By Annie Piekarczyk / STAFF

With a mission statement to “Be America’s Best Quick-Service Restaurant,” you have to wonder exactly just what it is Chick-fil-A does that makes them one of the best.

It’s not just the friendly “hello” and sincere “my pleasure” every customer receives, not just the tasty food or the clean restaurant and fast service. It’s all of those things and more – it’s the way Truett Cathy founded Chick-fil-A, the second largest quick-service chicken restaurant chain in the country, with a business philosophy based around biblical principles and Southern hospitality; integrating his faith into his career. And that’s exactly why Cathy was invited to Mount Pisgah United Methodist Church in Johns Creek last Thursday to share some words of wisdom. 

Gina Kubie, Lay Director of Work Life Ministries, invited Cathy to speak at the first Work Life Pioneer lunch to discuss how to practically integrate a relationship with Christ into a vocation. The event was sponsored by Mount Pisgah @ Work, a group within the Ministry.

“It’s important to understand what that relationship is between Sunday worship and Monday morning in the office. One of the best ways we learn is by example. And (Cathy) is such a fabulous example of how to take your faith and integrate it into the way you work,” said Kubie. She introduced Cathy as a “true work life pioneer,” a passionate follower of Christ as well as one of the most successful businessmen of our time. And that he is. 

A motivational speaker at heart, Cathy’s joy and generosity radiated from his smile as he stood at the podium, addressing the audience of 150 people who came to listen; more than half of those were not members of the church. In the few moments Cathy spoke, he opened people’s hearts and allowed them to understand how he came to be a successful businessman. It wasn’t the invention of the boneless chicken sandwich that made his business boom, he said, it was something of a more personal nature. It was the fact that every day, he tried to be the best he could be – and the best person he could be was one living through Christ, helping people and serving them.

In his own words, Cathy had the privilege of growing up in poverty in the ’20’s and ’30’s. From that, he learned about hard work and experienced the great joy of being able to help people and to give them his time, love and resources. In one of his books that were sold at the luncheon, “Eat Mor Chiken Inspire More People,” Cathy wrote, “I have always found more joy in giving when I did not expect anything in return.” Other books Cathy has authored include “How did you do it, Truett?,” “It’s Better to Build Boys Than Mend Men,” and “The Generosity Factor.” 

From Theology to Practice

Cathy was always motivated to help and a great deal of that is due to his upbringing as a devout Baptist. In 1946, Cathy was motivated to open his first restaurant, the Dwarf Grill, with his brother Ben, in Happeville, Ga. He operated his business around what Kubie referred to as the “generosity model,” which really was how Cathy built his life: around hard work, humanity and biblical principles. All of which are virtues Cathy expressed as the reasons to his successes.

That first year of business, Cathy made what he claims to be the best decision he ever made; to keep his restaurant closed on Sunday’s, a policy that still remains intact today in Cathy’s restaurants nationwide. 

The decision came after Cathy had been working multiple shifts, six days a week. It’s a very rare policy among fast food restaurants, but Cathy said it allows employees to go to church and spend time with their families. “It attracts (employees) who appreciate having Sunday off,” and he went on to say that those were the type of people he wanted working for him.

It’s a policy that has not only won over his employee’s respect but one that also surprisingly hasn’t hurt business. Chick-fil-A’s regular hours are between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday, while other competing fast food restaurants are open all week and have longer hours, and some are even open 24 hours a day. 

And despite all of that, Chick-fil-A’s annual sales reach $2.9 billion dollars, while still being a privately held and family owned restaurant, which Cathy said was an integral part of his business’ success. Usually associated with the South, Chick-fil-A spans across 37 states and has more than 1,400 store locations. 

Though more important than being interested in numbers and locations, Cathy said he was living his life as a faithful steward of Christ. He remains conscious of any impact he can make when he comes in contact with people, and to this day he truly believes that being the best you can be will make a difference in others’ lives. 

Cathy has in no way fallen short of his goals toward impacting others’ lives. In 1984, he founded WinShape Foundation which offers scholarships and other youth-support programs to young adults. He also founded the WinShape Homes program, which has helped hundreds of children to live in foster care homes with positive environments. He also founded WinShape Camps, a two-week summer camp meant to impact young people and adults’ lives through strengthening their relationships with each other and with their Christian faith. All programs are still running today.

“Today’s challenge,” he said. “(Is) how I treat people, how I’m going to have an impact on people. Instructions are what we say, influence is what we do and image is what we are. Actions speak louder than words.”

But in that moment, Cathy didn’t need to do anything to prove his point any longer. His words, how he led his life and how his business succeeded said it all.

“We were all created by Him. We need to be very conscious of His presence in our life, and live in the image of our Heavenly Father,” said Cathy. “Why not be at our best? We’re happy when we’re doing our best, so the question is ‘why not be our very best?’ Why not? Why not?”