Lessons From Five Guys Burgers

Mmmm, I love me some Five Guys burgers. Juicy delicious burgers that taste soooooo good, and some really great fries too. I am salivating now just thinking about them.

There’s an article in Inc.com today about the success of Five Guys Burgers: How I Did It: Jerry Murrell, Five Guys Burgers and Fries Even if you have never been to a Five Guys, or don’t like burgers, or don’t eat meat, there are still some good lessons for any business in the article.

I’d like to just focus on the opening of the piece:

Sell a really good, juicy burger on a fresh bun. Make perfect French fries. Don’t cut corners. That’s been the business plan since Jerry Murrell and his sons opened their first burger joint in 1986.

That’s the business plan: amazing quality.

Seems too simple, no? But you will find this time and again in business success stories: when you combine a passion for the product with an almost slavish adherence to top quality, good things happen.

The success model for a long time has been the cost efficiency/franchise type model. How can we make a decent product that maximizes profits? That is certainly still one way to go.

These days, however, with such a glut of competition in almost every industry, and with the internet hyper-accelerating word of mouth (good or bad) more businesses are standing out by simply being the best they can possibly be at what they do.

How about you? In your business (or job, or life) are you being the best you can be? Are you making the equivalent of a “really juicy burger” and “perfect French Fries”? Or are you “cutting corners”?

It’s not always easy to adhere to a high quality standard, but it will always pay off in the end.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I think you know where I need to get myself to right now…

About

By Avish Parashar. As the world's only Motivational Improviser, Avish uses techniques from the world of improv comedy to engage, entertain, and educate audiences on ideas around change, creativity, and motivation. Connect with Avish on Google+

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