This is a story about a banana.
It is early 1995. I am traveling to Las Vegas to attend a national strategic planning conference for the Cozumel’s Coastal Mexican Grill restaurant division of Brinker International. I depart Memphis, Tennessee, where I am the General Manager for the third restaurant in Brinker’s newest chain.
I change planes at Dallas Fort Worth Airport, and as typical, walk to the Barnes & Noble Bookstore. In the front of the store is a stack of books from a new author, James C. “Jim” Collins. The title is Built to Last. I am headed to a strategic planning conference, so it is the subtitle that catches my interest — Successful Habits of Visionary Companies. This looks like the perfect book to read on the plane.
The next morning I head downstairs to our meeting room. I like to be early, so I can sit up front and center — a habit I bring from my time in the Army. I enter our room, set my journal on a table, and walk to the breakfast table. I grab coffee, a banana, and a knife.
I like bananas, but I am picky. I like firm bananas with green on the top. So, of course, the knife is to cut the top off the banana. I return to my table and begin to do just that when Kenny Dennis walks over to me and takes the knife out of my hand. Kenny and I are the only ones in the room. I say, “Kenny, I was an Army Ranger, but you have nothing to fear from this plastic butter knife.”
Ken is our Senior Vice President for Operations of the Cozymel’s division. He will later be Division President.
He smiles and asks, “What did you do last night? Did you win any money?”
I grinned and said, “No, but I saved a lot. Kenny, I am not a good gambler and I have two kids with college funds.”
“So, what did you do?”
“I read a book.”
“Really? We bring you all the way to Las Vegas, the gambling capital of the world, and you’re telling me you stayed in your room and read a book?”
“Yep.”
“What book?”
“One I picked up at DFW airport.”
“What’s the title? What’s it about?”
I come to the meeting room early so I can grab breakfast and a cup of coffee and get settled before the group arrives, and now I am getting grilled by our SVP.
“Kenny, the book is titled Built to Last. It’s a new bestseller written by two Stanford authors, Jim Collins and Jerry Porras. They talk about the characteristics of durable companies that break out from the pack. They write about the importance of companies having a clearly defined Core Ideology comprised of Core Values + Purpose. They say core values are the guiding principles. The purpose is the reason why a company exists beyond just profit.”
“What else?”
I continue, “They introduce a new term to me — BHAGs, Big Hairy Audacious Goals. These are huge challenges, not typical goals.”
“Sounds like you like the book.”
I keep going. “Two more things. When we have the right core ideology, the right culture, succession planning is key. It’s the continuity of good leadership that preserves the core. Continuous improvement is critical, as they say, ‘Good Enough Never Is.’”
“Steve, yesterday when I arrived at DFW airport, I also went to the Barnes & Noble bestsellers section. I saw stacks of the new books and grabbed the second copy of Built to Last. You must have gotten the first. And I also stayed in my room so I could finish the book last night. What did you think about the section on Clock-Building versus Time-Telling?”
I explain, “It reminds me of what you told me when we first met. It’s not enough to be good leaders. We must build a great company. We must focus on the long term.”
“Steve, here is what I want to do. We are going to change today’s agenda. You and I are going to teach the lessons from Built to Last.”
He turned to bring a flip chart to the table so we could sketch an outline of the day’s program. I grabbed my knife so I could eat my banana. Kenny took it away from me for the second time.
“Steve, I also like green bananas, but don’t you know you can always peel a banana if you just flip it around?”
He then turns the banana the opposite way, easily peels it, and eats my banana.
As I walk back to the breakfast table, I realize this is an epiphany for me. How many other things in my life do I only view from one direction? What if I turn around my challenges and view them from a different direction?
This was a powerful lesson I learned from a great man. Unfortunately, it was one of the few I had from Kenny. He died a few years later from glioblastoma, an incurable brain cancer. Ken Dennis lived a great life and made a huge impact on many others, including me.
