1: Then Intel CEO Andy Grove was sitting in a conference room with other members of the Intel team.

The topic? “Evaluations of a certain highly touted new software from a company whose other products we already use,” Andy writes in his legendary business book, Only the Paranoid Survive: How to Exploit the Crisis Points That Challenge Every Company.

Intel’s head of Information Technology shared the challenges her team … continue reading

1: “We had lost our bearings. We were wandering in the valley of death,” Andy Grove writes in his book Only the Paranoid Survive: How to Exploit the Crisis Points That Challenge Every Company.

The year was 1984, a pivotal moment for Intel.

The company had been founded 16 years earlier.  “Every start-up has some kind of a core idea,” Andy notes.

“Ours was simple. Semiconductor technology had … continue reading

1: There are two traps CEOs and leadership teams fall into regarding innovation.

Trap #1: “The minute we think we truly understand the customer and can take our attention off discovering what matters, we’re dead,” Panera founder Ron Shaich writes in Know What Matters: Lessons from a Lifetime of Transformations.

“Sooner or later,” Ron notes, “even the most brilliant and innovative concept will fall behind the times and become … continue reading

1: “Top-down innovation gets a bad rap,” Panera founder Ron Shaich writes in his terrific book Know What Matters: Lessons from a Lifetime of Transformations.

“The popular business press abounds with criticism of initiatives that come tumbling down from the peak of the org chart,” Ron observes.

“And yet, take a closer look at most companies, and you’ll find that organizations are still doing it that way.”

Why is … continue reading

1: “So tell me this,” the young executive asked, “Is Panera almost as good as Donatos?”

“Is he joking?” Panera Bread CEO Ron Shaich thought to himself.

It was the early 2000s. Ron was sitting in an executive boardroom at McDonald’s headquarters outside Chicago. Ten years earlier, he had purchased the St. Louis Bread Company and renamed it Panera.

On the other side of the table were members of McDonald’s … continue reading

1: In 2017, Panera Bread founder Ron Shaich sold the company for $7.5 billion, one of the largest deals in restaurant history.

What does Ron believe is the “the singular element” that created this enormous amount of value?

The “Concept Essence” document that he and his team created twenty-one years earlier.

What exactly is a Concept Essence? 

It “isn’t a business plan,” Ron writes in his book … continue reading

1: Let’s start by defining what not to do.

Says Panera Bread founder Ron Shaich: “So many times, I’ve seen smart, talented people jump to action without truly understanding what it is that they are trying to create.”

What’s the result?  “They fail,” he observes in his book Know What Matters.  “The outcome is clichéd or irrelevant.”

There is a better way. We start by asking the question: … continue reading

1: Ron Shaich‘s first impression of the company he would sell twenty-four years later for $7.5 billion was not good.

It was 1993.  Ron was the CEO of Au Bon Pain.  He had gotten up before dawn to visit the St. Louis Bread Company, a bakery that sold sandwiches, baked goods, and pastries, which one day would become Panera Bread.

After making several wrong turns, Ron arrived … continue reading

1: In 2006, renowned New York City restaurateur Danny Meyer offered twenty-seven-year-old Will Guidara a career-changing opportunity.  

Will was to become the General Manager of Eleven Madison Park (also known as EMP), a New York City fine-dining restaurant.

Will and Chef Daniel Humm were charged with reinventing the restaurant.

Eleven years later, the pair achieved the highest honor in dining when Eleven Madison Park. was named No. 1 in The … continue reading

1: To answer this question, we must step back in time.

“Imagine a world in which our only reliable options for a quick lunch across much of the country were fast-food joints like McDonald’s and Burger King,” Panera Bread Company founder  Ron Shaich writes in his powerful book Know What Matters.

If we were born after the year 1990, this reality is likely hard to comprehend.

Because now there’s … continue reading