ARJUN:
Blaine, as I look at your 25 years of incredible success, and your ability to build amazing teams, I see a common theme. You did not take the path which was already there. You chose paths of success to breakthrough innovation, and each innovation changed not only the direction of those brands, but also the industry forever. So let me ask you, what is your secret to finding new, big breakthrough innovation opportunities?
BLAINE:
I think it starts with not liking things the way they are. I always want to figure out a better way to do things. I hate inefficiencies, I hate things that don't work. I am wired to be dissatisfied with everything, so maybe that's the key to it. But it really starts with how you figure out “what do you do?” It starts with listening and asking, listening, asking, listening, asking. We spend a lot of time in consumer research. You do all this work and that's very valuable for big brands, but I actually think it's okay to put yourself in the perspective of the consumer and say, "What don't I like about this? Why is this hard and what could I do to change it?"
I think the really hard part though, is deciding what matters. There are a lot of good ideas out there, but figuring out which one will make a difference is one of the hardest things to do. I'm not always sure we get it right, but when we do, it actually does work for the consumer.
I think the next step is to “architect your vision”. It's not simply "Let's draw something on a piece of paper." It's really taking the time to think it through. What is going to make a difference for the consumer, our associate, or whomever is the target of the effort. For the consumer for example, what is going to matter to them. How does it affect their customer journey? Does it matter for them? How does it fit into the total experience? Does it have real value for them? Coming up with a vision first, then architecting a solution that works that is complete enough to drive our future thinking and planning, is so important.
But in end, I’ve seen way too many projects fail because the team does a lot of “architecting”, but fail to get to doing the real work. I like to say the better way is to “architect a little, work like hell”. I don’t think we can ever develop a perfect vision or a perfect architecture. So developing early prototypes, beta systems and processes allow us to learn before we make too many big mistakes. We learn and listen and then iterate again.
There's this old saying, "Don't boil the ocean." I add a little twist to that. I say, "Don't boil the ocean, but start with a cup of tea." Because I think sometimes, we get so caught up in the big vision, we don't learn along the journey and this iterative process of starting out with that vision, prototyping, testing, and iterating. That's how it really works. I don't see how you can pull it off without following some process like that.
But, by far and away the most difficult and important step is figuring out what matters.
ARJUN:
At what point do you realize you pushed just enough on the risk scale? How far do you go to really make this a breakthrough idea instead of going from iPhone 11 to iPhone 11.1? How do you take it to iPhone 14, iPhone 15? How do you take it to the edge?
BLAINE:
Obviously, I know nothing about how Apple works, but we did do a lot of work with them. I think for the projects we have been on, there is this iterative process of continuing to make it better. In that process, you're always looking for steps of innovation that are major jumps. There's that creative spark. I can't do what marketing people can do, but what I can do is listen to their advice and counsel, because there are people who have that creative spark that can see two or three steps in advance. I don't think that's something that you can programmatically achieve, but it's about the people you surround yourself with.
It's about the people that are on your team, it's about the consumer you interact with, and it's always listening to off-the-wall ideas. Great ideas are not born simply because I listen to "How do I make it 10% better?" It's the crazy idea where you go, "Huh? That won't work. Wait, 20% of that will work. Well, maybe 30. Or maybe we can get 80% of the way there." And it's those breakthroughs that don't necessarily come from you. If you're a leader, you're not going to have all the ideas. It’s literally about listening to the people that are on your team, your customers that are part of the group that you're targeting. It always just goes back to listen, ask, listen.
ARJUN:
In the path of innovation, everything is unknown. How do you build the right team that will take the brand to the goal of breakthrough innovation?
BLAINE:
Building the team is probably the most important step and probably the most challenging step. I think, first and foremost, you must unbind your team. The only boundaries are the mission objectives rules (other than legal, regulatory and ethical). If they're the innovation team or a team focused on innovation, you've got to take constraints off. I did some work when I was at the Center for Information Technology Planning the Development back in the eighties. We studied projects all around the country. What we found is that any project that was labeled a strategic project failed. You say, “why is that?” It's because the people who are assigned to the team tended to represent their departments, particularly in large companies, versus making an absolute commitment to the mission. They often operated with department level constraints and thinking. I believe it's critical that the core team understands there are no bounds in pursuit of the mission, there are no sacred cows. We can work through anything. We can try anything, experiment, learn, as long as it's in pursuit of the mission.
It’s starts with getting a group of people who are fully committed to the mission. And that starts with a clear definition of what the mission is and then releasing team to achieve more than they think is possible. Of course, it includes failure. We all know that failure is part of any innovation. But I actually believe there is smart failure, which is failure in aggressive pursuit of a mission, and then there's dumb failure, which often occurs because we aren’t taking time to think, we’re representing our department, protecting our turf, being overly cautious… That type of failure is simply not acceptable.
Finally, I think there is no such thing as a perfect team. I have never worked with a team that could do everything. It's actually taking that imperfect team and helping them to accomplish more than what seems possible. Take Brad, who worked for me for years. I call him the fastest person to 80%. A lot of people didn't understand what I saw in Brad, because he wasn't the finisher. He didn't button everything up nice and perfectly. What he did was find a way to break through any obstacle and get things going and get things started. I can work with that.
When I think about my team at the Shepherd Hotel and the restaurant that we're working on for that, it will be comprised of 50% people with what I call “special gifts.” Because it's finding the gift in those individuals and figuring out how to deploy that gift in a way that accomplishes the mission. That's the most important thing I can do in my role. I think that's so true with everybody, with every team, because there is no such thing as a perfect team.
ARJUN:
Blaine, how did the COVID pandemic change or does it change in this current world of innovation?
BLAINE:
I think that innovation is actually the same, but what’s changed is what matters. I go back to the earlier discussion. The world has changed. It used to be all about on-premise dining in most of the restaurant world. It used to be "How do I make my dining rooms fancy, have high-end design?" All that probably still matters, but not as much as my sense of feeling safe as a consumer. Design doesn't matter as much as the delivered quality of my food. For example, delivery in many restaurants used to be just a small piece of the business. Today, it's a huge piece. How do I think about my menu in a different way that actually enables higher quality delivery of the food?
It’s not about the innovation process. It’s what we prioritize. We have to rethink what matters to the guest today and in the future. I often say no one likes change except a wet baby. But a crisis changes things and we have no choice but to change with it.
So how do we adapt to that change? How do you win post-COVID? It's about rapid innovation. It's about quick thinking. We know the world has changed. There’s a percentage of consumers working from home that's never worked from home in the past. Some people might think, "Well, wait a minute, that'll all be over, right?” I don't know, consumers develop habits and once those habits are set, they don't change them very frequently. There will be a few people who will go back to their old ways, but most people are thinking about the world differently. We have to rethink as brand managers, as leaders. What matters now is different. So that’s the central question, “What matters now?”
ARJUN:
Looking at that, as we get to the new evolution, what are the most important traits in a leader and do any of those change as we evolve to a newer world?
BLAINE:
I don't know important leadership traits change, at least in my mind, because they've always been important. Perhaps some are even more critical. I talked earlier about being dissatisfied. I think as an organization, we need to create that culture of dissatisfaction, where people are saying, "Whatever we're doing today isn’t good enough. We can do better." Part of that is that constant ongoing innovation - because again, there are a limited number of breakthrough ideas that matter, but there are a lot of small ideas that actually matter over time. This culture of dissatisfaction, where we're never satisfied with anything, is very important. Great leaders create that culture, know or figure out what matters, and are able to separate what's important from what's just a good idea. Funding, leading, setting up the charge, creating the teams around what matters, is a core characteristic of a great leader today and in the future.
Again, it’s crucial to understand that we don't have perfect teams and hence we must find the gifts in others. What are they good at? How do I deploy my resources? Just because I have a title or one of my team members has a title doesn't mean we’re the right person for that particular job; it's better to understand people at a deeper level than simply a resume level.
One of my favorite little books is called Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun. In it, one of Attila's “rules” is that a chieftain of Huns keeps their head when everyone around them is losing theirs. He was obviously talking about getting your head chopped off, but he's also talking about being cool, calm, and collected. Leaders have to be fearless, particularly in times like today. You've got to be fearless in leading because it is so easy to think, overthink, double think, triple think and in a COVID world, there's no time. In a post COVID world, there's still no time if we want to drive innovation. A great leader isn’t just fearless. They find a way to make their team fearless as well. A leader’s success is defined by their ability to lead their team to the edge and bring everyone along. I'm not suggesting we aren't thoughtful and look at risks and manage those risks, but we must have confidence to keep moving forward regardless of those risks
I see a lot of folks who are extremely smart and gifted, but don’t accomplish a lot. They are often the smartest person in the room. They see every problem and have a solution to most of them. But they still don’t accomplish a lot.
One of my most proud moments was in the early days at Panera. I was an EVP, Chief Transformation and Growth Officer. That was a pretty cool title. People always asked me what it meant, and I could make up pretty much anything to fit the moment, because it meant all kinds of things. One day, in a meeting our CEO said, "Blaine, I think we should change your title”. I thought, uh-oh, but he continued” to Executive Vice President of Getting Shit Done." For me, a leader isn't someone who just talks about what they're going to do or has all these great ideas. A leader is someone who sets that course, gets the team in place, and then gets shit done. And in the world of COVID and post-COVID, time for talk has passed. Time for getting shit done is here.
ARJUN:
I’ve been fortunate to work for you during the Papa John's journey. You helped us all understand, "Hey, there's a time to celebrate, but let's not stay there for too long. Let's move forward because there are bigger challenges to overcome in the future." You saw that leadership starts with creating the crew culture, where we look at people beyond their resumes to understand them.
When you look back, is there one person or thing that inspired you the most in your journey? How did that impact you?
BLAINE:
It would have to be a person. My grandmother. But you have to understand who she was. She was born in the southern hills of Kentucky in the early 1900's. When she was 12 years old, her parents were both killed in a farming accident. She raised her younger siblings for a few years before somebody in the family agreed to take them in. She knew to get out of poverty she needed an education. So she hitchhiked on a mule-pulled mail wagon to Berea, Kentucky. She got her education. And along the way, she met my grandfather. They eventually became pastors of a small church in a little town in Indiana. Over the next 40 years. The church grew to be one of the largest in the state. She had a tremendous impact on the world around her. She had committed to a mission and made a choice to do whatever it took. After she retired, she went to work at a Kentucky Fried Chicken at a truck stop on Interstate 70, one of the main interstates across the nation. She became so popular with the truck drivers as they were coming through, they would literally stop in to see her, which made the owners happy because they would get diesel fuel when they stopped to see Grandma.
The NBC affiliate in Indianapolis did a special on her, and the Indianapolis newspaper did a feature on her, because of the impact she had on people. She treated people the same. It didn't matter what color skin, what gender, she loved people just the way they were. To give you an idea of her impact, when she passed, eighteen-wheelers dropped their trailers and joined in her funeral possession.
Grandma was a smart lady but she didn’t know her full impact on everybody she encountered throughout her life. Years later, I still get notes and emails from people reaching out saying, “I just wanted to tell you about your grandma, and how she changed my life.” She lived her life in commitment to the mission she had chosen. She worked at that truck stop until about six months before she died at the age of 91. Why? It wasn't the job. It was her mission to be there for people and to help them with their struggles. Grandma inspired me more than anybody.
ARJUN:
It was not a job. It was her mission to be there for others to the age of 91. What an inspiration she was. Now you are working on this fascinating project, the Shepherd Hotel, as an investor and advisor. What got you so excited about this project in Clemson, South Carolina?
BLAINE:
Now that I've retired and I have a little more time to think about what I want to do, I think we all have something to give. And as I look around the world today and I see some of the strife, I think, “We all own this. We can all make a difference in the world.” I was excited about this project because my son is special, and has special gifts. David has been an inspiration for me for many years. The hotel employs people like him. I thought, this is something I can help with, and a way to give back. When I decided to retire, I knew I could contribute some ideas and experience, as well as contribute financially.
On September 1st, 2019, I had a major, freakish jet ski accident. I ended up in the hospital for 30 days. I was airlifted out of the lake. I broke 27 bones and suffered multiple internal injuries. Today I'm back out on jet skis. The doctors are amazed at my recovery. Let me tell you something I learned while I was lying in that hospital. What matters isn't just success we want to attain in business. It's success in life. That doesn't mean I didn't always know that, but it wasn’t a portion of my life that I gave enough to.
So, when I saw this opportunity, I knew I had to be a part of this. And I want to be a part of it in a way that matters, not just something that I can list on my resume. I love it, it's a fabulous project. Our partners in this work include Dabo Swinney who's the football coach at Clemson, and the ALL-IN Foundation and Clemson Life, which brings students to campus who have these special gifts and enrolls them as part of the student population, which is a fabulous program. So being affiliated with people like that, to me, it's the next step in my life.
ARJUN:
Thank you for sharing that. I’d like to ask you about your signature line in your email, where you talk about run the race with joy. What’s the story behind that?
BLAINE:
When I talk about innovation, I typically talk about six steps to innovate. The final step has always been “run the race with joy.” Why is that? Because there are challenges all along the way. We all face challenges. Whether it's at work or home or balancing priorities, those things drive innovation.
David is blind in one eye and has type one diabetes. He has virtually no speech communication and gross motor skill problems. When David was in high school, he wanted to compete in a sport. The best spot we could find for him was cross-country. So David ran with the cross-country team. His goal was to finish a race. Just one race.
About midway through the season, I was in Boston and I received a call from my wife saying David finished his first race. He achieved his goal. As the season continued, sometimes he finished a race, sometimes he didn’t, but he kept running. Then at the end of the season, he wanted to run in the regional. I'm thinking, most of these kids are running this race in 25 to 28 minutes, it's a 5k up and down hills, and David’s personal best is close to double that. My wife said, " David wants to run. Don't let your pride get in the way."
So David ran the race. Standing at the finish line, we watched all the other kids finish the race, but David’s still out on the course. They begin dismantling everything, the stanchions, the finish line; but then there was a crackle on the walkie-talkie and I heard “runner still on course.” I knew it was David. The person who organized the event literally set the finish line back up and called people back. About fifteen minutes later, I saw David coming out of the trees with this big smile on his face. He had finished the race. I hugged him. We were in tears.
I walked up to the race official and thanked him for resetting the finish line and calling everyone back. He said “it’s just what we do in cross-country”. I then walked over to the person driving the gator. He had followed David the entire race. I said, "Sir, I just want to thank you, and apologize for you having to stay on the course so long following my son." He looked up at me with a tear in his eye and said, "Sir, you don't understand. This was one of the best days of my life." I said, "Huh?" He said, "I watched your son stumble, fall, and get back up. I watched your son run the entire race dead last. I watched every challenge that could be, but he wouldn’t quit. He would literally get up, look at me with a big smile on his face and turn right back around and start running. When we ran past people along the way he would wave and smile. Your son ran the race with joy."
I think we often get so tied up in what we're doing, that we fail to see joy in along the way. Whether we're falling or failing, winning or losing, I want to run the race with joy. It’s positive thinking. It's not about the concern for the failures of today, (that’s just learning). It doesn’t mean we don’t get angry, or sad, or disappointed. But rather, it's all about what's in our heads and how we express it to the people around us. It’s a choice. It's about the joy of moving forward. It’s finding joy in the journey and the people we are on the journey with. Otherwise, what’s the point.
ARJUN:
This really resonates with me, Blaine. I'm a cancer survivor. I had a commitment to run a race myself. It was a marathon. Of course, like an angel, my daughter Raka was there to cheer me on. I was in pain, but finishing was important. Your story about David is very humbling to me because my race was all about me. Get through the pain, get across the finish line, and get my picture taken. At no point did I think about anybody else who was there, whose energy was getting me forward. But David was literally sharing his profuse joy with every person around. I’m so glad I asked you the question. As you said, “run the race with joy” is an attitude, but it’s also how you impact everyone else in that journey.
Now let’s look back to you when you were not much older than David in that story. If Blaine today, with the wisdom he has acquired, could give advice to Blaine when he was just starting his career, what would you tell him?
BLAINE:
I know myself. I know I work hard, I care passionately, and I have persistence. Those are all great skills. But the one thing I would tell that young Blaine is you can do more than you think and to always operate with courage. There are really great innovators and people who do make a difference. What every one of them has in common is courage. It is not just about being smart. It's about having the courage to take a step out there, regardless of what other people think.
I'm very introverted by nature. That affects me every day of my life. When I ask myself who I respect the most, all of those people have great courage regardless of what's going on. So I would say to young Blaine, always operate with courage. You can do more than you think.
ARJUN:
Every leader I talk to has their own individual process and a plan. I find that success that has a process or a plan can be repeated. But as you mentioned earlier, if you fail, you can go back and tweak it and come out as a big winner. So let’s talk about your process. When you start your day, what's the first thing you do? And what is the last thing you do when you finish your day?
BLAINE:
The first thing that I see on my screen every morning and the last thing before I go to bed as I check email or texts or whatever is the picture of David running the race with joy. So I start my day with, “Okay, Blaine, can you run the race with joy today?” That’s number one.
Number two, I don't believe in patterns. I think absolute habits get in the way of mega success. It's just amazing to me. We can get so locked into our patterns that we forget to innovate. We don't see the opportunities for innovation because of absolute habits. That's not something I'm actually good at. I used to think that made me a bad person. Now, it’s sort of like take it or leave it. That's who I am.
But I do start every morning with, “What do I want to get done today? What do I want to accomplish?” Then my question is, “How does it align with what matters?” In my case, that would be my personal and professional priorities. So, what do I want to get done and how does it align? I always start with that.
Then the last thing is, “Did I accomplish whatever it was that I set out to do? If I didn't accomplish it, why?” Maybe I ran out of time. Maybe one of the projects took too long. Oftentimes I find it wasn't really important. As I mentioned earlier, it’s learning what matters. It’s separating what matters from just a good idea.
Here's an example that is not work-related. I have a lake house. I've been so intent at times on making the lake house the way I wanted, I have forgotten the reason why. When people come to visit, I think, “you are interrupting my work on the lake house.” I had to think, “What is more important?” I'm retired so this is a choice I can make. Is it more important for me to get the work done at the lake house, or to enjoy friends and family and to help make sure they enjoy their time here at the lake? Because what really matters for me isn't how nice the lake house is. What really matters is the relationships I get to build with people that perhaps I have not had the opportunity to do in the past. That's what I mean about what matters. What are your priorities? If you don't start with that in mind, I don't see how you get much accomplished at all.
ARJUN:
Thank you, Blaine. You shared with us are some incredible nuggets, but I think the phrase you shared repeatedly in the conversation, about “knowing what matters”, was your personal gift to me. I love the idea “Keep your eye on what matters, because if you don’t know that, you're prioritizing against a moving target, and it doesn't work”. Thank you again!