Ron Shaich

And so I tell it by way of a story.

I was in Vegas speaking, I don't know, a couple of years ago.

And I walk through the casino at 1130 and I see folks dumping chips into these slot machines.

And I think to myself, Ron, the only way I'd ever be in a casino at 11 p.m.

is if I owned the casino and had the house vague.

It's the same exact thing for me when I think about business.

If I don't have a better competitive alternative, if I don't have the house vague,

This is an ugly business and I don't want to be in it.

What I've come to know and what I'm trying to make sure your listeners hear loud and clear is that what matters more than anything else is genuinely having a concept, a vehicle, a business that in whatever your mini market is, the physical one mile or the nation if it's real estate, whatever it might be, that you're the best alternative.

When you have that, then you have the possibility of growing and building something of scale.

Totally.

Concept essence was what we started every business and every business we're in today.

And we should talk about the multiple businesses we're in today.

Every business that we're in starts with a concept of essence document.

What is a concept of essence document?

It's essentially a script for regional theater.

Think of it this way.

If you're in a multi-unit business, I'm running thousands of regional theater shows that are performing 18 hours a day.

And so what is that script?

What is the aesthetic of the environment?