Biographical Information
Samuel Truett Cathy was an American investor, businessman, philanthropist and an author born in Eatonton, Georgia on March 14 th 1921. His parents were Joseph Benjamin Cathy and Lilla James. Truett Cathy schooled in Boys High School currently called Henry W. Grady High school situated in Atlanta. After his high school education, Truett did not attend college immediately, but instead joined the United States Army in 1939 during the Second World War. He served the military until 1945 when the army honorably discharged him. He however enrolled in Georgia Southern University where he acquired a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1975. After graduation, he worked full time in his father’s firm that had been established as a franchise business chain.
One of the jobs held Samuel Truett Cathy was that of a restaurant proprietor. In 1946, Truett pooled resources with his brother Ben Cathy and started Chick-fil-A, a chain of restaurants in the Atlanta suburb of Hapeville. The restaurant’s name was Dwarf grill, a title given due to its small size. Truett Cathy also served in another job as a Sunday school instructor in First Baptist Church located in Jonesboro Georgia. He served as a teacher for more than 50 years. Truett also worked as an author. He authored a series of five books. Some of his writing included; Inspire More People , Eat Mor Chikin and another one titled, it’s better to build boys than mend men . Samuel Truett Cathy also worked as a philanthropist. Some of his philanthropic work entailed sponsoring college football and a sponsorship initiative which funded education for Chick-fil-A restaurant workers. The philanthropic designation also entailed fostering children. He received the William E-Simon accolade for his active involvement in charitable initiates. Truett Cathy married Jeannette McNeil in 1948 who he met when he was a young boy aged 8 years. The two had three children Dan, Don Bubba and Trudy.
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Personality Profile
Some of the personality traits possessed by Samuel Truett Cathy include self-expression and creativity. The two are evidenced in his ability to deliver creative content in the five books he authored. Cathy was also optimistic and had mastered the resilience to overcome multiple setbacks. Upon developing business ideas, he remained positive of succeeding despite the many challenges encountered ( Brizek et al., 2007) . The success of his businesses is attributed to the tenacity and resilience displayed. Truett had a conscientious personality trait. Conscientiousness is one of the big five personality dimensions characterized by traits such as persistence, being organized, responsible and goal oriented. Truett’s conscientiousness is evidenced by the ability to exercise self-discipline in order to ultimately achieve set goals. His business career showcases him as an organized and determined person who postponed immediate gratification to accomplish long term success ( Brizek et al., 2007) . Truett forewent luxuries and instead invested his time and resources to ensure he succeeded. According to Yahaya and Ebrahim (2016), a conscientious person works diligently to accomplish their goals. Truett’s diligence is displayed by his ability to pay attention to detail in pursuit of set business goals. Additionally, his conscientiousness earned him reputation because of his reliability, commitment and productivity manifested in his business career and family life. His high score in conscientiousness makes Truett Cathy to be highly organized and dependable.
Samuel Truett Cathy also displayed openness personality trait. Openness is one of the fiver traits in the Big Fiver personality dimensions. Individuals who possess the trait are imaginative, creative and have a general appreciation to new and different ideas. As explained by Yahaya and Ebrahim (2016), people who score high in openness tend to seek novelty and approach new things with curiosity. In his restaurant chain, Truett was always willing to embrace new experiences as well as experiment new and fresh ideas. For example, he kept on introducing new product offerings such as pizza and chicken sandwich with an intent of experimenting them on customers. He was eager at pursuing creative endeavors and working on new adventures. The new products introduced by Truett ended up turning into a success leading to increased business earnings. People who register high scores in openness enjoy new, surprising and different things and are more likely to pay attention to their inner experiences. Truett encourages employees in his restaurant to be innovative and seeks their support in his quest to experiment with new product offerings. His business career shows that Truett was more likely to pursue creative achievements, indulge in divergent thinking and take part in creative hobbies such as authoring books ( Brizek et al., 2007) . Due to high levels of openness, Truett was often motivated to acquire new knowledge and learn about new ideas.
Leadership Style/Behavior
Truett Cathy exhibited servant leadership style as depicted by his conscious choice and aspiration to lead. Servant leadership encompasses a set of practices that entail enriching the lives of others and creating a just and caring world. In addition, servant leadership entail acknowledging the perspective of other people before considering one’s own. Servant leaders support their followers in meeting their person al goals and involve them in decision making where possible ( Yahaya & Ebrahim, 2016) . Such leaders create a sense of community within their teams leading to higher engagement, stronger relationships, more trust and increased innovation. The description fits Truett Cathy mode of leadership manifested in his commitment and dedication in his restaurant business.
Truett’s unwavering principles, attitude and good work habits created a servant leadership mentality and propelled him to set up his restaurant in 1946 ( Mishler, 2012) . The principles remained intact throughout his business career. For example, he chose not to open the restaurants on Sundays even though the decision did cost his business billions of dollars. In addition, he declined the decision to take his company public and instead chose to focus on the business’s philanthropic initiatives such as sponsoring foster homes and serving neglected children ( Drummond, n.d) . Creating WinShape Foundation and WinShape was true evidence that Truett primary goal was to service to humankind. He also launched an education scholarship program at Berry College to fund young employees in his restaurant ( Mishler, 2012) . Truett was quoted saying that he was not really into chicken business but rather in the business of serving people. Truett Cathy leadership style and behavior embody an unwavering service to others.
The Start
The poverty background which Truett Cathy came from motivated him to start the restaurant chain business. During an interview, Truett asserted that he was born in poverty where his mother was the sole breadwinner. The inspiration to venture into business also emanated from his experience while working in his father’s company. He acquired entrepreneurial skills that acted as an impetus in his quest to start a flourishing business. Truett started his first restaurant jointly with his brother Ben Cathy and served as the manager and co-owner.
The company/products/industry
The Chic-fil-A restaurant has tremendously succeeded in opening multiple outlets across the United States. The business has opened over 2,100 restaurants in the US. In year 2000, the business announced a major financial success after hitting $1 billion annual sales (Chick-fil-a.com, n.d). The milestone was attributed to the strong dedication that the restaurant has to enhance customer service to ensure improved satisfaction across all outlets. Also, the restaurant has succeeded in introducing a variety of product offerings such as the oatmeal, spicy chicken biscuit and hand-spun milkshakes (Kelso, 2020). The restaurant has however failed to open outlets in some universities such as the Fordham University which denied its intent to build a restaurant because of its intolerance towards LGBTQ rights.
References
Chick-fil-a.com (n.d). Chick-fil-A: Home of the Original Chicken Sandwich, retrieved from https://www.chick-fil-a.com/
Drummond, A. (n.d). Chick-fil-a’s excellence going global. And Business Resilience (JEBR) , 57.
Kelso, A., (2020). Chick-Fil-A Named America’s Favorite Restaurant Chain For The Sixth Straight Year, retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/aliciakelso/2020/06/30/chick-fil-a-named-americas-favorite-restaurant-chain-for-the-sixth-straight-year/?sh=2afa08a5d7ac
Mishler, M. (2012). Eat More Chicken and Lead More People: Perceived Measures of Servant Leadership at Chick-fil-A.
Brizek, M. G., Partlow, C. G., & Nguyen, L. A. (2007). S. truett cathy: From Young Entrepreneur to a Foodservice industry leader. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Education , 19 (4), 7-10.
Yahaya, R., & Ebrahim, F. (2016). Leadership styles and organizational commitment: literature review. Journal of Management Development .
