Articles

One of the questions managers often hear is, “What do I need to do to get promoted?” Employees want to know how to get ahead, and often will work extra hard and put in more hours, hoping to be noticed and rewarded for their efforts.

Aside from my tenure at Chick-fil-A, I have the distinct pleasure of being a co-owner of a chain of seven shared workspaces in Atlanta, called Roam. Roam is home to several hundred businesses and nonprofits as well as over a thousand members.

Do you ever stop and realize you’re so focused on the business and operations, you’ve forgotten about almost everything else? It can be easy to get so caught up in all the day-to-day running of a business that you forget to step back and look at the bigger picture.

I recently had the privilege of speaking with Spark VIP participant, Zach Young, President of Kast Construction. I love how these opportunities give me a chance to learn from other leaders.

I want to talk to you about one of the most misunderstood, under-leveraged aspects of any organization that turns out to be potentially the most powerful. That's the power of perspective.

I'm often asked about team development and/or mentoring, both of which are passions of mine. Truett Cathy, the founder of Chick-fil-A, often reminded us that “businesses don’t succeed or fail…people do.” Therefore, we always placed a premium on developing our people. While many businesses use the people to grow the business…we thought in terms of using the business to grow the people.

These are challenging times for all of us and like you, I’ve had lots on my mind. I hope by sharing some of those thoughts with you today, I can be a source of encouragement and hope as you face the unique impact of the COVID-19 crisis on your life, family, and business.

This month we are excited to introduce you to a good friend, Dana Spinola. Forbes called her “one of the five great American Entrepreneurs you haven’t heard of yet but should know” because of her dedication to not only building a growing fashion brand but for inspiring a culture of people to weave purpose into their companies and their life.

There’s something I can pretty much guarantee that we’re all experiencing right now and it’s this: change. When I was thinking about a subject matter expert to talk to on the subject, I immediately thought of a friend of mine, Al Comeaux, who as a leader at organizations such as Travelocity, GE, and American Airlines, was known as a Change Champion.

These are challenging times for all of us and like you, I’ve had lots on my mind. I hope by sharing some of those thoughts with you today, I can be a source of encouragement and hope as you face the unique impact of the COVID-19 crisis on your life, family, and business.