Investor's Business Daily, June 15th, 2007
As a young man, Jim Cheatham worked with three of the most prominent business leaders of the 20th century.
He learned lessons from each of them about entrepreneurial success that still resonate today.
In the mid-1960s, Cheatham moved to Memphis, Tenn., to join Holiday Inn. As the hotel chain grew, Cheatham served as its marketing director.
Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, author of the classic book "The Power of Positive Thinking," gave frequent seminars in Memphis. Cheatham befriended the famous clergyman.
"He taught me about imaging -- of seeing myself as a success and then working toward that image," said Cheatham, CEO of the Lionshare Group, a business advisory firm in Tampa, Fla. "Thanks to Peale, I developed a mantra of 'round-the-clock urgency' to excel."
At Holiday Inn, the founder and chairman -- Kemmons Wilson -- became Cheatham's mentor.
"I'd marvel at how he reduced complex things and made them simple," Cheatham said. When the owner of a tree-removal business sought Wilson as an investor, Cheatham admired Wilson's blunt but polite response, "We're not in the landscaping business. We're in the hotel business. We'll stick to what we know."
Through a colleague, Cheatham met Dave Thomas, Wendy's founder. At first, Cheatham thought, "All this world needs is another burger chain." But Thomas won him over by training Cheatham in the kitchen of the original Wendy's in Columbus, Ohio.
"He created a production line to build burgers," Cheatham said. "Instead of an approach where the burgers were pre-made and sitting under a hot lamp, he devised a made-to-order system."
Cheatham moved to Atlanta in 1974. He aimed to open 20 Wendy's stores and sell them back to Thomas at five times earnings.
In 19 months, Cheatham exceeded his goal and opened 23 stores. He conquered his biggest challenge -- recruiting employees -- by coupling in-store training with two nights a week of classroom work.
"It became competitive in a fun way," Cheatham said. "Who would manage a new store? They'd vie for that honor."
One of Cheatham's hires was John Schuessler, who went on to become Wendy's chairman and CEO.
Cheatham championed a "just one more" philosophy to motivate himself and his team: always strive for just one more accomplishment.
"It boosts morale and gets everyone working together," he said. "We had 2,000 employees, and that meant 2,000 more good things would happen every day."
Cheatham got a telling reminder of this on Christmas Eve in 1975. He was driving 200 miles to visit 15 of his stores to spread holiday cheer to employees. By 10:30 p.m., he was 10 minutes from home and exhausted.
Tempted to skip a visit to his hometown Wendy's, his "just one more" rallying cry led him to stop by. The employees beamed and presented him with a Christmas stocking with "Mr. C" embroidered on it.
"It was unforgettable," he said. "I willed myself to do just one more and I'm forever glad I did."
