life-lessons from a burger chain

I read the new book about in-n-out burger last week. as I read it, I discovered that you can learn a lot about life and faith from in-n-out::

lesson 1: more is not always more.
in-n-out has not added much to their menu since its inception as a company. they do not serve kids meals, chicken sandwiches, burritos, or breakfast; even though all of their competitors do. they serve burgers, fries, drinks and shakes. that’s it. they want to focus on one thing and do it well. and the funny thing is, they are still always packed.

life-lesson: you don’t have to be like everyone else to be successful. when mcdonald’s sold happy meals, every other fast food chain sold them too so that they could keep up. but in-n-out doesn’t sell them, yet manages to keep up. their individual stores outsell any other chain’s individual stores. you don’t have to do what everyone else does to be cool or successful. just be the best you that you can be.

lesson 2: contentment isn't a dirty word.
all of the other fast food chains have gone national and then global. in-n-out stayed in southern california for decades. then they ventured into northern california, and now they have a handful of stores in Nevada, Arizona, and Utah. they could have gone national, but they have chosen not to. they feel that the quality will diminish if they grow too fast. the lines at in-n-out are always long; but they have never sold out. they have stayed a family owned business, even when venture capitalists have offered millions to buy it. they have stuck to their core values of quality, cleanliness and service, even though they could pull in more money by cutting corners.

life-lesson: everything in our culture tells us that more money is always better than the amount of money that you currently have. but in-n-out’s story seems to tell us that they are content with the money that they currently are making, and that outrageous growth may equal more money, but not necessarily a better quality of food (or life for that matter).

lesson 3: take care of people.
in-n-out has always paid their employees well. much better, in fact, than their competitors. they refer to them as associates, not employees. they recognize them publicly, and in tur, their employees are fiercly loyal.

life-lesson: it doesn’t take much to thank the people in your life. it doesn’t take much to recognize a job well done and to be kind to those that have helped you. when you do this, you may see that people become fiercely loyal to you.

lesson 4: you can go public without being weird.
in-n-out has been run by only a handful of people. their religious zeal has been all over the scale from irreligious, to charismatic, and everything in between. the company has quietly taken a stand for its faith by putting bible references under its cups. this has bothered some and has encouraged some, and they continue to do this. the place continues to be packed, even though they are openly Christian.

life-lesson: as Christians, we can take a stand for our faith and be openly for Christ without being rude, angry, or just hard to be around. in-n-out proudly displays their verses while producing a quality product. as believers. we can proudly talk about the hope that we have in Christ and still be a trusted friend to those who would disagree with us.

life-lesson 5: focus on quality.
in-n-out are fanatics about quality. they started raising their own cows so that they could control the quality of the meat they serve. they fanatically train their associates. they want their stores to be spotless, and they want you to have the same burger in san jose that you do in Anaheim. this means they they work hard. they work hard at cleaning, training, and preparing. they don’t cut corners. they don’t use frozen meat or frozen fries. for them, their success comes from hard work and quality.

life-lesson: I see a lot of people who expect to become successful with minimal effort. they want to get A’s and not do their homework and they want to get a raise for the same level of execution. in-n-out’s story tells us that life doesn’t work that way. if you want to be successful, give it your very best, all the time. this is one of the things that I love about the biblical stories of Daniel, joseph, and Nehemiah; all of these guys were promoted by God’s grace, but also after being a hard worker. Colossians 3 tells us, “whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

lesson 6: God gives grace to the humble.
dave Thomas of wendy’s starred in all of his own commercials. colonel sanders’ face is on every bucket of chicken served at KFC. carl karcher’s portrait is in every carl’s jr. but who is the founder of in-n-out? who owns it? don’t know? that’s the way they like it. they don’t want to be known for a personality or even a character like Ronald mcdonald, they want to be known for hamburgers. as a result, you won’t see a lot of books or articles about the company, they intentionally keep a low profile. they have let their customers to most of their advertising for them.

life-lesson: its not about you. its not about your fame, or your credit. as believers, we know that life is more about bringing fame to God than fame to ourselves. Ronald Reagan once said, “there is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn’t mind who gets the credit.”

lesson 7: follow your moral compass.
for decades, people have been giving in-n-out burger unsolicited advice. well meaning experts have told them to cut wages, to go national, and to sell the company for a big payout. they have told them to use frozen products and to add menu items. each time the company considers these ideas and then chooses to do what they know is right. they choose to do what is right for them, their associates, and their customers.

life-lesson: each of us are presented with options from so-called experts all of the time. we are told to stand up for our rights, to get what’s ours and to maximize our own profits. students are told that little compromises can add up to big results on the social scale. we may even consider compromising to get someone’s attention. our moral compass will not make us rich overnight. it won’t score us instant results; but if we follow it, we will have character, and that always gives us a result that we can be proud of in the end. be careful who you listen to, and stick to your guns.

lesson 8: quality = profits.
the people that know in-n-out burger, love in-n-out burgers. they love the flavor. they love the atmosphere. they love the service. their customers do most of their advertising for them.

lesson: what if the same could be said of your or me? that people would love to be around us because the way we care, and listen, and serve and encourage? maybe our churches would be packed just like in-n-out burger.

God is love.
-rev-rob