Success Doesn't Teach You Much, ft. Cheryl Bachelder (KFC, Popeye's)
Jul 24, 2024
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Former CEO Cheryl Bachelder shares her leadership journey focusing on the value of failure and relational leadership. From her failures to turning Popeye's into a success story, she discusses resilience, learning, and embracing challenges in a conversation with Guy Raz.
Embrace resilience and positivity amidst challenges
Deep dives
Cheryl's Journey: From Failure to Triumph
Cheryl Batchelder shares her transformation from a setback at KFC to becoming the successful CEO of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen. Her experience of being criticized by a Russian pianist early in life served as a pivotal moment, leading to a shift from music to business studies. At Procter& Gamble and Nabisco, she honed her business acumen, setting the stage for her eventual leadership challenges and successes at Popeyes.
Lessons in Adversity and Resilience
Batchelder emphasizes the value of learning from failures, citing her departure from KFC and subsequent cancer diagnosis as defining moments in her career. Despite these challenges, she emphasizes the importance of staying resilient, learning from setbacks, and maintaining a positive outlook amidst personal and professional trials.
Transformation at Popeyes
Upon taking the helm at Popeyes in 2007, Batchelder embarked on a mission to restore the franchise's trust and profitability. Through initiatives like national advertising campaigns and operational improvements, she drove revenue growth, expanded market share, and fostered a culture of trust and collaboration with franchise owners, ultimately guiding the company to a decade of sustained success.
Servant Leadership and Brand Building
Batchelder's leadership philosophy of 'Dare to Serve Leadership' focused on prioritizing relationships, authenticity, and collaborative decision-making. Her strategic approach included highlighting the unique Louisiana heritage of Popeyes, developing successful marketing campaigns, and navigating challenges with sensitivity and a customer-centric mindset.
Navigating Crisis and Seeking Wisdom
In light of the current global crisis, Batchelder emphasizes the importance of seeking advice, learning from historical events, and adapting to unforeseen challenges. Drawing from her experiences, she underscores the value of humility, collaboration, and continuous learning in effective leadership during times of uncertainty and change.
The former CEO of KFC and Popeye's doesn't love talking about success, of which she's had plenty. No, in fact she's more interested in life's stumbles, in the complexity of failures, and what they have to teach her and her team. Her leadership style is highly relational ("I must know you to grow you," she says). Bachelder became President of KFC years later, but a job that started as a major opportunity wound up being a massive failure. In this conversation with Guy Raz from 2020: How Bachelder learned from her failures and went on to turn Popeyes into one of the biggest success stories of the past decade.