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Setbacks Are a Tool to Help Us Flourish - Cheryl Bachelder: Part 2
In the last episode, we met Cheryl Bachelder, former CEO of Popeyes® Louisiana Kitchen, Inc. We spent the previous episode talking about Cheryl’s top successes, and in this episode, we’re going to jump over to the list of setbacks she identified as important to how she grew as a professional and a Christian, even when in the moment, these setbacks hurt.
This episode is sponsored by Ronald Blue Trust. The influence and impact of women have grown over the last decade, and they control more of the private wealth in our country each year. Ronald Blue Trust is honored to serve women from all walks of life. Their advisors develop comprehensive financial strategies based on biblical principles, with the goal of helping you achieve clarity and confidence both personally and professionally. Learn more@ronblue.com. Welcome back to Driven Forward Influential leaders, powered by God's will. I'm your host, Jordan Johnstone. In the last episode, we met Cheryl Batchelder, former CEO of Popeye's. We spent the previous episode talking about Cheryl's top successes, and in this episode, we're going to jump over to the list of setbacks she identified as important to how she grew as a professional and a Christian, even when in the moment these setbacks hurt. Listen now to the rest of our time with Cheryl. We ended the last episode talking about why God allows us to experience success. So now I wanna ask the same question, but about setbacks instead. So what do you think the purpose of setbacks is in our lives?
Speaker 2:From a faith perspective, I think the purpose of a setback is to draw us close to God. Um, and sometimes setbacks happen when we thought we were close to God, and he draws us tighter still, uh, to teach us to grow us in some fashion. Sometimes setbacks happen when we're a long way from God and paying attention to his intent for our life, and he yanks us back into close proximity, uh, to him and his purposes. And so, um, I think most of us would say, uh, setback. I call them trials and tribulations, not usually that much fun. Uh, not usually something we go seeking out, but often the source of a lesson, a learning, a growth spurt, if you will, in our understanding of God and what he would have for us and what makes flourishing for us. I believe God's trying to create a place we will be flourish. We're all the obstacle to that. Um, so, um, they're very much for our wellbeing, uh, despite some of the pain attached to them.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Now I'd like to have you talk us through what you've identified as these setbacks in your life. And I'd also love to have you talk about what each of these setbacks have taught you and made possible for you to move forward. Mm-hmm.<affirmative>. Um, the first is something that I thought was so interesting to learn about you. You were accepted into a premier music school as a piano major, so how did that turn into a setback for you?
Speaker 2:Well, obviously I'm not a concert pianist today,<laugh>, so the outcome is secure. Um, you know, it, I was a, uh, accompanist to my high school choir, is where that all started. I played the piano since I was four year old, a four year old. My mother was my piano teacher, and then eventually I got really talented piano teachers that challenged me and made me better. But I had this one opportunity to audition for the music school at Indiana University. It is the highest ranking state funded school in music and probably the number two of all private schools in music. It's a phenomenal music school. And literally my music director said, If you get into this school, you must go. So that was kind of the approach. I auditioned, I was shocked to get in and I went. Um, but you know, like many of us find out the first thing you try in school or life isn't always the best thing too. Um, and so I brought my best music skills to Indiana University. Um, I was a long way from being of the caliber of student that ends up being a concert pianist. I was just hoping to be a music teacher in a high school somewhere,<laugh>. But the program was pretty intimidating and demanding. And I, the setback was you had to, at the end of your sophomore year, perform for the piano faculty and they would tell you whether or not you could go forward in your study. It was called a jury. And it felt like a jury. Yeah. It was scary tense. And, uh, in my case, the outcome was, well, my piano teacher, uh, a respected faculty member at the school thought I had made tremendous product progress and was playing beautifully. One of his friends, a Russian pianist lady, had not agree with him, stood up and, and called my piano playing something, something that meant the word trash. I don't know. It was, it was not a nice word. Whatever word she used, um, devastating to me. I was, uh, you know, I had worked as hard as I'd ever worked to get to the level of, of piano playing that I was at that day. And I was pretty devastated by her very frank feedback and perhaps an overreaction. But out of that, you know, blow to my confidence, I quit. I said, I am not cut out for this. This is not for me. But it led to a lot of good self assessment about what my wiring was and my skills. I was not wired to be in a piano practice room by myself eight hours a day. I'm an expert. I love people. I love teamwork. I love to make things happen in groups. Very social person. So I just wasn't meant to be there. Um, and sometimes that's what setbacks reveal. They just reveal, uh, I was just in the wrong place and I need to make an edit, a change, uh, that will line me up better with God's plan, with my gifts, um, and, uh, lead to a better outcome. So I have no regrets about going to music school. I ended up, you know, staying at Indiana University and things turned out well for me. So it was a, a necessary setback,
Speaker 1:<laugh>. Well, and the next setback that you listed is one that I think a lot of our listeners are gonna be able to empathize with. Mm-hmm.<affirmative>. Um, when you were in your mid-career, a series of events happened that really tested you. So can you share maybe just a little bit more about that time?
Speaker 2:Yes. I think all of us who do, uh, this merger thing between family and work hit these family and work stress times. So I thought it was really important to talk about them. This particular setback was, um, we had been married 10 years. We had two children that were, let's say one and six. So very, those young, very demanding, don't get a lot of sleep years. Um, both my husband and I worked. He traveled extensively. I, uh, also traveled. I mean, this was a demanding time in our lives. Um, and this was the first time we had, um, family demands, um, of our parents come on top of that. My husband's parents were older than mine, and therefore they were having health issues and challenges before mine did. Um, and right after, uh, you know, that first year of our second child's life, um, my husband's mother passed away suddenly unexpectedly, and his father, uh, was diagnosed with cancer. And I think, um, you can imagine that that was call for kind of, Oh my goodness, let's think this all through. Let's reassess. We were a long way from them. They lived in Michigan, we lived in North Carolina. So I think for Chris and I, we just kind of stepped back and said, What's the message in this time of life? What is the, the priority? Uh, how do we think about work and family at a time like this? And to kind of fast forward, uh, that set of challenges led us, we call it, in retrospect, we call it our joint midlife crisis. We really weren't in midlife yet, but kind of an early midlife crisis. Uh, we both quit our jobs. I don't recommend that, but that's what<laugh> uh, we decided to move back to Michigan and make sure that we took care of our family needs first and were there to be a support to his dad. Um, as he mourned the loss of his wife and dealt with cancer treatments. And we decided, you know, not to leave his sister alone in that challenge. He has one, uh, living sister. And so, um, we went back there, uh, without jobs and without clarity about how the career thing would work out. Uh, but we trusted that if we made the priority right, the career would later sort itself out. And, and it did. The, the testimony I would give you is I think when God gets your attention to a family circumstance that needs your full attention, um, you'll still be there when you need to go back and sort out the career side of it. Um, so we did that. We both did some consulting projects to kind of make ends meet, and then we both, uh, landed in a new role. I landed at Domino's Pizza, and then Chris landed, uh, back in the consulting field again. And things went on from a career standpoint, but we had never, uh, you never wanna look back on those family, uh, times when your family needs you and say, Oh, geez, we were kind of too busy at work to sort that out. So we were always, uh, blessed. Um, we had four really good years with Chris' dad. Our<inaudible> got to know him really well. There were a lot of joy, a lot of celebration and laughter, even though he was very sick and there was a lot of challenge. So no regrets and important to talk about those kinds of setbacks.
Speaker 1:Mm. And your next setback is, is kind of on the same thread. Um, back in 2001, uh, you received a can, a breast cancer diagnosis. So what went through your mind when you got that news? How did that affect your plans and the goals that you had set for yourself?
Speaker 2:Well, context for those who don't know me, uh, well, I am a planner to a fault. I mean, I plan everything. Um, if I hadn't been a ceo, I would've been a wedding planner. You know, I just have planner for a middle name. Um, so everything has a plan. I'm very, you know, type A to use the term. Um, and up till this point in my life, most of my plans had been executed more or less. You know, I hadn't had a whole lot of setbacks on my plans. Um, but this was my moment. I, uh, had a routine mammogram, no issues, web, you know, went on with my life like you do. And just a few months later, I discovered a lump in my breast. I went back to the doctor and said, Hey, mammogram looked fine, but this doesn't seem fine, so let's check it out. And she goes, Oh, I'm sure it's nothing. And, uh, but long story short, we did a biopsy, It was breast cancer, and it caught my doctor by surprise. And me by more surprise, I'll never forget, the uh, surgeon who did the biopsy, pushed a legal pad and a pen across the table. And he said, um, I have to tell you, I was surprised, but you have state form breast cancer and I'm giving you this pad pen, cuz I find no one ever remembers what I say after that. And, uh, he was right. Uh, if I'd not had a piece of notebook paper in front of me, I would have no clue what he said after that, you know, they immediately start saying, Here's what we're gonna do next, next. And you're gonna have this surgery, You're gonna go through this treatment and blah, blah, blah. And your brain is frozen on the first set, Right? You have breast cancer. There was no history of breast cancer in my family. I mean, there was no reason to suspect that, Oh, by the way, um, hardly any breast cancer cases, uh, stem from genetic history. So just as a, a little warning light for everybody, the reason we do these bans routinely is there is no predictor of who gets breast. So, um, go to your checkups, Um,<laugh> as a setback though, um, you know, it, you of course immediately start thinking about death, you know, and who's gonna raise your children? And is your husband gonna marry All kinds of crazy things go on. And, and I remember yelling at my husband that when I died, he would have to re remarry because he didn't know how to do hair barts, um,<laugh>. It wasn't kind, it wasn't logical. But that's the kind of thing that you think about when mortality comes into question. Over time, though, that's a really good question to ask yourself is if my life is cut short, um, or shorter than I think, um, mm-hmm<affirmative>, what will be my story? And will I have lived out, uh, my life for the best of my beliefs and my values? Um, so in the long run, I was really glad that question came. While I was still relatively young, I was 45 and I had time, uh, to make some adjustments, you know, um, one is to get more comfortable that God is the planner, uh, not Cheryl. Um, and that I needed to be a little bit more surrendered to the right. Um, and less, um, confused about who was in control. It taught me a lot about the sovereignty of God. It told me a lot about trusting God in difficult circumstances. Um, I now, I can't talk about it without doing this with my hands, which is unlocking your clinch. You know, unlike and openness your palms and, uh, being open to what God has for you, because that's really how we're intended to live life. It's not that we're gonna know all the answers or have a plan that works out just perfectly. It's that we're going to be confident enough in our God, in our faith to walk open handed towards the things he has for us. And breast cancer really opened that up to me. Um, that's what I read, The Purpose Driven Life by reform, transformative understanding about what the purpose of life is. Um, it's when I really thought about what I wanted in my life and work to stand for and got more serious about that, I started studying the intersection of faith and work, which has become my primary area of ministry. I started studying, uh, this idea of servant leadership deeply and what legacy I might be able to lead or contribute in that arena to change the course of the dialogue. Um, I guess the sum total of that is it just made me a very intentional person because I knew that life was short.
Speaker 1:In the last episode, you mentioned that Popeye's ended up being the capstone of your career, but that wasn't actually what you thought would be the capstone of your career. You had had an earlier position. Um, and so this brings us to your next setback where again, supposed to be the capstone of your career success, uh, but instead it ended up being a disappointing setback. So let's talk about what happened when you were working with kfc.
Speaker 2:Well, it all began, uh, while I was at Domino's Pizza, I was recruited by, um, young Brands, which is the largest restaurant company in the world to come to Louisville and run a division of the company KFC restaurants. Um, Young was a really fancy, impressive company. They were known for their culture, for their success. They were globally building restaurants all over the world. They were an exciting place. And I was very drawn to the opportunity I was gonna be their first female in the executive suite. I mean, there was just all kinds of, uh, excitement around the opportunity. Um, however, um, 14 months later after arriving there and being the celebrated new female executive, uh, the business started to perform poorly. Um, the, uh, brand KFC came under attack, uh, around, um, the handling of chickens, which was a, uh, major public issue at the time. There was a movie made about fast food that spoke negatively about the brand. There were a lot of what I call external forces, um, turning against the KFC brand. And that was, uh, uh, the catalyst or sales declines in the company. When you work in a public company, um, your job is sales have to be up and profits have to be up. It's real simple. Um, a friend of mine used to say, All the areas have to be going up and to the right<laugh>, uh, for you to still be there. And so, uh, it's just true, right? That's, um, businesses are supposed to be, we're supposed to grow them. We're supposed to grow them profitably so that the business can be reinvested. And there's nothing wrong with growing sales and growing profitability. It's in fact the whole point of creating a prosperous institution. And so, uh, sales went down and profitability for the next 12 months. And I came under a lot of pressure. And eventually in September, uh, of 2003, I was fired on a Friday afternoon. Uh, the boss said something like this just isn't gonna work out. And uh, HR is waiting outside in the, the hall to talk to you.<laugh> words. No one ever wants to hear. No. I actually, my good friend was the head of hr, so I got to go outside and talk about this with my very good friend Ann. So, Wow. But again, I, the way I sum up that setback is after debriefing it in my head and learning from what happened at kfc, I can tell you that every tenant of the way I led Popeye's to success was based on the learning that came out of that setback. Again, I can't feel bad about the setback and mourn that it was really rough, that it knocked my confidence that it, uh, led me to struggle a bit for a few years as to what I would do next. But in the end, it was preparation. It was preparation for the opportunity that would come to me at Popeye's. And I would not have been in position to lead Popeye's as effectively had I not had that time. So that's what I encourage people, when you have a setback, learn from it as quickly as you can and use that as preparation for the next opportunity that will present itself. Hmm.
Speaker 1:The last setback that we're gonna talk about actually still kind of follows that same train of thought that we were just talking about. Um, and it talks and it ties back to what you listed as your greatest career success in the previous episode. So after a decade with Popeye's, uh, a turn of events happened that was detrimental to this amazing company culture that you had worked just so tirelessly to build, what did that time in your life feel like?
Speaker 2:Um, it was a huge personal, uh, disappointment. You know, a lot of people tell you that, uh, as a leader, the legacy is what happens after you're gone. And I think, frankly, I bought into that a bit because in this circumstance what happened is, by the way, I didn't own this company. This was a public company owned by its shareholders and the board represents their shareholders. And unexpectedly we got this very high offer, purchased the company and the board voted to sell the company at that price. The outcome, and I knew it would be the outcome, so that new owners did not share our passion for servant leadership and the franchising business. They had a different business model. And I knew that everything that we had put in place around servant leadership purpose principles would be dismantled in rapid fire order. And that was hard to reconcile, right? You just invested nine, 10 years of your life and many other people's lives. Um, it was sad. It broke my heart. I felt responsible for the people that would be left behind because of course I wasn't gonna be there when a company sold. The CEO is the first to be shown the door. So, um, I really broken hearted, but here's the faith lesson. And it, it came from my daughter, uh, Katie, who during the sale decision of the board, knew I was distraught. And she sent me, um, a few paragraphs from a piece of literature called from Olian. I'm not an avid reader of Olian and I had never seen this piece before. But in short, what this piece is about is that in fact God is painting a picture in heaven that we can only see a small part of. And he talks about an artist was painting a picture of a beautiful tree, but yet he could only see a part of that tree, the beautiful leaves that he'd finished so far. And when God took him to heaven, he was so disappointed that he hadn't finished his thing. And then God revealed to him what that tree really looked like in heaven. So what does that all mean? What that meant to me is that, uh, I didn't have any idea what God's plan was for that. I needed to trust him for it. What the really cool things that happened is that all my well trained servant leaders were sent out to other restaurant companies and have done a phenomenal job of spreading that approach and creating environments where people thrive. And I'm so proud of them. And that's a wow thing that I could have never foreseen. So, you know, I went through this low as me how sad thing, which we all do.
Speaker 1:I'll say very natural. It's very
Speaker 2:Natural. It's a little bit, uh, self-centered. Um, but the center you can get over that wo as me thing the better and just start watching for what God's up to, uh, step that breaks your heart may just be the beginning of something very important and good in his kingdom. Trust him enough to say, I will wait to see that happen. Um, and I will trust, uh, that you have a better plan than anything I could have had. And that has certainly been true, uh, in my personal experience.
Speaker 1:Yeah. When you've encountered setbacks in your life, and you've kind of touched on this here and there, but I'd like to hear more cuz you, you're just a depth of knowledge of this, but what emotions have immediately come to the surface when you first encounter a setback and you know, in the past, even currently, how do you keep yourself from getting discouraged and just not wanting to move forward?
Speaker 2:Yes. Well, this is probably the most influential part of reading the Purpose Driven Life, uh, for me because page one, the purpose Driven Life says the purpose of your life. It's not about you. And then he goes on and he writes a paragraph about, it's also not about your family. It's not about your plan, it's not about your job. It's, it really, it's not about you at all. It's about God's plan for his kingdom. Um, and so I frame it up that way because I think my first reaction to setbacks is probably very similar to everybody else's. It's, it is this inward looking, you know, how did this happen to me? Why me? Questions, why now? Lord, you know, there's a lot of this in the Psalms. I mean, it's, it's been part of our human history forever, right? That there's a setback that we don't understand. Um, and I think to try to make your first question instead of why me or why now in my life, to pivot that question to what are you up to guys and how can I adjust my thinking and join you there? I'm a big fan of, uh, Henry Black Abe's work around experience in God. And I love, uh, that Bible study. In fact, it just came out updated by his son Richard Blackaby. And what I love about the study is it's this very philosophy of our faith, which is to wake up and look around and see what God's up to enjoy him there. And that has helped me be better in set setbacks. I still fall apart like everybody else initially, but to try to step back from that and say, certainly God knows better than I, he's up to something bigger than I can see right now. And I'm gonna start looking for clue as to where he would have me focus next, where he has work that needs to be done, where other people have a purpose in his role that I hadn't seen coming. So open mind, open eyes, uh, and a lot more trust in his plan.
Speaker 1:Well, as we wrap up our time today, um, I would love to ask you a question that I ask everybody who comes on here, and that is, what would you say is the number one thing that has driven you forward in your life?
Speaker 2:Mm gosh. I, I would have to say, you know, we're all wired a certain way. Uh, and I'm wired for learning. You know, that's why I read so many books and study and constantly trying to advance my understanding of things. And I think that's, that wiring has been really central to who I am and how I live. I I say leaders should stop leading when they stop learning because we can't be, um, human beings growing and becoming better and teaching other people how to grow and become better if we stop ourselves. And so right now my husband and I are doing something called the Colson Fellows. It's a one year study course on a Christian worldview. I've never done so much reading in my life and it's really heavy stuff. Um, but it's rich to be learning. It is fulfill to be learning, uh, and it always leads to something right, Uh, a new insight, a new action, a new perspective that you want to frame up your life around. So I would say learning is the central theme in my life.
Speaker 1:I hope hearing Cheryl's story, successes and setbacks have inspired you to continue driving forward on your own journey at work and in life. If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to leave a review on whichever podcast platform you're listening on. Your feedback helps us know what you want to hear more of and also helps others learn more about us and join the Driven forward audience. If you haven't already, please take a moment to subscribe to Driven Forward on your preferred listening platform. To learn more about Forward, you can visit forward women.org. That's the number four w o r d w o m e n.org. And you can follow us on social media where we post weekly blogs information about upcoming events, and share inspirational quotes and verses to help you get through your day. We'll be back next month with a brand new story of an influential leader Driven Forward by God's will. Be sure you're subscribed so you don't miss the new episodes. Thanks for listening. Many women ask how they can become a member of Forward Journey. Forward is the answer Forward only exists because of the generosity of the forward community. When you give your time, talent, and treasure to forward, you make it possible for more women in the workplace to find their tribe and be empowered to become all God created them to be in work and life. We have a big goal in front of us to empower 10 million Christian women in the workplace to change the world by 2030. And you have a part to play your financial gifts to forward support the ongoing forward operations, support services, digital content like this podcast, as well as our outreach and overall mission journey forward is an easy way for every forward woman to be part of the mission and vision of Forward Through Recurring donations at one of four giving levels. To learn more about Journey and to find your level, go to forward women.org and click on the join the Journey tab at the top of the homepage.