Article November 18, 2002 Issue

Business, chicken and PRAYER

Judith Ryan

Truett Cathy is emphatic about it: "I see no conflict between Biblical principles and good business practices," he says. Cathy has built a very successful business by adhering to faith-based principles and values, even though those values seem outmoded to some. His company, Chick-fil-A, is America's third largest quick-service chicken restaurant chain, with over 1,000 outlets.

Cathy feels supported by a higher power in his business. Asked if he prays for and about his business, Cathy responds with a chuckle, "Well, oftentimes it gets so bad you have to. Nothing else works better than prayer."

Describing a critical, prayerful moment in his business, Cathy relates a particularly difficult time for Chick-fil-A during the recession of the early 1980s. The company had taken out a large loan to build a new $10 million corporate headquarters. At the same time, changes in the chicken-breast-sandwich business, an item around which Chick-fil-A's menu is centered, were unexpectedly occurring, and the industry was experiencing increased competition, adding to the cost of doing business and decreasing sales.

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