Innovation > Stagnation: What a Chick-fil-A Operator Can Teach Us About Change

It was November of 1990 when Kevin McCallister gave us the famous line:

“Keep the change ya filthy animal!”

Most of us as humans don’t like change. We’d be just fine if people kept the change (except for the kind that is made up of dollars ?? and cents ??).?

We resist change.?

We avoid change.?

Change is hard.

Change is exhausting.

And...we're tired.

So many books and articles focusing on our reactions and mindset when it comes to change. Change management, experiencing change, breaking what needs breaking, moving our cheese ?? …

But, change is inevitable and also necessary.?

We understand this, but that doesn’t make change any easier or something that we embrace all the time.

As the quote goes:

“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve already got.”

-Henry Ford-

And, we can all agree, we many times want to change what we’ve already got.? But that requires us to make changes in our lives or lifestyle or processes or people we surround ourselves with to get us there.? And that is oftentimes painful or requires intentionality and energy we may just not want to expend at the moment.??

I saw this quote posted the other day:

“The most dangerous phrase in the English language is, ‘We've always done it this way.’”

-Grace Hopper-

So much truth wrapped up in this statement.? What we know is easier.? It doesn’t require all of the thought and energy that we already don’t want to give to even “what we are already doing.”

We are tired people.??

The change around us right now has made us exhausted.?

Changing interest rates

Inflation

Layoffs?

The Great Resignation ?? New Jobs

Housing prices ???

WFH ?? Hybrid Work ?? Back to Office?

Oil prices ???

Stock market ??????

At-Home Learning ??

So. Much. Change.?

Which is why I shouldn’t be surprised by the reaction of many people from a story that circulated quite a bit last week about a Chick-fil-A operator, Justin Lindsey, in Miami who has tested a three-day workweek for his team. So many excuses and reasons why people thought it would fail. Why change, so many asked.?

Lindsey divided his team members into two “pods”. Each pod works three consecutive 12 to 14-hour days and enjoys having two weekends and seven consecutive days off every month.

He was dealing with the same challenges in talent acquisition and retention as most other retailers/restaurants. So he got to thinking about a creative way to approach talent acquisition and retention. As he describes, "I want to lead with generosity. And generosity for me is two things: It's pay and it's time." (Insert- “My pleasure.” ??)

But Lindsey said that surprisingly, the biggest draw wasn't the competitive wage - it was the three-day workweek.

“A lot of people do have a passion to work in the industry, but still want to have [their] time. [They]? value their time, they value their family, they value school… whatever it may be. This schedule gives them that opportunity, and it takes out the guesswork,” he said. “You know what times you work, you know what days you work. They can look out in December right now and see, these are the three days of the week that I work in December.”

Here is the response:

• 429 applications in one week for just one full-time position. ??
• 100% retention at the management level since implementing the three-day option in February of 2022.

Wow! Applications and retention! Two of the biggest challenges for businesses right now.?

Lindsey took a chance and changed the “business as usual” model. And so far, it looks like it’s paying off for him and his business.?

But, as I usually like to do, I started to read some of the comments to the articles. And you’ll never believe what I read. ??

First response: Resistance. From whom? Those who are having a hard time attracting and retaining people, just like Lindsey was faced with. The “we’ve always done it this way” crowd.

Yep- Negativity. All the reasons why this won’t work and isn’t a good idea.?

Too long of shifts.?

Four-day workweeks are better.?

People will burn out.?

But the results tell us differently.?

In fact, it’s improved the culture.?

Yes, even at Chick-fil-A.?

The team has grown closer and even started playing kickball together. Creating an even closer team environment while they are at the restaurant. The General Manager is even taking part as the umpire. (Great leadership principle here)

Time will tell us if the success is sustainable. But I applaud Lindsey for innovating and changing things up to improve his business rather than allowing circumstances to happen to him and stay in the “warm water” of "we’ve always done it this way." He’s also obviously listened to what his team wants. That is also a great sign of a good leader.?

So, it begs the question:

What needs changing in your business??

What needs changing in your life?

What do you need to do in order to move from “already have this” or “this is where I already am” to “this is what I really want to accomplish”??

A new year is right around the corner.? A great time to decide to make those necessary changes.??

Yes, change is hard.

No, we don’t want to change things we are comfortable with.

But it is necessary for us to get ahead and where we want to be.?

Nothing great ever happened without change.

As they say, “change your thoughts, change the world.”

Don’t be afraid to make some changes.? You may just surprise yourself!