Bill Phelps just became the 69-year-old CEO of the hottest brand in fast food, Dave’s Hot Chicken. In the fast-food world, he has become somewhat legendary for being deliberate about creating a healthy company culture. During his stewardship, the valuable company grew into a distinctive fan-favorite brand worth some $1 billion. In addition to that, they sold the rights to almost 1,000 of these spots. His prior experience leading Wetzel’s Pretzels as CEO has provided him unique perspective. He understands how to cultivate and grow the kind of business climate that leads to long term success.
Phelps has a hard zero-tolerance culture when it comes to toxic employees, because he believes in the power of empathy and generosity between teammates. He contends that the ones who do not embody these dispositions and attitudes are the ones who can poison the work culture. As the head of any organization, you have to do what it takes to protect that phenomenal culture,” Phelps continued. Here, he shares the proactive measures he implements to foster a positive atmosphere—and dangerous drivers—within his organization.
Toxic behavior left unchecked has a way of spreading like wildfire with employees, Phelps has learned over the years, causing a very unproductive culture. He is on the lookout for people who are unkind and miserly. These traits are essential not just for collaboration within their unit, but for that of the team as a whole. His approach to handling such situations is straightforward: he engages in honest conversations with store operators who may not align with the company’s values.
Phelps was honest about the difficulty of those discussions. When it came to talking about underperforming staff, he made it very clear about their necessity to the whole system. Unlike many companies, Phelps doesn’t fire employees who can’t embrace a new digital future. By providing them with the opportunity to sell their business, he provides them with alternative options other than being pushed out.
Indeed, he is incredibly proud of how he has changed the lives of his employees. He’s helped make 19 of them into millionaires with Dave’s Hot Chicken through their blood, sweat, and grease labor. All of this success is a sure sign of his leadership, dedication to and appreciation for the climate he built for cultivating support, talent and opportunity. He is convinced that to take responsibility for failures and to have an integrated compass of doing things right in one’s work are basic characteristics of any employee. Owning your mistakes and having a high level of integrity is absolutely key,” he emphasized.
As Dave’s Hot Chicken continues to expand its reach, Phelps remains focused on cultivating an incredible culture that drives success. His take-no-prisoners vision still leads the company. It is absolutely critical that you have every employee pull in the same direction and add to the team chemistry.