#235: Steve Robinson - Former CMO of Chick-Fil-A - 35 years of Timeless Lessons Learned While Building an Iconic Brand & Culture.
Steve Robinson is the former CMO of Chick Fil A. and is currently a consultant, author, and speaker on organizational culture design & leadership, brand strategy development, marketing planning, and distinctive advertising principles. He is the...
Steve Robinson is the former CMO of Chick Fil A. and is currently a consultant, author, and speaker on organizational culture design & leadership, brand strategy development, marketing planning, and distinctive advertising principles.
He is the former Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Chick-fil-A, Inc., 1981-2015. Before joining the company, Steve was the director of marketing for Six Flags Over Georgia theme park in Atlanta, Georgia. This role was preceded by marketing positions at two other Six Flags properties and communications manager at Texas Instruments.
After beginning his career at Chick-fil-A as director of marketing, Steve went on to serve as vice president of the department before becoming chief marketing officer. In his most recent role, he was responsible for overseeing marketing, advertising, brand development, menu development, and hospitality strategies.
In addition to serving on Chick-fil-A’s board of directors from 2016-2018, Steve serves on several boards for organizations and ministries, including FamilyLife, Fellowship of Christian Athletes of Atlanta, Links Players International, and Atlanta Hall Management & College Football Hall of Fame, and the National Football Foundation.
He holds an associate degree in business administration from Faulkner State Junior College, a Bachelor of Science in marketing from Auburn University, and a master’s in advertising from Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
Steve and his wife, Dianne, have two children and four grandchildren.
In this episode, Chris and Steve discuss
- Why every company should have a purpose for existing. Hint: it's used to make decisions ;)
- The incredible story behind Chick Fil A's growth and the thriving culture that got them there.
- Hire people through a lens that "you'll work with them forever."
- Chick Fil A cows, "My Pleasure", and more.
- And more!
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(2:04) - How Steve got to Chick-fil-A
(8:55) - What’s your response to the fast-paced hiring processes of today’s businesses?
(11:37) - The purpose statement of Chick-Fil-A
(23:21) - Why doesn’t every company have a purpose statement?
(27:59) - What do you tell to already established companies who want to totally rebuild their culture?
(32:09) - Do you have an example of a major decision that was made or not made based on the company’s purpose statement?
(37:40) - Is there something different about today’s culture that would make a culture like Chick-Fil-A’s much harder to implement?
(40:14) - Can selflessness be taught?
(43:54) - Turnover is the #1 enemy of cultural sustainability
(46:00) - How did the cows become the mascots?
(53:41) - The CFA operator model
(1:06:06) - The origin of “My Pleasure”
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