How To Be a Nostalgia Creator

Times change. And so should we. Right? Well, kind of.

Our culture changes so fast that by the time I unwrap my new iPhone a new article publishes notifying me that the next iPhone will be out in two weeks. You get the picture.

Our world ebbs and flows with change. By the time one wave of new technology hits the shore, another is cresting right behind it ready to crash into our lives. Same with fashion, or really any industry where trends keep things moving along.

I love all the new and exciting things available to us. I love innovation, innovative people, our innovative times. But there are some things in life that need to remain constant. In the wake of all of our cultural newness, it can be easy to forget that something doesn’t have to be new or the next great "whatever" to be rewarding or life changing.

For as much as you and I love change, new things, rising challenges, the next bend in the road, I believe we’re also wired to enjoy things that never change. And we love them for that, don’t we?

For you, maybe it’s your cup of coffee in the morning before the sun comes up. Or perhaps it’s that evening walk after dinner. Or that annual get-together you and your lifelong friends have.

Life is a bit of a paradox really. On the one hand, many of us love the journey, the “What’s going to happen next?” aspect of life. And on the other, we enjoy a healthy bit of routine. That routine also extends beyond daily activities or traditions. It shows up in our values and principles.

The Value of a Principled Life

When I think of my dad’s life, and what he accomplished, I think of an ordinary man who had a big idea—something new and different and exciting—and how he worked hard to care for that idea.

But what really jumps out to me is that no matter how hard he worked to improve and innovate and grow our company, he never wavered from leading a principled life. My dad lived by core values that never changed. Two great examples of this are closely tied together: his commitment to stay closed on Sundays, and loyalty.

My dad would say that closing our business on Sunday was our way of “... honoring God and showing our loyalty to Him.” Loyalty means a lot to us here at Chick-fil-A. It’s one of those principles that remains. It guides us all.

Frederick Reichheld published a book with Harvard Business School Press in 1996 titled The Loyalty Effect. Here’s what he says about businesses who focus on loyalty:

“Businesses that concentrate on finding and keeping good customers, productive employees, and supportive investors continue to generate superior results. … [Loyalty] remains one of the great engines of business success.”

Loyalty, for us, never moves. It’s like our daily cup of coffee—or maybe our daily chicken sandwich. It’s a guiding principle for how we hire our Operators, and it’s also one of the key aspects that drives how we do business. We seek to provide consistent quality products and services. Our loyalty toward our customers in this manner produces loyalty in them.

Some things need to be changed. Others need to be rooted so deeply in the fabric of your life, your company, your family, your country, that they cannot be moved—especially when the storms of life come with all their force.

A couple of years ago in a Wall Street Journal Interview, Lou Holtz, the famous head football coach at Notre Dame, said “What holds a country together, what holds a family together, what holds a business together are core values. And core values are something you would not compromise.”

Homesick

The word “nostalgia” actually carries the idea of “homesickness.” Your daily cup of coffee or walk or annual get-together—these produce a kind of homesickness. For me, it’s a classic motorcycle or car. My dad loved those! When I see one it reminds me of something good and stable, a kind of guide-rail of my childhood.

The same is true for the values my family embraces. We’re fortunate in that they’re a home base for us; something to which we can always return.

A principled life carries the potential for far reaching influence. My job as husband, father, grandfather, and CEO is to create nostalgia. Not only in the active life of my family and company, but also in the values they will remember and embrace.