It’s not often that you find large corporations that still operate by business principles and practices deeply rooted in the Bible. Unless, of course, their product offerings are religious in nature. Sure, there’s been many that start out embracing these values only to shed them once they grow much larger.
Chick-Fil-A is one of those rare companies that made the decision from the start to do business God’s way and continue to hold fast to that philosophy today. This accomplishment requires a great leader at the helm, and we find such a leader in S. Truett Cathy.
While preparing to write about Mr. Cathy, I found this video series where he addresses the Annual Businessmen Committed to World Evangelism Conference in 2006 and thought it’d be better for you to hear it straight from him.
Truett Cathy on Being a Christian Entrepreneur (part 1)
The video is broken into four parts of about 10 minutes each, so I will be posting it in three installments. The video is a little dark, but the audio is good and the advice he gives even better. Feel free to minimize the video and listen as you continue browsing.
Selected Highlights from the Video
Here are some of the things I liked from the video that I thought you might too.
How to Be Successful in Less than 10 Minutes a Day
I will not change my mind to do wrong even if my friends won’t like me. I will do what is right with all my might.
His Early Entrepreneurial Efforts
One of Mr. Cathy’s 11 Dos and Don’ts of Proven Entrepreneurial Success from his book How Did You Do It, Truett? is to start early as a teenager by developing a tremendous “want to”.
He learned his determination by
- selling Cokes
- having a paper route
- selling magazines
The Dwarf House – Chick-Fil-A’s Humble Beginnings
After their time in the service, Truett and his brother, Ben, pooled together $4,000 and took out a loan for $6,600. They used this money to open an diner outside of Atlanta, GA known as The Dwarf Grill (later renamed to The Dwarf House). It was from these humble beginnings that Chick-Fil-A would ultimately grow.
Additional Resources
If you’d like to know more about Truett Cathy or Chick-Fil-A’s story check out these books:
- How Did You Do It, Truett?
- It’s Better to Build Boys than Mend Men
- Eat Mor Chikin: Inspire More People
- The Generosity Factor: Discover the Joy of Giving Your Time, Talent, and Treasure
Please come back tomorrow for the second installment in this series.
You won’t want to miss it.
Related posts:
- Truett Cathy on Being a Christian Entrepreneur (part 2) In the second installment of our series, Truett Cathy talks about Chick-Fil-A's Closed-On-Sunday policy, business ethics, and corporate purpose....
- Chick-Fil-A Week at The Christian Entrepreneur What can entrepreneurs learn from the inventor of the chicken sandwich? It turns out quite a bit. Join us for...
- Truett Cathy on Being a Christian Entrepreneur (part 3) As this series comes to a close, we are reminded by Truett Cathy's giving back to his community of the...
- Why a Closed-on-Sunday Policy is Good Business Can closing the doors of your business once a week really be a good business practice? How has Chick-Fil-A done...
- 11 Dos & Don’ts of Proven Entrepreneurial Success How does the man working behind the counter of a diner for 21 years turn a good idea into a...
