I wasn't sure what to expect in this book from Ron Shaich. I'm like most American's in that I believe we've all heard about Panera and have visited one of their fast casual locations on occasion. What drew me to this title was honestly the subtitle, "lessons from a lifetime of transformations." Most large-scale restaurant chains aren't known for their speed and adoption of new concepts or technologies. In this book Ron takes the reader though a brief history of Panera's founding, but also how he builds his business around a core concept and documents the meaning behind that concept to keep the vision and the direction of the company in check.

I'll be honest, about halfway through the book I asked myself, "where is this going?" Thankfully I stuck with it, because Ron gave me insights into how he ran Panera that only he could give. Ron would classify himself as a contrarian though would say he doesn't try to contradict the common thinking on purpose, it's just how he thinks. One thing that really stuck in my brain was the comparison with common value investing, "be greedy when others are scared, and scared when others are greedy." In this he suggested to save on an upturn and build on the downturn a concept that really makes a lot of sense for me.

An incredible business book that focuses on transformation and building the right thing to create value for a customer and not just increase the stock price of a company.

I had no idea what to expect from KNOW WHAT MATTERS from Ron Shaich. I knew the name, but not the man who has built and run huge enterprises in food service, including some of my favorite places. I was impressed with his passion, candor, and clear-sighted approach to a complicated enterprise and his emphasis on making the world a better place through your work and life. The insight he provides through his triumphs and missteps made this a gripping, fascinating read, especially as he emphasizes meaning and good over simply making a fast buck. I received a copy of this book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

This book will good enough if you intend to have business. It will give you insights from author experiences.

However, some ideas are not feel related for some people, since the situation and background every people is different.

Thank you Netgalley and HBR Press for the ARC!