations.

1. Take the time to create and enhance your company culture.  Make sure that traditions are kept and protected, and that the key components of your culture are reinforced with all of your employees.  Lance spoke of the fact that the key leaders who began the company are getting on in years.  As a leader, you need to make sure you document and create a culture that continues even after the originators are gone. 

Along the same lines, there are very few people left working at the Disney organization who actually worked with Walt Disney.  Disney has also spent a great amount of time capturing and documenting the important parts of the culture for future generations.

2. Spend a majority of your time developing your managers who lead people.  Yes, individual contributors add plenty of value to your organization.  But your people mangers can have the greatest impact (both positively and negatively) on your organization.

3. Make sure you walk and talk your company values every day.  At Walt Disney World, the seven core values were Openness, Respect, Courage, Honesty, Integrity, Diversity and Balance (ORCHID-.  At Chick-fil-A, they call them "cornerstones" and they are Excellence, Generosity, Integrity, and Loyalty.  As Lance said, these need to be more than just a sign on the wall.  As a leader, you need to eat, breathe and live these every day.

4.  Don't be afraid to run your business based on biblical principles.  The overall purpose of Chick-fil-A is as follows...

"To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us.  To have a positive influence on all who come into contact with Chick-fil-A."

Wow!  We hear so much about separating faith and work, and to be careful not to offend anyone. Yet here is one of the most successful fast food franchises in America, and they have no problems letting everyone know that their purpose is to glorify God in everything they do.

I will strive to have their boldness in my organization, and I hope that you will as well.

All I knew about Chick-fil-A before last week was that I loved their Combo #1 on a whole wheat bun ($.40 extra...I don't mind) with a diet lemonade, and that they always provided me with great customer service.

Now I know why...