Wow, for those of you that were able to join us for the January edition of the GrowSmart Roundtable, what a great way to not only start off our new monthly series but what a great way to start 2017 as we look at how to make our businesses better. KJ Wari our local Chick-fil-A Owner/Operator brought us a great session on Leadership Made Simple that truly struck a chord with all in attendance.

He hit the highlights on Hiring, Team Development and Growth, the Leadership Pipeline and your Business and Action Planning. So much information was shared it is hard to know just what to highlight but what came through very clear was his passion for his team and their growth because at the end of the day we are all in the people business, his product just happens to be the world’s greatest Chicken Sandwich! As KJ stated the investment in our people and commitment to growing them will ultimately grow our business.

KJ shared the S.E.R.V.E. Model that they operate by:

See & Shape the Future

Engage & Develop Others

Reinvent Continuously

Value Results & Relationships and

Embody the Values

He also shared Chick-fil-A’s Core 4, the 4 things that they constantly look for and expect from their team:

Eye Contact, Share a Smile, Speak Enthusiastically and Stay Connected and expanded on the purpose behind each of these aspects.

A few great resources that KJ referenced throughout the morning’s session on Leadership Made Simple were several books that covered a number of this topics. For your convenience I have listed them here:

The Secret, What Great Leaders Know and Do by Mark Miller & Ken Blanchard

ISBN: 978-1626561984

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni

ISBN: 978-8126506750

The New One Minute Manager by Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson

ISBN: 978-0062367549

The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It by Michael Gerber

ISBN: 978-0887307287

Good to Great by Jim Collins

ISBN: 978-0066620992

Also recommended were any of John Maxwell’s books on Leadership.

In closing if you missed January’s GrowSmart Roundtable you missed a great opportunity to learn some leadership lessons from one of the best in the People Business and we missed out on learning more about you. So please go ahead and mark your calendar for next month’s GrowSmart Roundtable on February 22^nd as we discuss Marketing Strategies and Trends for 2017 and once again enjoy some GREAT Chick-fil-A Biscuits from our Breakfast Sponsor, Chick-fil-A.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Your University of Georgia Small Business Development Center Team!

Comments heard from the morning’s attendees:

“I could have listened to KJ all day! The knowledge he shared made so much sense and I took away so many good ideas to take back and implement today!”

“Hearing how he has such clear and established methods for hiring and training really enlightened me to some things I need to change in my hiring process. This was very beneficial to me.”

“You can count on me being here again next month and every month! The information provided was Great!”

-Rob Martin, Business Consultant, UGA SBDC