When David Novak became CEO of Yum! For the brand, he had a simple but ambitious mission: to foster a unified and prosperous organizational culture. The secret to achieving this, he believed, was to study and replicate the successes of top performers.
In recent episodes, Corporate Competitors PodcastNovak, CEO of the Year in 2012, reflected on his efforts to increase cohesion across Yum. Manage the brand globally while respecting the individuality of each franchise. “We really felt that we should have one culture around the world and within each of our brands,” said Novak, whose company is the parent company of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. “We felt that our brand differentiation should be celebrated, but how we collaborate and how we win together should be the same. What we had to do was come up with an approach that made sense for each brand.”
To accomplish this, Novak and his team looked at the best-performing KFC franchises to determine what makes them great. “We researched the best restaurant managers,” Novak said. “We investigated their working conditions.”
His team then applied the lessons learned to create a cultural framework that could be implemented globally. “We didn't just stick it on the wall and laminate it,” Novak explained. “We went out and learned what it means to believe in everyone, what it means to be customer focused, what accountability means, what it means to have positive energy, what teamwork really means. We trained people all over the world to do this. We trained people in specific exercises to help them understand why this is so important.”
During the podcast, Novak also shared other important insights about leadership, including:
• The importance of adaptability. As he grew, Novak moved frequently to new environments, which taught him the importance of learning quickly and building relationships, skills he now applies in welcoming and supporting new team members.
• Impact of the “Taking People with You” leadership program. Novak developed this initiative to help over 4,000 people understand leadership concepts and create actionable business growth plans.
• Lifelong learning and mentoring. Novak emphasized that even the best leaders must continue to grow and share knowledge to foster collective success.
The foundation of Novak's leadership philosophy is the belief that success is multiplied by sharing. He consistently challenged his team to avoid knowledge hoarding and focus on building a culture of openness and collaboration.
“What do you do?” asked Novak. “Are you going to hoard it? Are you going to keep this to yourself? Or are you going to go back and share it with everyone and let people know what you learned?”
Novak's episode is a masterclass in creating alignment within diverse organizations and ensuring success in team efforts. Listen to his full story Learn how to foster a winning culture across your team.
