What I Learned From Chick-fil-A
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About
Chuck Bradford is an executive leader, consultant, and co-founder of Cord Analytics, a software company providing smart-data modeling for stock analysis. With more than four decades of leadership experience spanning Delta Airlines, entrepreneurial consulting, and 28 years at Chick-fil-A’s corporate office, Chuck brings deep insight into organizational leadership, change management, and executive development.
After navigating seasons of unemployment, financial uncertainty, reinvention, and corporate influence, Chuck has learned firsthand that what you believe ultimately determines how you lead. Today, he serves business owners and executives through consulting and executive coaching, helping leaders close the gap between expectations and reality while grounding their decisions in biblical principles.
Chuck has been married for 40 years, is a father and grandfather, and continues to live and lead from Auburn, Alabama, with a passion for faithful leadership that endures.
Show Notes
Segment chapters
0:00 Intro/A challenging time in Chuck’s career
4:29 Chuck’s faith background
7:44 A career based on Christ-centered leadership
16:17 Identifying, admitting, and overcoming insecurities when you’re in a leadership position
26:07 “Love God and love people,” and other lessons from Chick-fil-A
30:38 Chuck’s own leadership influences
34:33 God wants us to bounce back from our mistakes—and learn from them
42:12 “God, You used me to make a difference”
Snippets/excerpts
10:31 to 12:04—It’s not just about leading the people below you; it’s about leading the people across from you, and sometimes even above you
14:12 to 16:03—Character, competence, and chemistry: The traits of a good team member
20:50 to 21:50—The three stages of accepting change: “I should,” “I have to,” and “I want to”
27:57 to 29:51—Companies that only try to extract value from customers vs. those that truly try to add value to their customers’ lives
Discussion
1:52—What’s the longest you’ve ever been unemployed? What were the circumstances that led to you being jobless? At what point, if any, did frustration and desperation set in? What role did prayer play in your search for a new job? Matthew 6:33
12:22—Have you ever been in a work environment where you felt like the company or the people you worked with didn’t share your values? What aspects of the behavior or culture of that workplace made you uneasy? Did you try to change that culture in any way? What did you do, and did those efforts meet with any success? Romans 12:2
14:50—If you were unable to change the culture or attitude of that workplace that didn’t align with your values, did you come to a point where you felt like you couldn’t in good conscience stay at that job? What decision did you make? If you had to do it over again, would you make the same decision? Acts 5:29
15:33—Have you ever worked with someone who was very smart and competent at their job, but wasn’t teachable—they didn’t accept new knowledge, helpful advice, or innovative ideas? How did that affect the chemistry and overall effectiveness of your team? Proverbs 12:15
18:40—If you get eight positive comments on something you’ve done or created and two negative comments, which are you more likely to focus on—the eight positive or the two negative? What do you think that says about you? Philippians 4:8
23:17—Of all the things the negative voice in your head tells you, which doubt or criticism has been the hardest for you to shake off? Why do you think that one has been so pernicious? Do you ever look to God for help in quieting that voice and overcoming those doubts? 2 Corinthians 10:5
28:33—In your experience, what are some signs that a company or service professional sees you as something they can “extract value” from, rather than as a person to whom they want to bring value? How does that affect your opinion of that company? How does it affect the way you deal with customers or clients in your own job? Mark 10:45
47:05—When you’re gone, and people are remembering you and reflecting on your life and legacy, what’s one word or phrase you hope they would use most often? Why is it so important to you that they associate you with that concept? Proverbs 22:1
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