Synopsis
Drawing on examples from his own life and the lives of other successful people, the founder of Wendy's discusses how values based on honesty, integrity, and caring can lead to success in business and in life
Reviews
Dave Thomas, founder of the Wendy's restaurant chain, here serves up his philosophy instead of hamburgers. Basing his approach to life on a philosophy of positive thinking, honesty, hard work and contributing to the community, Thomas spins out his ideas in a friendly, good-guy format. Readers could almost close their eyes and imagine this was Norman Vincent Peale flipping hamburgers. While some may delight in The World According to Thomas, others may prefer to sink their teeth into something with more beef.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
It is quite possible that thousands of years from now, forensic cultural criticism will determine that motivational speaking and inspirational books acted upon our minds in much the same way as lead poisoning acted upon the minds of the citizens of the latter Roman Empire. First, it killed brain cells; then it killed a civilization. Now Dave (that's what he wants to be called) would take issue with this and claim that he's just offering some simple, hard-won, home-spun talk about God, honesty, and the spiritual nourishment of fast food. It's not that Dave's advice is stupid (though it is simple), and it's not that Dave's a bad guy (lotta talk about charity). It's that Dave is selling hamburgers. Now that's okay (unless you're a cow), but a cash-register makes a poor pulpit. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Riding the popularity of Dave's Way: A New Approach to Old-fashioned Success (1991), Wendy International's founder and senior chairman strikes again with this cornucopia of upbeat anecdotal and motivational reflections. Stating that this is about how success can be achieved for ordinary people through doing the right things, Thomas ruminates on a variety of topics organized under chapters entitled Faith, Discipline, Caring, Teamwork, Support, Leadership, etc. When Thomas talks about Wendy operations (for example, instead of hiring a costly market research firm to test-market a proposed taco salad, the company merely purchased chili ladles and taco chips and began selling the salads, which became a popular menu item) or discusses other aspects of his busy life (a recent operation for a benign tumor), the prose moves swiftly. But reflections and thoughts about various individuals (such as a network producer who adopted a teenager) are too short and uninvolving to make much of a mark. This is a somewhat bland mishmash of thoughts and stories penned by a successful businessperson who seems much more personable in his television advertisements. Nevertheless, because of Thomas' successful track record, this will attract readers interested in learning more about what Thomas perceives as the skills, attitudes, and values shared by successful people. Sue-Ellen Beauregard
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