Eat Mor Chikin: Chick-fil-A’s Recipe for Leadership

Guest: Steve Robinson, former Chief Marketing Officer, Chick-fil-A
Chick-fil-A - and their cows - are now an iconic fast food brand. That type of brand recognition doesn’t happen by accident: it requires great leadership creating a culture of innovation. What can you learn from their success?Steve Robinson unfolds the layers of leadership principles with real stories from Chick-fil-A’s history to demonstrate each one. Like other major brands, they’ve had PR bumps along the way, but worked through to continued success. Steve’s insights explain why - and it all wraps around leaders’ unique view of their stakeholders.
Here's what Steve and Maureen cover:
1. The four layers of Chick-fil-A’s “onion” of success;
2. Why simple hospitality is a huge differentiator in business today; and
3. The moment the beef industry started feeling chicken about this restaurant chain.
Other episodes you'll enjoy:
- Why Rare Leadership Is Well Done at Omaha Steaks with Nate Rempe
- Love at First Slice: Pizza & Passionate Leadership with Tom Krouse
- A Dozen Lessons Learned Running Dunkin’ Donuts with Robert Rosenberg
For daily wisdom from our guests, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn. We’re on TikTok, Threads, and Twitter, too!
RESOURCES:
Steve’s book is "Covert Cows and Chick-fil-A"; it’s available in hardback at amzn.to/460LnmQ, on Kindle at amzn.to/3RVXhZs, and as an audiobook at amzn.to/3xPjBgn. You can learn more about Steve and his consulting services at srobinsonconsu.... And, of course, there’s more about Chick-fil-A itself on the company’s website: www.chick-fil-....
Our host Maureen Metcalf’s latest book is "Innovative Leadership & Followership in the Age of AI". You’ll find details about it at bit.ly/LeaderInAI, or check out the Kindle version at amzn.to/44buVz8 .
NOTE: As an Amazon partner, we may make a small commission from books you buy through these links.
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OUR PODCAST TEAM:
Host & Executive Producer: Maureen Metcalf
Editor & Executive Producer: Dan Mushalko
Video & Graphics Editor: Devon Mushalko
Assistant Editor & Raconteur: Luigi Morelli
Adding Hospitality to Our Layers of Success: Jenna Reik
Theme Music by Pavel Bekirov from Pixabay.
CONNECT WITH US:
Threads: @innovativeleaders
X/Twitter/Whatever New Name It Has This Week: @IL_Institute
LinkedIn: bit.ly/ILI-Lin...
TikTok: @innovativeleadership
Website: InnovativeLeadershipInstitute.com
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About Our Guest:
Steven A. Robinson is a consultant, author and speaker on organizational culture design & leadership, brand strategy development, marketing planning, and distinctive advertising principles.
He is the former Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Chick-fil-A, Inc., 1981-2015. Prior to joining the company, Steve was the director of marketing for Six Flags Over Georgia theme park in Atlanta, Georgia. This role was preceded by marketing positions at two other Six Flags properties and communications manager at Texas Instruments.
After beginning his career at Chick-fil-A as director of marketing, Steve went on to serve as vice president of the department before becoming chief marketing officer. In his most recent role, he was responsible for overseeing marketing, advertising, brand development, menu development, and hospitality strategies.
In addition to serving on Chick-fil-A’s board of directors from 2016-2018, Steve serves on several boards for organizations and ministries, including FamilyLife, Fellowship of Christian Athletes of Atlanta, Links Players International, Atlanta Hall Management & College Football Hall of Fame, and the National Football Foundation.He holds an associate degree in business administration from Faulkner State Junior College, a Bachelor of Science in marketing from Auburn University, and a master’s in advertising from Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.