Chick-fil-A on Brink of Collapse Had 'Miraculous' Recovery After Affirming Christian Values
Chick-fil-A is a national treasure. The fast food restaurant has grown to the the third largest in the country.
It has been ranked top in customer satisfaction. For the 4th year in a row.
And, as I confirmed, even last week on a date with my wife, the Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich is unparalleled in the universe.
But things were not always so deliciously wonderful with the company.
According to The Christian Post, the recession of the early 1980s hit Chick-fil-A hard and forced it to re-evaluate its core principles. As retail shopping declined, especially at malls, the restaurant found itself on “the brink” of closing.
But a “miraculous” recovery occurred after Chick-fil-A created its corporate purpose.
Steve Robinson, Chick-fil-A’s chief marketing officer from 1981 to 2015, told The Christian Post that the corporate purpose was created at an off-site meeting of the Chick-fil-A executive committee in 1982. It was the first time “the company’s biblical values were officially put down in one official statement.”
“One of the really unique things about that [crisis in] 1982-1983 was it catapulted us to get clear about how we were going to market the business, to get very clear about how we’re going to empower operators to be the primary brand representatives in the community,” Robinson said.
The Chick-fil-A corporate purpose asks its franchisees and employees to “glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us and to have a positive influence on all who come into contact with Chick-fil-A.”
According to Robinson, the executive committee of Chick-fil-A went to an off-site meeting to strategize on how to be true to the company’s mission during a severe 1982 financial crisis.
“That’s where, as one, we wrote the corporate purpose,” Robinson said.
“I mean, we were on the brink of going under. And when we were sitting in that hotel room talking about what we’re going to do, we made some tweaks to the plan and we froze hirings, we froze salary increases and we cut the number of stores, cut expenses and did all the things a typical business would do.”
It was then that Chick-fil-A’s founder, S. Truett Cathy, spoke about something that made a deep impact on Robinson and set Chick-fil-A on an unprecedented path of success.
Cathy’s primary concern was that they were good stewards of the gifts that God has given them, Robinson recalled.
“[Cathy] literally told us, if we’re not great stewards of the gifts, then we’re not going to have a right to honor God or to have a positive influence,” Robinson said. “This business is a gift that God gave me and we’re going steward it together. And if He chooses to help us survive and prosper, great. If not, so be it.”
Chick-fil-A has worked hard to keep that vision and now, almost 40 years later, the reward has been great.
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