Silicon Valley has long been known as the capital of technology in the US. Companies like Apple have been there since the 1970s, and anyone looking to launch a technology startup wants to launch in Silicon Valley. It's difficult to go far in this area without encountering highly educated MBA graduates and technological geniuses.
Companies that currently reside there, like Google and Facebook, are known for their work cultures on their campuses. For millennials, these two employers in particular might be the ultimate place to work due to their many perks. But one young employee, with a Harvard Business School degree, left both of these companies in order to go create an app to sell chicken.
From Silicon Valley To Atlanta
Thirty-three year old Michael Lage, senior manager of Digital and Mobile Experience at Chick-fil-A, the Atlanta-based quick service restaurant chain, first began working at Chick-fil-A after graduating from the University of Georgia with a degree in marketing and finance. He spent four years working in the marketing department before leaving to pursue an MBA at Harvard Business School.
While there, he spent one summer interning at Google in San Francisco. "I loved the spirit, energy, and the ‘anything is possible' culture,’” he says. After graduation, he worked for two years as a brand strategist for Facebook. “Facebook has a ‘move fast and break things’ mentality,” says Lage. “It was about breaking preconceived notions in how things work, and moving fast in doing it.”
The opportunity came to go back to the Chick-fil-A corporate office to build a team focused on expanding their digital footprint. Why would someone with Silicon Valley experience go back to sell chicken in Atlanta? “People who ask why I left Silicon Valley haven’t experienced the culture of Chick-fil-A,” he says.
So what is it about this culture that drew him back?
People over profit
“There is such a strong culture built on relationships and valuing on another,” Lage says. “[It brings] out best in people, fulfilling leadership potential, and great business performance.” This focus within the company is not a new initiative to attract millennials; it was woven into the fabric of the organization since it began. The founder, Truett Cathy, placed a high value on people. Perhaps the most well-known way they practice this principle is closing on Sundays. Cathy wanted his employees to have a day of rest and family time.
Note that it is “people over profit,” not “people instead of profit.” When it comes to making decisions, their mission is to put people first, but that does not come at the expense of profit. For 2016, they are on pace to do $6 billion in sales. Currently, their goal is to be a $10 billion per year company by 2020. These projections come from over 1900 stores across 43 states. In regards to their competition, they are number one among all chicken restaurants. They also maintain the highest revenue per store of any quick service restaurant.
The same focus on people first is the driving force behind Lage’s mobile app team. “I’m excited about the culture we’re building as part of the digital efforts,” he says, “and we want to change the world through what we are building at Chick-fil-A.”
Innovate and Iterate
“There was a launch and iterate mentality at Google,” Lage says. “Get solutions out the door fast, then iterate as customers interact and respond.” The practice Lage is referring is the widely used agile methodology, which focuses on innovating quickly and iterating frequently. “Millennials like to make a difference, and do it fast,” he says. “The product has to be out there, and it’s never done. You’re just getting started. We launch on June 1, which we refer to as Day 1. It creates a burden to always listen and always innovate.”
Chick-fil-A, too, is built on an innovative food item: a boneless chicken sandwich. Cathy was the first to sell the sandwiches and now they are in nearly every quick service restaurant. The innovations extend beyond menu items and into business opportunities. Millennials may assume that shopping malls always had a food court, but that was not always true. Chick-fil-A was the first restaurant to open a location when they opened their Greenbriar Mall location in 1967 in metro Atlanta.
The most recent innovation at Chick-fil-A is the Chick-fil-A One app, the work of Lage and his team. For the first three days after launch, it was #1 free app in the App Store, ahead of apps like Facebook. Since it was launched on June 1, it has been downloaded over 7 million times. While chains like Taco Bell launched mobile ordering apps prior to the One app, Lage and his team designed features with the customer in mind. For example, when the app shows you are five minutes from Chick-fil-A, your order will begin. This ensures a fresh meal when you pick it up.
Innovation at Chick-fil-A is not about being the first to market with new ideas. Instead, it serves the first point: people over profit. “We want to fundamentally shift operations and customer service,” Lage told me. “We want to create solutions that are really difference and ultimately help customers’ lives better.”
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