Here is a question for you. Would you rather have success in just one thing? Or would you rather have the ability to do a whole bunch of things… but only with 50% success? I’m sure the answer is pretty simple when put that way, but here is how I like to think about it.

Have you ever seen one of those old-fashioned plate spinners? You know, those guys who showed up on the old-school late night shows. They come in and entertain the crowd with their ability to keep multiple plates spinning at the same time. They’d start with one or two in their hands, and then set those down as their spinning, start spinning more plates, and pretty soon the whole stage is filled with all these wooden pegs topped with spinning plates. And then what happens? All of the plates inevitably slow down, thus requiring the plate spinner to anxiously run back and forth across the stage maintaining all the spinning, lest they fall and shatter (which is probably more of what the audience wants to see anyway…).

And you know what? Many organizations(including our own) unfortunately operate in the very same way. Without mentioning examples, these teams simply try to do too much. Intentions are good, morale is high, and they really want to see the business improve. They even believe in team work and value a high work ethic, but ultimately, without a more singular focus, they burn out as, one-by-one, each plate stops spinning and falls.

So, what is that singular focus for our team at CFA Renaissance Village? This brings me to Bucket Two. As we continue building a Culture of Excellence, which was bucket one, our goal in quarter two is to become one of the top 100 drive thrus in the entire chain. That’s right! I know this is a pretty lofty goal, but believe me, folks, we can do this. So how do we get there? What does it take to be among the top 100 drive thrus in the kingdom that is Chick-fil-A? More on that in the near future. But for now, get excited about this. Talk about it with your team members  and brainstorm new ideas on your own. How are we going to reach this goal? We are open to any ideas you might have. I’m excited to do this together with you all. It’s going to be a great second quarter!

Hey team! Can you believe it is already spring. I love it! My wife and I love taking walks outside now with our new little girl as the weather is getting warmer. I hope you all are enjoying your time as we move into the busy season at Renaissance Village. Now that we’re almost in the month of April I wanted to fill you in on what we will be focusing on for the second quarter (April – June) of this year. There are two main ‘buckets’ that I want to put on your radar.

Bucket one: A Culture of Excellence

As we’ve mentioned before, our passion at Renaissance Village is to Be Our Best. Truett Cathy, in a message addressed to Chick-fil-A operators, once asked, ‘What is the difference between success and excellence?‘  I think this is a great question for us all. When it is all said and done, would you rather be known for your success or your pursuit of excellence?

I am confident that if you really stop to think about that question, your response would most definitely be excellence. But what does excellence mean to you on a daily basis? What does excellence look like in your school work, in your academic achievements, or your family relationships? I’m sure that if we pursue excellence, success will undoubtedly be just one of many results, but the pursuit of excellence has the potential to yield so much more than that.

For this upcoming quarter there are a number of strategies that we will employ in order to pursue excellence. Throughout these blog posts as well as conversations within the restaurant, we as a leadership team have committed to helping you all in this pursuit. One small way that we can start down that road is our appearance when we come to work.

Beginning Monday, March 27 we will begin conducting uniform inspections. Now, this may sound pretty mundane or petty after talking about things like excellence, or culture, or success, but stay with me. Excellence most definitely begins with ensuring those small tasks are completed first.

So what all does a ‘full uniform’ entail, you might ask? I would begin by refreshing yourself on the handbook that we have provided for you and that you signed upon beginning work with us. Please review the 2017 Handbook (specifically pages 10-12)to make sure your are up to date.

Beginning Monday, when you show up for work, every leader will go through a uniform inspection before you are able to clock in. Here’s a hint…bring a pen! For those team members who do not have every part of the uniform, we will communicate action steps for your next shift and consequences if proper uniform procedures are not met in the future.

Again, it may sound a little off base to focus solely on uniforms at this juncture, but on this journey of providing REMARKable service, our appearance and first impression must be at the forefront of our minds.

Bucket Two: 

Well, I’ve already given you enough to focus on for this upcoming week, and in fear of my readership declining, I will leave you in suspense as to what ‘bucket two’ actually entails. How about I leave that for a ‘part II’ of this blog that will come out some time in the middle of the week.

Hey team! That’s right! We have our very own blog. I’m extremely excited about the possibilities we have in using this site. I intend to use this weekly to communicate to you all in a fun and interactive way as we move forward together to BE OUR BEST at Chick-fil-A Renaissance Village. For now I’ll keep it short with two things.

First, a funny picture of Spencer’s art project this past Saturday (with Shay photo-bombing in the background…):

Second, a short and informative video on on the new Strawberry Frosted Lemonade. This video will show you how to make this new product. (Video courtesy of our friends at CFA Greystone down in Birmingham, Alabama.)