This is not a business book - many readers may be disappointed, but it is not a 'how-to' book with strategies for successful chain-restaurant management, building or marketing. Instead, this is an inspirational book and autobiographical reflection on the part of Cathy; his business holds true to Cathy's understanding of what Christian principles should be, and this is rather rare in society, but this is a book about those principles, rather than the business.
Cathy had many set-backs and many unexpected opportunities arise in his life. One thing Cathy seems consistent about is that he always looked for the will of God in these events. Faith is the foundation of Cathy's business plan. The book contains many short stories and personal anecdotes from Cathy's life, some of which may seem unbelievably fortuitous. Cathy spends a great deal of time laying out the charitable works he and his company engage in, too, partly for a bit of marketing I'm sure, but also as a subtle model and reminder to other corporate executives and businesses that they have a responsibility to the greater community.
One might be tempted to wonder, does God really get involved in corporate success this way? Is the answer for a business to close on Sundays? (We shall leave aside the question about whether the Sabbath is really supposed to be Saturday, rather than Sunday.) Was God the inspiration behind the successful marketing campaign, whose slogan makes up the title - Eat Mor Chikin? This would be to miss the point of Cathy's stories, which, if there is a single point, would be to give thanks to God for his own success (something rarely done in business today, even by otherwise religious people) and to show through personal example some of the things one can do from this position of success.
A few questions that might have been addressed might include how a struggling business (vs. a successful one) can afford to incorporate these ideas, and how general principles can be integrated seamlessly into the mix without it becoming a problem. Overall this is an interesting book, a bit on the lighter side, and one to be read for enjoyment rather than business education.
This book was not at all what I anticipated, but I am so very glad that I stumbled across it. "Eat More Chikin" does indeed contain Mr. Cathy's secret to success, but if you're convinced that effective business strategy has to be complex, you just might miss it. This writing reveals the very philosophy that has made S. Truett Cathy a winner in business and every other facet of life. And yes, I was in fact inspired!
I went into this book expecting a bit of a sermon, knowing that S. Truett Cathy has applied his religious beliefs to his restaurant business. I was surprised that the preaching was kept to a minimum. Still Cathy uses his faith to explain away his failures. Instead of discussing any specifics of how he overcame difficulties he summarizes it all with "we prayed on it" far too often in this book.
Cathy views his past through rose colored glasses, so don't expect to learn anything much about how he built his business. He paints a picture of him sitting like a sage on a throne offering life advice to everyone from the teenagers who have worked for him to his long time friend and Chick-Fil-A president Jimmy Collins. This is a shame since Cathy's Chick-Fil-A stands alone as the only restaurant chain it's size that is still a private company
The few times in the book that Cathy discusses the hard times, he says that God is testing him and by the next paragraph it's all good again. This reminds me of the Far Side cartoon with 2 scientists discussing a complex formula with "then a miracle occurs" in the middle. This kind of approach is fine for the pulpit but not for a business book.
I hope company president Jimmy Collins writes a book about his experiences building Chick-Fil-A. Reading between the lines in this book, Collins deserves a much much larger share of the credit for bringing the company where it is today.