With over 6700 locations worldwide across 40 countries, Wendy’s aims to engage their over 250,000 employees. Chief People Officer for Wendy’s, Coley O’Brien, joins Jason in a riveting discussion on the power of Values, generational trends, and the power of relational leadership and culture.
SHOW NOTES
0:51 – Introducing Wendy’s Chief People Officer, Coley O’Brien
3:30 – Developing people and culture doesn’t just magically happen, it takes thought and attention. Jason asks why is authentic leadership important in a world that is highly distracted?
4:45 – “People want to be connected with something that is bigger than themselves”, Coley O’Brien. He takes us on a journey on how he inspires people at Wendy’s.
6:29 – There are four common characteristics in all of the great GM’s at Wendy’s: 1. Passionate 2. Proud 3. Caring 4. Committed
7:10 – Coley talks about the importance of humility within an organization.
9:00 – Jason asks an important question, what are some key opportunities and what are the challenges. Coley pontificates on opportunities for growth and how people within the organization grow.
12:30 – People have so many choices in today’s world so culture is your competitive advantage. Wendy’s takes that to heart and Coley explains how it affects the organization.
18:03 – Coley discusses about the brand experience at Wendy’s, from the website, to the forms people fill out, to how the store looks and beyond.
19:50 – Dave Thomas was the founder of Wendy’s and help establish the great quality and culture injected into the organization. Coley talks about the company’s founder.
23:09 – The future of Wendy’s and some initiatives that Coley and the organization is focusing on to gain and retain great talent.
31:10 – Wendy’s is a company that cares and it starts with employees and teams. Coley shares some stories about their team and some longstanding employees.
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ABOUT THE THERMOSTAT
Conversations and micro-thoughts to engage your mind and heart.
A thermostat is proactive. It sets the temperature in a room. Controls the temperature. Regulates the temperature. But in today’s distracted, fast-paced and digital world, it’s easy for individuals and organizations to act more like thermometers, slipping into reactionary thinking, becoming scattered and inconsistent. The most compelling leaders, teams, organizations, families or collection of humans of any kind operate in thermostat mode. They calibrate their mind and heart to set the temperature for the vision and culture they want to create. Jason Barger, globally celebrated author, keynote speaker and founder of Step Back Leadership Consulting, is the host of The Thermostat, a podcast journey to discover authentic leadership, create compelling cultures and find clarity of mission, vision, and values.