A Stake In The Business - Harvard Business Review

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SKIP TO CONTENTHarvard Business Review LogoOrganizational restructuringA Stake in the Business

by Chris T. Sullivan

From the Magazine (September 2005)
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When I and three friends open-ed the first Outback Steakhouse in March 1988, in Tampa, Florida, we hoped it would be successful enough to spawn a few more nearby, and perhaps some other kinds of restaurants as well. Since then, our chain of Australia-themed restaurants has grown—to some 900 locations and counting—and we’ve invested in another 300 or so concept restaurants that operate from under our corporate umbrella. Growth like that doesn’t happen accidentally, but it certainly wasn’t part of the original plan. We’d all started at the bottom of various restaurant chains, so we knew how grueling the business could be. We thought that if we had a little equity, unlike most chain-restaurant operators, we’d be able to run a profitable business and still have time to play golf and generally enjoy life on the shores of Tampa Bay. Besides, we didn’t see how we could ensure that things would be done the way we wanted if Outback grew very large. But before long, colleagues from other chains where we’d worked were bidding to open Outbacks of their own.

A version of this article appeared in the September 2005 issue of Harvard Business Review.CSChris T. Sullivan ([email protected]) is a founder, the former CEO, and the chairman of Tampa, Florida–based Outback Steakhouse Incorporated.
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Read more on Organizational restructuring or related topics Motivating people, Employee retention, Organizational culture, Customer experience, Customer service, Growth strategy, Travel and tourism industry and North America

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