YouSaid · the spoken record

John Eckbert

lines on the record: 104
first: 2022-08-11
most recent: 2022-08-11
sittings or episodes: 1
sources: podcast

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“And then I guess I'd have to say to Hayden and Lucy, my kids for not being there in the moments when they needed me. And I can blame the UK court system as much as I want. But the fact is that there were moments where they woke up and needed both their parents and I wasn't there. And I'm deeply sorry for that. And yeah, and there are probably lots of others in that list. But that's a short summary”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Got a pretty long list I would say Say my ex wife for being so blind to the things that I brought to the relationship that must have upset her for years and insisted that they weren't Things that I had said or done. And really, I guess that would apply to anybody who I've had a romantic relationship with that, you know, that I didn't bring my true authentic self that even though I thought I was and I thought I was living a purposeful life, but didn't. But then I'd also, I guess I'd say I think there's a dynamic with my parents that probably falls into that category of making amends. And as a Both as the recipient and the perpetrator of some trauma in that regard.”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“When I was preparing for this conversation with you, Stephen, I went back and looked at some of the presentations I'd done to my business. And one of the presentations that I did was called Have You Know Hard Times? And I went through and talked about my hard times and being able to. It's okay. It's not only okay, it's really important to acknowledge that we've all had really hard times that break you apart as a human being and make you question everything. And that's okay here. And then the feedback that I got to say that was that that was a positive thing. That was amazingly fulfilling.”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I want to go after that with conviction and competitiveness. I'm a very competitive guy. I love whatever it is that I do, I kind of go after it. Yeah, a lot to read, a lot to, but I think. Sometimes that urgency doesn't work in mental health and that kind of, you can't rush to self-awareness. Sometimes it's kind of like the bird that kind of lands on your hand when you're being patient. So I think I've got to. Expand my repertoire of intensity in that regard.”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah. Well, I think from a business perspective, I love what I get to do. I mean, it feels like it doesn't feel like work now. I mean, it feels like a gift to be able to be a part of this business, a part of this, you know, a family who believes in the integrity of their product. There's no pressure to compromise in any way this thing that we're doing. And that feels fantastic. I think that the team that we've built is capable of more. I don't know what that is, but I'm excited to see what that could be. And personally, I think I've got a lot of growth to do. I think I've just kind of scratched the surface of all the ways that I cover up the motivation, the true motivations that I have. So I want to”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, no, I mean, I think when I look back on it, there were people who I felt connection with and that I felt some warmth in their presence. And, you know, I didn't understand that. I didn't go, that's love. That really is them seeing me and reaching out to me and connecting with me. But maybe it's only looking back that you can kind of see those things accurately and meaningfully.”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I feel like I'm the foil for that, where I might in some ways be a smart guy, but I'm not at all convinced that I have any grasp, firm grasp of what love is. And what is like authentic, real love look like? It's probably not what I try to give my partner sometimes. Actually understanding what she wants, sometimes I'm giving some imaginary construct what I think they want and then saying, well, you know, you should have that rather than really paying attention and going, what is it? What is it that makes you understand and feel loved and known and appreciated and valued? And that's what I want to do.”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“That's Now, well, you remember the film Forrest Gump where he's talking to his girlfriend, Janie, or the girl he loves, and he says, you know, I'm not a smart man, Janet, but I do know what love is.”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So maybe sometimes. But yeah, I mean, therapy is great. I highly recommend it. You cannot overinvest in your mental health. And that comes from someone who grew up with a psychiatrist for a dad. And maybe like the cobbler's kids don't have shoes. I think now I invest heavily in my mental health. There's an unlimited budget for. For that”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Inevitably, inevitably. And being able to go back and accept the negative emotions, it's not up to anybody else to express my anger for me. That's up to me. Should be up to me. And I should be able to spontaneously experience that in real time and express that in appropriate levels. That's my to-do list.”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Connection is worth it. And I can remember my grandmother, who was one of the first ones who taught me to love food. I had a very strange, have a very strange relationship with food in that regard. But she was late in her life, she was an amazing cook. And I could see the love, felt the love she had for me and the food that she prepared. And late in life, she was in a retirement home and some health inspector deemed some of the food had been passed like its expiry date. She came to me and she said, they were trying to serve us food that was unfit for human consumption. And we were like, oh, that's terrible. We'll fix that. I always worried that I somehow, particularly in a romantic partnership setting, was unfit for human consumption. And maybe in my weird, isolated countercultural upbringing, there were skill sets that was”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, well, I mean, I think first go through something really horribly painful where you have to reconsider everything and who you are. And to be willing to put those on the table and say, you know, I thought I was being a great partner. I wasn't. And being able to redefine the givens of who you think you are, that's really painful. And you come up with these ways of thinking about yourself for a reason. And they're typically defense mechanisms from a very young age. So these are not easy things to give up. But to me, it was, I had to do it or I would lose connection with everyone that I cared about. To me, it was.”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“You'll hurt the people you care about. in ways that you don't intend, in ways that you don't understand. And they may not understand. I mean, I'm lucky in my partner that she's quite attuned. She's just finishing her master's in psychotherapy. And so being able to say, yeah, I mean, I'm getting this from you, even though you don't intend it. Let's deal with it. That's a gift.”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“If I were to tell Little John growing up something, it would be, it's okay to have all of the emotions that you have. And there's room in the world for you to express them and to feel them and to own them and to be part of you. It's okay. Even looking at my kids now, trying to say, you know, actually some negative tension in our relationship is really valuable. You to be able to see that it's okay for you to be angry at me, me to be angry at you, and to work those out, and that it's going to be okay and that we're going to be... Connected. Even with that, that's really powerful because they need to be able to take that into their adult relationships. And else they'll struggle those places too. And it'll become that intergenerational. Negative baggage that gets passed on. So I'm trying to do something different in that regard.”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Oh gosh, all the stuff you don't want to see about yourself, that you're selfish, that you, I think, you know, I grew up thinking that I couldn't express negative emotions. You know, I couldn't be angry. I couldn't, you know, but that goes, I mean, of course you get angry, all human beings do. And that goes somewhere. And if you stuff it somewhere, it comes out in the worst ways that people that you love and care about and in ways that I'm not even aware of. So feeling that it's okay to be angry is probably the hardest thing for me. I'm just starting to work on that. I don't pretend to be good at it. But being able to...”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Realizing that I have massive blindsides that I don't see and that I have convictions about the way I think in my intentions. But actually there's a huge sea of unconscious motivations that I'm unaware of and purposefully so, right? We build our mental defense constructs to deny the unconscious motivations, but that actually drive us. And that's what my partners helped me to see, that there's so much that I think I'm doing something because I'm trying to be generous. And actually it's not because I'm working out some anger and I don't want to admit that. I want to be the good guy, right? And being able to see that shadow side of yourself and to acknowledge that and to even embrace that and to say, it's okay. That's part of me. And that's really been the hardest bit for me in the past couple years. But I think probably the most...”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Well, I think vulnerability is probably the biggest new ingredient that I've had to mix into my life. Yeah. I mean, I think being separated from my kids forced me to relook at everything. And I think also.”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“It's the connection stuff, the painful, gritty, vulnerable connection stuff. Painful. Yeah, you know, I mean, like I tell my kids now, you know, I mean, I hope that I'm the guy that you call when something's gone wrong. You know, it's great to get the calls that you got good grades and that you, you know, you got the job you wanted and things are going well. You got a promotion. That's wonderful. But I want to be the call when something goes wrong, when someone breaks up with you and your job doesn't go the way you want it to go. To me, that connectivity at the vulnerable place is the currency that is most precious to me.”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Reflecting any glory that comes to the business, to the people who are actually making the burgers and fries, taking care of the business. And to me, whenever we, if we were to ever lose focus on burgers and fries, that would be the end of the business.”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Biggest threat to five guys. I think losing focus on the basics of burgers and fries, thinking that we're something other than being burgers and fries, that laser focused on making the best burger you could for your mom. I mean, that has got to be at the center of who we are and what we're about. Treating each other like family and realizing that it's the human beings who are in the store fundamentally, that to me was the biggest inversion from banking. Banking was, it felt like to me, a very primadonna-ish business where very individual accomplishment and you could get ultimately get paid by moving from one shop to another and taking credit for work you might not have been 100% responsible for. And this business, it's all about reflection.”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“but to some degree it's that position of chief execut where you need to say, wait a minute, that's the wrong business decision. And we can build a better business, be more successful by thinking not about next quarter.”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“It has been for us. I've been involved in private equity investments. There certainly is a place for that. And I'm not saying you can't be successful in those environments. It's really worked for us to be able to focus on an indefinite time horizon and doing the right thing today. I mean, ultimately, private equity wants you to do the right thing today. And whether it plays out next month, next week, next quarter, I think sometimes the interpretation of the urgency of the investment window can be misinterpreted to make urgent decisions rather than the right decisions. And I think it's up to some degree, it's up to the chief exec to say, wait a minute, you're all focused on the wrong thing just right now. We could do this, which is going to make more quarterly earnings next quarter. And I'll make my budget, but the right decision is to invest in the medium term, long term, and here's why. So I think there is a lot.”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Quarterly earnings report is not a pressure for me at all. The family meets every Tuesday and talks about the future of the business. I meet with Charles on a monthly basis to review the property and the pricing and the positioning of the brand. And those conversations would be different with a different structure for sure.”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Paid the premium to buy a 10,000 square foot property on the Champs-lys ⁇ e and between the Louis Vuitton corporate headquarter and the Abercrombie and Fitch Global Flagship Store. And there's five guys. It's amazing. It's probably the most high-profile visible five guys apart from the one that's in the Dubai Mall. So that property strategy was definitely influenced by the structure of the deal, taking those high investment property decisions to reposition the brand as premium as we could get it.”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Well, I mean, of course, my experience is incredibly biased because all I've ever known is the company-owned model. And so the franchise model is genius, and it really works and there's a power to it, and you can become really strong as a franchise and franchised business. It's really worked well for us. We wrote, whenever you form a company and whenever you form a joint venture, you kind of have all these rules and governance and how to make decisions. We've never even referred to it once over the past 12 years. So having nothing but building a profitable business has been fantastic for me as a chief exec because I knew that my shareholders were completely aligned. And we would never have made the decisions that we did, particularly from a property perspective, without being a joint venture. As a franchisee, you wouldn't have”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And we should be able to adapt for the customer because they're human beings who actually view customer service as not having to speak. I really just want to stay in my own world and press a button and get exactly what I want. And we should be responsive to that.”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“No, I mean, technology is part of the solution. It certainly, I mean, and actually probably your phone is already there. And there's got to be a way to make this communication tool that you already have in your hand hooked up to an effective way inside the restaurant. Now, more and more young people expect technology to be part of their journey and their securing of the things that they want and need. But there are also people who are completely opposed to that. We are a very analog brand in that sense. I think that there's.”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Does someone want to be checked back on? So if someone's sitting there eating their food, they're kind of like, one of the things we talk about is first mover advantage. You should have your head on a swivel looking around for people who are looking for a solution to a problem with their meal. I'm sure you've had that. We're like, you know, I'd like some extra topping or sauce or something, and you can't get anybody's attention. And so teaching someone how to be in tune with a customer who's looking for help. And that's very culturally dependent. Someone can communicate that very differently in the different markets.”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“No, first of all, I think I'm responsible for Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, UK. And in each market has a little different national temperament. In figuring out what constitutes good customer service is a bit of a nuanced thing in each given market.”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I didn't often. It was kind of in my don't micromanage. It was just kind of like, you know, people will come to me if they need to. And I think that probably was wrong. And saying, look, we're going to have a dedicated time. And really, I don't like fill out a form where you did well in this and poorly in that. I don't do that. But I sit and say, let's talk about what worked and what didn't, both from chance for you to tell me what didn't work, but also for us to talk about what didn't go right and worked this year for you. And what do we do to fix that? How do we make it better? So I think having a set time to talk about that actually is a good idea. And I've taken that up somewhat reluctantly, but now enthusiastically.”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Exactly. Well, business shouldn't be an homage to an individual, right? I mean, we're about perfect burgers and fries, hungry customers, clean restaurants, customer service, and that's really simple. I mean, it's not a, and if any of us isn't the right human being to fill the function that we're supposed to be performing, we all should raise our hand and say, you know, it's probably not me anymore.”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I think publicly owning your shit is really helpful in that way. So showing up at the next meeting and go, hey, you know what? I said this at the last meeting, and that was just really wrong. It was off. I was off my game, or I didn't think it through. And it should be the opposite. It should be the opposite of that. showing that you can. Respond to that kind of challenge, I think, is important as a leader. And then you give everybody else permission to do the same thing. You can change your mind. You're allowed to change your mind. You're allowed to be wrong as a fallible human being too. And confessing that is powerful.”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Are these emperor has no clothes where the most important powerful person in business has blind spots that everybody knows about and somehow you work around? And that's just hugely dangerous as a business. And having people who can come into your office and go, John, that comment was just way out of line or really unhelpful. You now have people thinking like this. Is that what you wanted? So people who can confront power with truth. And to me, that kind of culture is hugely important to a company because you can go so wrong with the emperor has no clothes and people thinking, God, we know this. We just can't tell him to that person.”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, Julie tells me when Julie, my head of ops. She comes in and says, yeah, you really fucked up that meeting. But actually having somebody who to me, one of the worst things that can happen.”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“No, for sure. Yeah, that was a defining moment. But now the thing about five guys is that we have these 8,600 people who get up every morning and have this shared vision mission to make great burgers and fries for hungry customers. And I get to be a part of that. And I get to be a part of this larger community that has winning in business feels fantastic, right? I mean, it's a real high. It's a drug. It's an addiction. And being a part of a community that's accomplishing this thing, we were the eighth fastest growing business in 2016, I think, in the UK, and the fastest growing food and beverage business. And even with that, we never met a budget that I had made. So we were. Fastest, but still behind by my mind. Being a part of this community that shares our values and that are all working towards us is.”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Being able to connect with that person in that moment of loss is hugely valuable as a company, but hugely meaningful to me as a human being. And I wouldn't have been able to do that if I hadn't been through the loss that I had experienced. So it's one of those things where you end up being grateful for the most upsetting things that happen in your life because I think they're the making of you in many ways.”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“No, I think that's absolutely right. I think the other thing is that realizing that I believe our purpose in life is human connection. I think that's why we're here. I think we're made to connect. And sometimes we're colliding more than connecting, but figuring out how to connect with other human beings. And I will say that was the making of me in being able to when someone comes into my office and says, you know, I've lost my partner. They passed away way before their time.”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“It helped me to see the world in two camps. One are things that I can control and some things that I absolutely can't control. And if you spend, if you allocate your mental health and your time on the things that you can't control, you can drive yourself to distraction and eventually madness. So being able to focus on the things that you can control and realizing that that's your job. Your job as a human is to do the things that you can control. And if you, you know, it's just arrogance and ignorance to focus on the things that you can't control. And so identify those two camps and being at peace with that, accepting that you camp some things you can't control. That's really hard, but it's hugely important.”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Now we're getting very personal, even, but I believe in a higher power. I don't pretend to understand it, but I think there's something much more powerful than I am in the world. And what I will say is that”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“No, of course. I told you I got up at 5 a.m. when I was a kid and practice violin for an hour before school. And I was never a great musician. But what I did find was that if you did something every day, you actually could get better at it. Maybe even more than competent. And I think it was something like that that just in me said, you know, get out of bed, do the next thing. things will change. I called a friend of mine who'd been through a similar situation. And he said, you know, just keep showing up. Texting my son every day, calling every day, being as present as I possibly could. And obviously it's imperfect. And it's deeply upsetting. I'm sure to them as well as to me. But doing it as much as you possibly can to be available and in touch. And then you just have to trust something that it'll be okay.”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, exactly. So it felt like a catch 22. They were allowed to leave, but I had to. Being able to focus on the important job that I had actually was enormously relieving because I knew that for, you know, 10 hours a day, 12 hours a day, whatever it ended up being that I could actually do something productive that I knew I was good at that made a difference for them and that was the anxiety of being separated I could set aside for those hours in a day. And that was really helpful. It could have absorbed just kind of overwhelmed me, but work was able to, it was a place where I could escape from that.”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Well, I mean, it was really complex for me because I had to non-compete back in the US for the business that I had sold. So I couldn't just relocate back to America and do my job. So it felt like a huge Catch 22 because I had these court-ordered financial obligations. And the only way that I could really fulfill them was to keep doing my job here.”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“That's part of the UK challenge. It took years, a better part of two years were in that process. And then trying to rebuild those relationships. And thankfully, I'm in an amazing place with my kids now and have accepted that we have had a more adult relationship prematurely. But now that they're both at university and feels more normal now. And those are hard fought, hard-won recast relationships, which are important to me. But I was the thought that they were at risk was Cause just enormous anxiety in living with that kind of anxiety on the personal side having a place where things were more predictable was in being able to work in that way and provide for them was a real Really helped me through”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“These things are who I am, and essentially all of that was quite a large bonfire of vanities. And that was a real dark, dark moment for me. And there were days when five guys was the one thing in my life that was stable and that I could hold on to. And that really pulled me through a very difficult, dark time personally.”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Well, I went through a very painful divorce and went through something called leave to remove, which I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. Essentially, it's the right to have your children taken out of the country. So I had two young children who the court system approved leave to remove, which allowed my ex to take my kids back to America, which was incredibly painful. And my whole view of myself, my definition of who I was, changed. I thought of myself as a great partner, good husband, good father, devoted father. I was in politics back in America, was involved in my community and church leader and businessman. And I thought, you know, all”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“If someone's in distress in a crew, the shift will suffer and you have to take care of that person who's in distress and understand them and see what it takes to build them back up and to provide them the support and security to be effective in their job.”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Satisfaction that I'm looking for from the job of chief exec. My dad was a psychiatrist and was obviously clearly focused on mental health and well-being. And from a chemical perspective and realizing that whatever chemical, I mean, obviously I'm sure he did important work in that regard. But you can at work you have the ability to either build up or tear down someone's mental health and being able to provide an environment where someone's mental health is protected and perhaps even tended to I think is a powerful thing for me as a leader. And what I see is that approach carrying out throughout the business.”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Those human beings, my view is that if I can take care of those human beings, they'll do their job and take care of their human beings. So recognizing that it's not all dollars and pounds and pence, it's not all KPIs that you can manage. It's not quarterly earnings. It's the human beings. And if you focus on them, particularly on the vulnerable moments when they're most upset, when they're most at risk and being able to say, yeah, take a week. What you need as a human being is important for the business because I need you. I need your professional acumen, but I need it focused. So being sure that they're all right in those moments, I think is a... Gives me”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“It's interesting, you know, the moments that I consider to be the most intense and the most rewarding as a leader are the human ones where because I'm CEO, people have to explain what's going on in their lives. And those moments are just rich. Gold for me as a human being, where someone comes to me and says, you know, I've got a parent who's suffering from dementia. I have to spend some time looking after that. Or, you know, I've had a loss and I've got to figure out, you know, how to manage that loss. And those human connection points are, and actually that kind of feeds back into our family value, where we, and as a CEO, I have a smaller direct report community that I have to take care of.”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I'm sure I do all those things. I'm sure I don't keep calm all the time. And that's okay. Just as we in the business try to keep things simple, focus on burgers and fries, I think there's keeping focused on just a few things and picking the couple of dials that will determine whether you survive, whether you live or die, and whether you win or lose. And hopefully picking those right things to focus on, I think is. The way I try and manage myself as a CEO, I think.”
2022-08-11 · The Diary of a CEO · Building A Business Empire WITHOUT ANY Marketing: Five Guys CEO: John Eckbert · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT