6. The pot on Cathy’s wall
A revelation about Dan Cathy himself was served up by his interviewer in the session, Coca-Cola SVP Roy Jackson. The soft-drink executive recounted how he and Cathy had made an unannounced visit years ago to a Chick-fil-A where they found an employee “scrubbing the heck” out of a dimpled, battered pot in the kitchen.
“This thing shone like a piece of jewelry,” Jackson said.
Cathy approached the employee and praised her for showing such enthusiasm, and the duo left. Then Cathy returned, praised the woman again, and left with the pot. He had it mounted on a board and he displays it to this day in his office, Jackson said, a reminder of what passion on the job looks like.