Panera founder says employees today aren't motivated by the idea of making money for shareholders: 'Nobody cares'
Panera/David Elmes
- The idea of making money for shareholders doesn't motivate workers, Panera founder Ron Shaich says.
- Tiktokers have been making satirical videos on that exact subject.
- Shaich says "therapists belong in the C-Suite" to help management understand employees' motivations.
High up in the business world, where decisions can be molded and shaped by the needs and demands of major investors and shareholders, it can be easy to forget that, well, most average people don't really care about that, Panera's founder said.
Tiktok users have been making popular satirical videos about that idea, joking sarcastically that they wake up every day motivated to make more money for their company's shareholders.
"I really wasn't feeling like going to work today," user @jerms.24 says in the voiceover of one of his Tiktok videos, which shows him getting ready to leave for work. "But then I remembered the shareholders. Everything had purpose again. Everything had life. I had everything I ever wanted knowing that I would be meeting the needs of the shareholders. And you know what? For me, that made it all worth it.
Another video from user @thatcorporatelawyer shows himself enthusiastically waking up and working fervently to Hilary Duff's "What Dreams are Made of," with the caption "waking up pumped and ready to make the shareholders money."
Beyond not pretending to be motivated by shareholders, some younger workers have been vocal about wanting certain changes to work culture, like a better work-life balance.
At least one founder and ex-CEO agrees that the idea of boosting shareholders' returns isn't likely to be a key motivator to workers these days. Ron Shaich, Panera Bread's founder and former longtime CEO, stressed how important it is for management and members of the C-suite to empathize with their employees and better understand what can get their buy-in to the company's mission.
"No employee ever wakes up and says, 'I'm so excited. I made another penny a share today for Panera's shareholders,'" Shaich told Business Insider in an interview. "Nobody cares. You don't care whether your CEO comes or goes."
Shaich believes that a key to good management is connecting with and understanding employees, and is a big proponent of therapy.
"I always say that therapists belong in the C-suite," Shaich wrote in his book, "Know What Matters: Lessons from a Lifetime of Transformations."
He said he's turned to therapy both in and out of the office to better understand and resolve "all kinds of delicate human conundrums."
"So much of what running a business is about is figuring out 'how do I connect with people?'" Shaich told BI. "What motivates them, and how do I help them decide to affiliate with what the mission of the enterprise is?"
Therapy, he says, is about better understanding ourselves, where we come from, and our own motivations. In turn, that can build our ability to form alliances and find commonalities with other people.
"And that makes you a much more powerful manager," Shaich said. "Every one of us brings our own humanity to it. Similarly, I think it makes us more empathetic if we start by being empathetic to ourselves and learning and thinking about ourselves. We're able to be more empathetic, not just to our team members and the people we work with, but also to our customers."
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