Showcase: Dan Cathy’s Blog (CEO of Chick-fil-A)

Posted March 25th, 2010 / By Brandon Cox in Misc

Dan Cathy likes gardening. This is a pretty personal kind of detail that not everyone knows about the Chief Executive Officer of one of America’s fastest growing restaurant chains. How do you get a detail like that? From the About page of his blog – it’s the first line.

We’re showcasing the blog of a gardener / CEO today…

About Chick-fil-A

You can read much more about the sweet story of Chick-fil-A on their corporate website. Their approach to marketing is a phenomenon in itself, especially their approach to engaging their community of self-proclaimed brand evangelists and their skilled use of social media alongside traditional media tools.

The short version is that they essentially invented the chicken sandwich in 1946 just outside of Atlanta in one small restaurant under the leadership of founder, S. Truett Cathy. They’ve managed to stand for some great values in addition to offering great food and service, such as an emphasis on caring for the environment and helping hurting families.

They’ve built their brand on “second mile service.” You’ll find fresh flowers on the tables each morning and I was once met at my car on a rainy day by an employee with an umbrella. On that day, they threw in some free extra chicken mini’s and walked me back to my car when I left.

About Dan Cathy

One huge principle to remember when it comes to having a great blogging presence is that it begins with being a great person first. Blogging success shouldn’t flow out of technical or writing abilities alone, but out of character and charisma – more personal things.

I heard Dan Cathy speak at a leadership conference once and he talked about his interesting camping activities. When a new franchise opens somewhere, the first 100 customers get free Chick-fil-A for a year in the form of 52 meal vouchers. Groupies and fans camp out the night before waiting for the doors to open. I personally know several people who have been crazy enough to get in. Dan has participated in campouts across America. This CEO rolls up his tent, heads to the new franchise site and camps with the fans. At about midnight, he offers a personally-guided tour of the restaurant.

This kind of approach to leadership is what makes Dan’s blog an excellent subscription to add to your rss reader. He sets a tremendous example for other CEO’s and corporate leaders to follow.

What Dan’s Blog Gets Right

There is almost too much to tell, but here are some things that jump out at me…

Simple Design

The blog is based on Wordpress and features a rather simple layout. It’s super easy on the eyes and extra, unneeded junk has been eliminated. Instead of widget-chaos, Dan’s blog takes your eyes right to the heart of its awesome content.

Simple Navigation

Dan blogs about four topics. Three of those topics are expressed throughout the site as “Live. Love. Lead.” The fourth topic is, of course, Chick-fil-A. You can easily jump to any of these categories to find stories such as Relevance and Kindness (a post about living compassionately) or Letting Others Up the Ladder (a post about growing other leaders).

Simple Explanations

One of the more unique features of the blog is that it helps non-technical folks understand social media along the way. Instead of a simple link to his feed or his Twitter profile, Dan uses these little icons to lead people to an explanation page – a help page of sorts. Just glance at the page on which you arrive when you click the Twitter icon…

Want to reach Dan? His contact page simply says, “Email me.” How simple is that?

Super Personal

Yes, you’ll read news about the company. I wouldn’t ever assert that corporate blogs be so unselfish that they devote zero attention to themselves. But you’ll read as much or more about Dan’s life, his loves, and his leadership lessons. You’ll read about the people who work for Chick-fil-A that make it great. You’ll read about their community activities and Dan’s hobbies.

Since subscribing to Dan’s blog, it’s quickly become one of my favorites. Read him, get to know him, and learn about blogging (and life, love, and leadership also) from one of the best! DanCathy.com

In addition to serving as Editor of Fuel Your Blogging, Brandon is also a Pastor at Saddleback Church and Online Community Coordinator for Pastors.com. He’s also a web designer, blogger, and church communications consultant. Catch him on his own blog or on Twitter.