Its not about the damn chicken

One of the great Carver family travel stories centers around our first trip to Florida in the early 1980s. From out first view of the “ocean”, okay, “Gulf  of Mexico” to Manatees, tornado damage to a K-Mart store and the fascinating Shell Factory, a notable part of the trip also included an experience at a particular McDonald’s near Walt Disney World. 

The service was so slow and indifferent and the order so wrongly prepared that we coined a phrase for it: “The Kissimmee Shuffle”.  That phrase would become shorthand for any sort of customer service that was not just subpar, but which actually made you feel unwelcome for darkening the door in the first place  an establishment that had totally lost its way in its core mission   

I think about that experience whenever I see a commercial for a new McDonald’s chicken sandwich. They always look the same. Words like “southern” or “homestyle” will be prominent and the images will look not unlike a chicken sandwich belonging to another fast-food joint of prominence. Right down to the pickles! 

I imagine that every year or so, the leaders at McDonalds review some industry reports and realize anew that sales per unit for Chick-Fil-a are out of this world, as well a host of other performance metrics which reveal it is only a matter of time before Chick-fil-A takes over the fast food world  

“We Must Do Something!” 

That spreadhseet or powerpoint review then leads to a frenzy of development sessions, brainstorming slogs,  focus groups and high-level zoom calls where the topic must be, has-to-be: How do we beat these people?  

I hate the be the one to say this, but you can’t. Not with the food anyway.  It is not fair to expect any fast food chain to gain massive marketshare by adjusting the metrics of sesame seeds to bun or dehydrated onion pieces to burger weight. Fast food has long ago, in my opinion, gone the route of the easiest college classes: pass or fail.  Am I going to be okay with the food?  Is it ever a hell yes?  Probably not.  Ever a hell no?  For most Americans nope. They are not going to care that much. 

However, what do we really want?  What can really distinguish a fast food joint to the point of sitting in a fifty car line? Its when the food is a pass (or better) and the experience adds value above and beyond your expectations.  

Chick-fil-A is the only fast food chain that has to have a complex multi-line staging area set up for their drive through. That is the first and best clue of what is going on there. What would motivate someone to get INTO the longest drive through lane ever? 

They know the wait will be worth it. The smiles and warm greetings will be real. And the feeling of being welcomed will be genuine. And the order will be right  Every time  

The wait is longer. The prices a bit more expensive. But the experience wins every time. That is the lesson for those trying to beat Chick-Fil-A or any niche competitor taking share out of the consumer pie. 

Don’t waste time in the research kitchen.  Spend time creating, developing, and supporting a workforce who will be the difference. People who will not shuffle their way to handing you a big mac, but who understand that success and growth come from making the stop for lunch the most exciting part of their day, but something more than a pass fail quiz. Understand what people want and how you can meet those needs in a way that will get people go towards the things they often avoid  Teenagers?  Fast food? Long lines?  How well does your organization do at this?  It is bad enough to chase our own tail, even worse to chase someone else’s  

Hey- I said no ketchup!

Transitions: Under-Appreciated Leadership Fundamental

There are many skills and attributes proclaimed to be "it".  The one thing that if mastered, or at least practiced with diligence, will help you succeed no matter what the situation.  To find a good list of these sort of "it factors" just review the covers of Harvard Business Review or the titles of the last 50 books by John Maxwell.  Both, among others, seem to have created a cottage industry out of surfing the latest leadership/management/supervision/self-help fad word. 

That is not to say that some of it is not helpful.  But it can also be exhausting.  If every trip to the bookstore non-fiction section or skim of virtual magazine articles reveals another area we need to absolutely focus on lest our career, personal lives, relationships, and utter being collapse into a burning hulk of irrelevance, that can be more than a touch overwhelming.  

When you pile on the challenges associated with the pandemic and economic upheaval, is it any wonder that leaders wake up each day feeling more exhausted than they did when they went to bed? 

I think it may be better, easier, and more realistic, to focus on a few key abilities that if we understand and practice will (potentially) make everything else much easier to manage. 

My nominee for the first on this list is the ability to transition effectively.  Somewhere back in the day I read a few articles on the topic, but it never seemed to achieve the prominence in mind, thought, and Ted Talk Agenda that it should have. Further, it is this ability, or lack thereof, which has caused me most of greatest challenges in my working life and personal life and from random observation, the lives of many of my friends and colleagues as well. 

The stat I recall from a long ago article was that the average person goes through 14 professional transitions in their career.  Lord only knows how many we go through in our non work life.  Each time we change a career, job title, role, shift, working location, or anything else there is something significant demanded of us.  

We may be working with different people, or the same people but now we are the boss.  We may be working from home for the first time, or working in an office for the first time.  However we approached our situation before does not fit our new situation the same way. 

Each of these transitions demands we slow down, assess our surroundings, and adapt to whatever the new situation is.  If nothing else, the last two years have been one global and continuous Sherman March to the Sea through endless fields of transition. 

But how to do it well?  I do not know the full and complete answer.  But I know it starts with carefully assessing the new place we find ourselves.  Like any good novelist-- understand the scene.    

Until that is determined, the only wise and safe play is to making sure that we are on solid ground with basic needs met.  Values come into play here as well, especially those which form our core.  What about our approach to the world stays the same, no matter where we are?  How do those values related to where we now find ourselves?  There is a reason why a compass is such a valued tool for those at sea and why the metaphor of a compass is so effective for humans, it offers the starting point for wherever we go. Likewise, they are one reason why establishing your core values is such an essential part of being a successful leader.  If you don't have a solid core or foundation that you can always touch, then you will never have a safe, secure, and solid position from which to understand or grow. 

Once we have that initial position established, we can begin to figure out who else is on the journey with us. Are we alone?  Are we following others (who have hopefully charted the course) or are others following behind us? Those expecting us to be the lighthouse on roller-skates in the fog?  How many are on either side?  Those right next to us also inching forward. 

Once we have an idea of the scene and the people and starting position, we can start to think about where we are going.  Again, best to move slow and steady, especially when blanketed in the fog of a stressful time, uncertain situation, or, perhaps, a pandemic. Remember at all times though, that many others are in the same position as you, in the fog, clamoring for a light, and likely reaching for something or someone else to hold on to in the uncertain fog of the situation.  The best leaders understand this.  The worst use to fog to write their own horror novel with you as the victim, but we will save that for another post. 

To be able to transition well is to be able to find your place and your position each time you are deposited in that unfamiliar place.  To be able to figure out who is around you and envision those first tentative steps in what may be the pitch black of uncertainty.  To offer some comfort and support to those around you and to be able to position you and those you lead to take advantage of the clarity and opportunity to move forward when they come, or react to the threats which demand you move when they arrive. Most likely, it will be both scenarios that appear, too often at the same time.  

And then the real journeys will begin and the compass needle will spin, but that, my friend, is just the start of another transition. 

A New Year's Not Resolution Post

Every year.  Every single year.  I checked, so you can trust me. Every year  I have written down the same resolutions.  Five years running.  Or is it ten?  You know what they are.  Yours are probably the same.  The vast majority of them are about doing less of this thing or that thing.  Stopping this other thing all together.  Trying to lose the other thing.  Always the same.  Blah blah.  It is almost as boring to type as it is to read.  And the kicker is all this writing, all this resolving, it does not do any damn bit of good.  

And so we now come to what I am trying to do in my life.  Not just because its 1/1/22 and a great excuse, but because I have reached the point of being pissed off about the things I love to do that I do not do enough of. And that is my "resolution", more!  Simply one word: MORE!

Let me get just a little bit preachy here.  Every species on earth is evolving out its differences.  Over time, natural selection is ensuring less variation in almost everything you see.  Except for humans.  Somehow, even though there are more of us than ever before, we are still unique.  Every one of us a specific human with certain characteristics which have never been repeated before and never will be again.  But why?  Wouldn't it make sense that over time we all become about 6 feet tall, smart about the things which help us survive, and missing the traits that take us away from our potential?  Or is that exactly what is happening and our humanness just gets in the way of our being HUMAN with all capital letters and living into the best of what that means? 

So, this is my goal today.  This hour.  Not on a list for me to check off (the hidden love language of all Virgo ENFJs) but rather to lean into and strive for.  I want to do MORE of being the human I have been made to be. The unique one of a kind soul in a body that is Christopher Blake Carver.  The only one who will ever be.  (A fact which some people are no doubt quite thankful about...) MORE of the things that bring me peace and pleasure, somewhat closer to sanity, and in alignment with the people and places that help me know joy. More of what brings me closer to God.  More of what brings me closer to me. 

What does that mean in practice? It means more grace and kindness for others and myself. It means more writing and photographs.  It means more diners and road-trips and museums.  It means more talking to strangers and finding new friends in crazy places.  It means more thinking and reflecting on what works and what does not.  It means more loving in every sense of the word.  It means more cuddling with my partner.  It means more time with my Dad, Sister, and Nieces. It means more physical activity and more eating quality food that helps me have the energy to do all this.  

I am absolutely not going to focus on cutting things out.  That does not work.  That just causes a loss of focus and a long decent into the headspace where nothing gets done but generating fear, regret, and ulcers.  Nearly every guru, leadership consultant, and late night talk show sage says at some point we should focus on what you are good at and stop fighting the parts that don't work right.  Just move right past them and stay as much as you can in the spaces which work, whether physical, mindset or both. Well, lets give that a try shall we? 

So here we are.  My list.  More of the good stuff.  Perhaps with more of the good, it will crowd out some of the bad.  Or maybe it will just put me in a better place to deal with the bad when it comes.  Whatever it means, I think this is the best possible evolution into the most unique and special kind of human, the one that is me.  And if you can do more of what it is that fills your spirit and soul, maybe you can evolve towards the better version of you.  And maybe if we all could do that, so much of this crazy dengue fever that plaques our world would break just a little.  

Wouldn't Darwin be proud.