notes and quotes on leadership, strategy, and values from presenters like Joe Tortorice, CEO of Jason's Deli, and Cheryl Bachelder, President of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen

1. 1
best bits from
Dine America 2010
invitation-only conference for senior foodservice
executives, produced by QSR Magazine
Dine America
© 2010 Denise Lee Yohn, Inc.
09.13.10-09.14.10

2. 2
on the importance of attitude:
Turbulence is inevitable,
but misery is optional
Howard Putnam,
Former CEO of Southwest Airlines
Dine America
© 2010 Denise Lee Yohn, Inc.
09.13.10-09.14.10

3. 3
on the value of preparation and anticipating future
customer trends and needs:
When the time to perform arrives,
the time to prepare has passed
Howard Putnam,
Former CEO of Southwest Airlines
Dine America
© 2010 Denise Lee Yohn, Inc.
09.13.10-09.14.10

4. 4
on priorities:
The people side of business is often
underestimated –
Southwest is just a piece of steel
Howard Putnam,
Former CEO of Southwest Airlines
Dine America
© 2010 Denise Lee Yohn, Inc.
09.13.10-09.14.10

5. 5
on vision:
How you perceive the future
will chart the course to get you there
Howard Putnam,
Former CEO of Southwest Airlines
Dine America
© 2010 Denise Lee Yohn, Inc.
09.13.10-09.14.10

6. 6
on how things work in Washington:
Politics comes first;
everything else comes 2nd
Gene Stanaland, economist, aka
“the Will Rogers of Economics”
Dine America
© 2010 Denise Lee Yohn, Inc.
09.13.10-09.14.10

7. 7
on current state of the economy:
We’re suffering from
a psychological problem:
- consumers are worried about losing jobs
- corporations are worried about access to capital
and increased taxation
- small businesses are worried about tax cut repeal
Gene Stanaland, economist, aka
“the Will Rogers of Economics”
Dine America
© 2010 Denise Lee Yohn, Inc.
09.13.10-09.14.10

8. 8
on the U.S. economy:
This system, even at its worst,
is better than anything else going on in
this world
Gene Stanaland, economist, aka
“the Will Rogers of Economics”
Dine America
© 2010 Denise Lee Yohn, Inc.
09.13.10-09.14.10

9. 9
quoting Popeyes’ VP of Operations:
You move what you measure
Cheryl Bachelder,
President Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen
CEO AFC Enterprises, Inc.
Dine America
© 2010 Denise Lee Yohn, Inc.
09.13.10-09.14.10

10. 10
quoting Malcolm Knapp:
The restaurant business is simple;
simple is hard
Cheryl Bachelder,
President Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen
CEO AFC Enterprises, Inc.
Dine America
© 2010 Denise Lee Yohn, Inc.
09.13.10-09.14.10

11. 11
Popeyes’ 4 Pillars:
1. Build the brand – food so good, guests can’t wait to eat it
2. Run great restaurants – service so good, guests can’t wait to
come back
3. Strengthen unit economics – profits so good, franchisees love
the business as much as the food
4. Ramp up unit growth – returns so good, franchisees can’t wait
to build more
Cheryl Bachelder,
President Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen
CEO AFC Enterprises, Inc.
Dine America
© 2010 Denise Lee Yohn, Inc.
09.13.10-09.14.10

12. 12
on the importance of the brand’s culinary roots in
Louisiana Cajun Creole recipes:
brands were distinctive the day they
were created
Cheryl Bachelder,
President Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen
CEO AFC Enterprises, Inc.
Dine America
© 2010 Denise Lee Yohn, Inc.
09.13.10-09.14.10

13. 13
on the guest experience:
Our goal is to make our service as
distinctive as our food
Cheryl Bachelder,
President Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen
CEO AFC Enterprises, Inc.
Dine America
© 2010 Denise Lee Yohn, Inc.
09.13.10-09.14.10

14. 14
on results:
a bunch of activities isn’t the same thing
as results
Cheryl Bachelder,
President Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen
CEO AFC Enterprises, Inc.
Dine America
© 2010 Denise Lee Yohn, Inc.
09.13.10-09.14.10

15. 15
on Popeyes pricing strategy:
the word “discount” is distasteful to me because it
suggests that you can’t compete without
lowering prices;
we need to drop that and instead find out how
much money consumers have in their pocket
and then make our food affordable for them
Cheryl Bachelder,
President Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen
CEO AFC Enterprises, Inc.
Dine America
© 2010 Denise Lee Yohn, Inc.
09.13.10-09.14.10

16. 16
on how franchisees view corporate:
I always joke,
“the corporate office are heroes when sales
are up, and schmucks when they’re down”
Cheryl Bachelder,
President Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen
CEO AFC Enterprises, Inc.
Dine America
© 2010 Denise Lee Yohn, Inc.
09.13.10-09.14.10

17. 17
on franchisees’ criticism that Popeyes isn’t invested in
the business because it doesn’t have more
company-owned units:
I’ve never presented company restaurant
results that franchisees have believed
Cheryl Bachelder,
President Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen
CEO AFC Enterprises, Inc.
Dine America
© 2010 Denise Lee Yohn, Inc.
09.13.10-09.14.10

18. 18
on making hard decisions:
It’s about the brand, not individual sites,
and that’s hard for franchisees to
understand
Todd Bertagnole, franchisee TCBY
and Subway
Dine America
© 2010 Denise Lee Yohn, Inc.
09.13.10-09.14.10

19. 19
on working with franchisees:
The earlier you involve the franchisees
[in key decisions], the more likely
you’ll get their support because they
growth through the process
Mike Kuzminsky, SVP, U.S. Franchise
Operations, Church’s Chicken
Dine America
© 2010 Denise Lee Yohn, Inc.
09.13.10-09.14.10

20. 20
on his challenge:
Help our company grow up
and still stay young at heart
Joe Tortorice, CEO of Jason's Deli*
*among the top 50 QSRs, Jason’s Deli
has the 2nd highest average unit
volume (topped only by McDonald’s)
Dine America
© 2010 Denise Lee Yohn, Inc.
09.13.10-09.14.10

21. 21
on leadership:
People are looking for 3 things out of leadership:
direction, trust, and hope
Leaders have 3 primary responsibilities:
set vision, get buy in, and remove obstacles
Joe Tortorice, CEO of Jason's Deli
Dine America
© 2010 Denise Lee Yohn, Inc.
09.13.10-09.14.10

22. 22
on being a “living company”:
Companies die young because
managers focus on the economics of
selling goods and services and forget
an organization is a community of
human beings
Joe Tortorice, CEO of Jason's Deli
Dine America
© 2010 Denise Lee Yohn, Inc.
09.13.10-09.14.10

23. 23
on managers vs. leaders:
Managers run mushroom farms –
They keep people in the dark and feed
them manure
Joe Tortorice, CEO of Jason's Deli
Dine America
© 2010 Denise Lee Yohn, Inc.
09.13.10-09.14.10

24. 24
on why culture matters:
Culture is nourishment of
a living company
Joe Tortorice, CEO of Jason's Deli
Dine America
© 2010 Denise Lee Yohn, Inc.
09.13.10-09.14.10

25. 25
on having a unique corporate culture:
People on the outside don’t understand it;
people on the inside can’t explain it
Joe Tortorice, CEO of Jason's Deli
Dine America
© 2010 Denise Lee Yohn, Inc.
09.13.10-09.14.10

26. 26
quoting Jim Hunter
who differentiates between power (control) vs.
authority (influence):
It’s a bad day when have to use power,
because it means my authority has
broken down and I have to resort to
using power
Joe Tortorice, CEO of Jason's Deli
Dine America
© 2010 Denise Lee Yohn, Inc.
09.13.10-09.14.10

27. 27
on being a leader:
You have to get down wind of yourself –
make sure who you say you are
is who you really are
Joe Tortorice, CEO of Jason's Deli
Dine America
© 2010 Denise Lee Yohn, Inc.
09.13.10-09.14.10