Chick-fil-A, Batmobiles & Memorable Moments

Yes, my friends.  That’s a picture of the Batmobile.  In fact it’s one of the originals.  I believe this one was used in Batman Returns.

A couple of weeks ago our Executive Team had the privilege of visiting the Chick-fil-A Corporate Headquarters.  We were treated to lunch, a tour and some great conversation with one of their executives who graciously shared his wisdom and experience.

We also had the amazing honor of meeting Truett Cathy in person.  What a remarkable leader.  At the age of 91 he still comes to the office nearly every day and certainly looks like he enjoys every moment of it.

That’s what struck me – this man loves what he does and he loves creating memorable experiences for others.  That’s where the Batmobile comes in.  One of Mr. Cathy’s hobbies is collecting cars and a few years ago this Batmobile was added to his collection.  What I loved about this story was that the car didn’t just show up and get rolled into the lobby.  Instead, the staff enthusiastically recounted the story of how Truett, decked out in a full batman costume, rolled onto the property, made a few laps in the parking lot and delivered his car with great flare.

What struck me about this story was that Mr. Cathy understands the power of creating memorable moments.  He apparently hasn’t let the busyness and obsessive demands of running a multi-billion dollar business keep him from having fun and allowing his staff to have fun.

Great leaders know how to create memorable moments.

At times I’ve been tempted to think we don’t have time for fun.  Oftentimes the fun ideas seem frivolous or unnecessary.

But after listening to the Chick-fil-A staff recount this story with such joy, I realized that what that little episode did for their culture far outweighed the minor infraction of time the silliness may have imposed.

As a leader, how are you creating memorable moments for your team?  What can you do to create a fun, vibrant culture for your staff?