Burgers and Fries! Should Your Chapters be More Like Five Guys?

Burgers + Fries = Focus!

Focus! Focus! Focus! That is not only the title of this blog, it's what your chapters should be all about. And for a role model, I am recommending Five Guys Burgers, the fastest growing restaurant chain in the United States. 

"We do two things really well, burgers and fries. That's it!"

I was listening to an interview with Five Guys' founder, Jerry Murrell, as he explained, "We do two things really well, burgers and fries. That's it!" Perhaps that's explains why Five Guys was voted America's favorite burger chain. 

Fastest growing! America's favorite! Burgers and fries! Got it?

"Our chapter does two things well. That's it!"

Do two things well. That seems like a good formula for success, especially for chapters. After all, the typical association chapter has limited resources and staff (if it has staff). What if, in lieu of submitting the typical strategic plan, each of your chapter had to complete the following: "Our chapter does two things well. We do ____ and we do _____. That's it." 

Let's think about how this philosophy plays out this in terms of a chapter's image/brand in the mind of its members.

The member on the right is clearly happy, that's obvious. But what's up with the member on the left: why complain about the coffee? To understand, consider this statement by Jerry Murrell, “My fear was that we’d add something new and not be good at it, then some reviewer would write about how bad our coffee was and not how good our burgers and fries are.” 

Get it? You want your members talking about what your chapters did well, not the other stuff. A chapter might be doing something really well, but if it overextends then something suffers in terms of quality. When that happens, it will stick in the mind of the member. 

The Bottom-Line:  I offer this a "food for thought" (pun intended). Ask yourself, "Are we asking our chapters to do too much with their limited resources? Would our members be better served by learning a lesson from Five Guys Burgers? Or would we rather have our chapters known for their bad coffee?"

'nuff said!