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Dave's Way
In his autobiography, Dave’s Way, Dave Thomas shows how you can succeed in life through hard work, integrity and humility. From his early years as a busboy, to his days in the army and throughout his career at Wendy’s, he was always motivated to make something of himself. His passion for fresh, never frozen beef, laid the foundation for turning Wendy’s into more than just a restaurant chain, but creating opportunities for millions of people to share in his dream. Arguably one of the greatest restaurateurs who ever lived, the book is full of advice on how to run a successful business, operate a customer-focused restaurant and market your company with honesty. Dave’s success in business is outshined only by his belief in giving back to others, making him a role-model philanthropist. Dave’s Way is wonderful guide for anyone looking to succeed in life. His old-fashioned American values still hold true today as an inspiration and roadmap to others. All profits from the sale Dave’s Way are donated to The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published September 25, 1991
135 people are currently reading
357 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
January 1, 2008
Dave Thomas is a hero of mine, based soley on this book. Another classic Horation Alger story, filled with all kinds of charming anecdotes and of course the wonderful character of Dave himself.
July 30, 2021
I love Wendy's, and this book is fun and so easy to read. Worth it just for the chapter on how fast he got ahead in the U.S. Army just by making the most of his opportunities. Amazing story!
September 3, 2019
I've been fascinated with Dave Thomas' story for years. I looked for this book for a few years before it came back into print. His life story is interesting, and his anecdotes are humerus and heart warming. This book is interesting as it's part biography, part self help, and part business book.
It shines as a biography. Dave's writing isn't perfect, but as the narrator, it feels authentic.
As a self help book, it's rather corny. The life lessons and lists are often obvious or simplistic. Some truths sit better when a particular person tells them, but for me, they were just a little more insight into the interesting character.
The business side may have gone over my head. It's not a topic I know much about. Again, Dave's stories and suggestions were interesting, but more in what they say about the man and his remarkable life story.
You may not need to read this book to get a picture of the orphan turned restaurateur, but if you find that story peeks your interest, it's worth getting through the rough patches.
It shines as a biography. Dave's writing isn't perfect, but as the narrator, it feels authentic.
As a self help book, it's rather corny. The life lessons and lists are often obvious or simplistic. Some truths sit better when a particular person tells them, but for me, they were just a little more insight into the interesting character.
The business side may have gone over my head. It's not a topic I know much about. Again, Dave's stories and suggestions were interesting, but more in what they say about the man and his remarkable life story.
You may not need to read this book to get a picture of the orphan turned restaurateur, but if you find that story peeks your interest, it's worth getting through the rough patches.
May 13, 2011
I still think his system makes the best hamburger. He really cared about quality and everything he did contributed to it. This was a good business book.
By the way, I didn't know he got his start at KFC.
By the way, I didn't know he got his start at KFC.
November 5, 2013
A "must read" for every entrepeneur. This biography proves old skool knowledge, hard work, trial and error is many times more successful than a college degree. We all have a purpose. What you do with it matters, and Dave's Way works!
March 7, 2025
It was interesting to read the autobiographical part of this book, the business part of it was insightful in understanding how he set up Wendy’s, but the advice/recommendation part was not something I cared about and sometimes disliked. I would have liked to read this while also having experienced the start of Wendy’s to see how it differed from McDonald’s and other burger restaurants since I’m not sure it’s all that different nowadays. I did appreciate that he seemed honest about how he did things, but at the same time, I didn’t like several parts of his philosophy. To be fair, I think his mindset matched the time period and I think he had good intentions. I just feel like we’ve changed approaches as a society so my perspective is different. In the end, the book is fine, somewhat informational, as long as you don’t adhere strictly to all his advice without some critical thinking and context.
June 17, 2016
This amazing book is at once a little dated and as relevant today as it was when it was written. Sure, it's harder for Americans to get jobs in this globalized, post-9/11 world, and it's hard to find loyalty in employees who think a job is just a job til something better comes along (like fame and fortune... after all, Americans are just "temporarily displaced millionaires" like Oprah says, right?) But some things really stand the test of time. Hard work. Ambition. Keeping your friends close. These are things Dave talks about in his book. It's less about "the man" himself and more about the people and ideas he surrounded himself with that made his homegrown business a success. I particularly liked how he named every one of his influences and kept talking about them more than about himself. I believe this is a lost idea amongst Boomers and Millennials these days... nobody is self-made. Dave says, "There is nothing I ever acheieved that didn't involve plenty of other people. You can't do it alone, that's for sure." In this modern time of self-promotion, self-flattery, self-focus, and Randian self-sufficiency (to the detriment of all else,) we cannot afford to forget that the relationships we forge are vital to life's successes. I miss Dave and his endlessly funny commercials. But his legacy certainly lives on.
September 12, 2021
I literally picked this up cause GoodReads recommended it. No regrets either! It was a quick and easy read about a delightful man who founded Wendy's. Dave Thomas starts his book right off the bat apologizing for the way it is written which set the tone for a book that reads like grandpa settling in to tell the kids a story. The conversational tone carries throughout the entirety,the narration flowed in a logical manner and Dave had no real reason to apologize. It was just nice to read about such a kind person achieving their dreams. And the stories about Mr. Sanders were cool too!
December 29, 2009
My favorite book ever
January 6, 2021
I read Ray Kroc's book, so I gave this one a read. Dave Thomas takes you through his success with Wendy's, starting with mentoring by the great Colonel Harlan Sanders. A good read.
Read
February 18, 2022Dave Thomas, in case you didn’t know, is the founder of Wendy’s. He is famous for being a folksy kind of regular guy. In this book he talks about his early life and how he got his start in the restaurant business. The book is marketed as a how-to book as much as an autobiography, with multiple lists with bullet points, telling how to run a good business, or how to be a good person. The implication is that if you follow his advice, you, too, might become the millionaire boss of your own business empire.
That is not my goal, so I enjoyed the stories much more than the bullet points, but I can say that at the end you do feel like you have a good sense of who Dave Thomas is.
I knew that Dave Thomas was an advocate for adoption. I had thought that was because his daughter Wendy was adopted. No, Wendy and her four siblings (who did not get to have restaurants named after them) were his biological children. It was Dave himself who was adopted.
Dave’s adoption story did not sound all that great. The mother who adopted him died when Dave was three. His father wasn’t much of a father, and he married several more women who weren’t that much into being mothers. But Dave was close to his grandmother Minnie, who he lived with in the summers. She gave him the warmth and security he craved. And Dave’s dad, while not big on warmth or security, did one thing that influenced young Dave’s life. He took him to eat in restaurants. Dave loved eating in restaurants. He thought it was the greatest thing, and from the time he was a child, it was his dream to own his own restaurant.
He got his chance when he was 12 years old. He lied and told them he was 16. (You couldn’t do that today.) He worked first for the Regas Brothers Restaurant in Knoxville, Tennessee. Then he worked for the Hobby House Restaurant in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He also did a stint in the army during the Korean War, and he worked in food service there, too, managing the Enlisted Men’s Club.
When Dave was working for Hobby House restaurant he met Colonel Harlan Sanders, of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame. At that time the Colonel was marketing his process of cooking the chicken to other restaurants. The Hobby House (and other restaurants as well) featured Kentucky Fried Chicken on their menus along with lots of other things, like meat loaf and pork chops.
There were four Hobby House Restaurants in Columbus, Ohio, that were failing. Dave moved there to take them over and try to turn them around. He did that, basically, by turning them into Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants. He said that the most popular thing on the menu was the chicken, so they would focus on that. He put “Kentucky Fried Chicken” up on the sign, and invented the big wobbling bucket sign. So you could say that the Colonel invented the product, and Dave invented the business.
Chicken made Dave successful. It’s one of the secrets of his life that he always secretly hated chicken. He preferred burgers. His dream was one day to open a burger joint, one that served better, meatier, juicier burgers than the flat little discs McDonald’s was selling. And he did. And that was Wendy’s.
He was fanatical about cleanliness. He was fanatical about customer service. He had some good stories to tell about making some memorable TV commercials. Oh, and you know why Wendy’s serves chili? The hamburgers that aren’t good enough to be served as hamburgers go into the chili.
That is not my goal, so I enjoyed the stories much more than the bullet points, but I can say that at the end you do feel like you have a good sense of who Dave Thomas is.
I knew that Dave Thomas was an advocate for adoption. I had thought that was because his daughter Wendy was adopted. No, Wendy and her four siblings (who did not get to have restaurants named after them) were his biological children. It was Dave himself who was adopted.
Dave’s adoption story did not sound all that great. The mother who adopted him died when Dave was three. His father wasn’t much of a father, and he married several more women who weren’t that much into being mothers. But Dave was close to his grandmother Minnie, who he lived with in the summers. She gave him the warmth and security he craved. And Dave’s dad, while not big on warmth or security, did one thing that influenced young Dave’s life. He took him to eat in restaurants. Dave loved eating in restaurants. He thought it was the greatest thing, and from the time he was a child, it was his dream to own his own restaurant.
He got his chance when he was 12 years old. He lied and told them he was 16. (You couldn’t do that today.) He worked first for the Regas Brothers Restaurant in Knoxville, Tennessee. Then he worked for the Hobby House Restaurant in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He also did a stint in the army during the Korean War, and he worked in food service there, too, managing the Enlisted Men’s Club.
When Dave was working for Hobby House restaurant he met Colonel Harlan Sanders, of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame. At that time the Colonel was marketing his process of cooking the chicken to other restaurants. The Hobby House (and other restaurants as well) featured Kentucky Fried Chicken on their menus along with lots of other things, like meat loaf and pork chops.
There were four Hobby House Restaurants in Columbus, Ohio, that were failing. Dave moved there to take them over and try to turn them around. He did that, basically, by turning them into Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants. He said that the most popular thing on the menu was the chicken, so they would focus on that. He put “Kentucky Fried Chicken” up on the sign, and invented the big wobbling bucket sign. So you could say that the Colonel invented the product, and Dave invented the business.
Chicken made Dave successful. It’s one of the secrets of his life that he always secretly hated chicken. He preferred burgers. His dream was one day to open a burger joint, one that served better, meatier, juicier burgers than the flat little discs McDonald’s was selling. And he did. And that was Wendy’s.
He was fanatical about cleanliness. He was fanatical about customer service. He had some good stories to tell about making some memorable TV commercials. Oh, and you know why Wendy’s serves chili? The hamburgers that aren’t good enough to be served as hamburgers go into the chili.
January 1, 2018
Since it was the end of the year (2017), I pushed myself to complete some books that have been lying around for some time in an incompletely read state. This book was one of them...
I had difficulty in completing this book, because it is totally different from a normal business biography you can read. This book is a combination of a ‘normal story’ and a lot of bulletpoint / itemized lists. And I mean a LOT of these itemized lists. I think that over half the book consists of these bulletpoint lists: chapter summaries, recommendations, feature lists, ... too many to lists here. If there is a list to be made of something, it’s in this book.
The huge number of these bulletpoint lists, make it a very uncomfortable read. It is difficult to keep your mind to a single story. I was also not able to categorized this book as a stratgy or management book. The setup of this book also didn’t fit with that category. As such this book was clearly not for me.
Since I was still able to get some learnings from this book, I am not going to give it the minimum score: I am still willing to give it two stars. But in case you decide to read this book, be prepared to read something very unconventional as a business bio.
I had difficulty in completing this book, because it is totally different from a normal business biography you can read. This book is a combination of a ‘normal story’ and a lot of bulletpoint / itemized lists. And I mean a LOT of these itemized lists. I think that over half the book consists of these bulletpoint lists: chapter summaries, recommendations, feature lists, ... too many to lists here. If there is a list to be made of something, it’s in this book.
The huge number of these bulletpoint lists, make it a very uncomfortable read. It is difficult to keep your mind to a single story. I was also not able to categorized this book as a stratgy or management book. The setup of this book also didn’t fit with that category. As such this book was clearly not for me.
Since I was still able to get some learnings from this book, I am not going to give it the minimum score: I am still willing to give it two stars. But in case you decide to read this book, be prepared to read something very unconventional as a business bio.
December 10, 2020
Terrific real life story. For those interested in what it takes (hard work) to start small and become one of the most successful restaurant businesses in the world, this book will work for you!
Amazing background of small time cook, military experience, and the desire to turn out a great product to serve the public.
Amazing background of small time cook, military experience, and the desire to turn out a great product to serve the public.
November 19, 2022
In this book, Dave Thomas discusses at length his childhood, his desire to own a restaurant and how he constructed his Wendy's empire. Dave was a Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise owner before he opened his first Wendy's. Plus Dave describes how he was an adopted child and he gives pointers for couples who want to adopt a child. Anyone who loves Wendy's should read this book!
May 4, 2023
An amazing down to earth business book that tells the story of Dave’s life in his own words! A great read for any business person, but the life lessons shared can be applied to anyone.
July 29, 2021
This was required reading in my freshman economics class. I still remember things I learned from it to this day. One of the best required books of my high school years.
April 21, 2024
Couldn’t finish. It’s like listening to the ramblings of an out of touch old guy, only worse because you’re reading it.
March 31, 2022
Very good read
I read many books, a disproportionate number being business leadership stories, and I found this book truly endearing. I enjoyed learning about the story of Dave Thomas and Wendy’s. The folksy voice and simplicity of the writing allows the power of the lessons and Dave’s guiding principles to shine through and really land.
If you enjoy reading business and leadership books or want to glean some useful “life lessons” from someone who has navigated his fair share of adversity then this is a powerfully refreshing read. Dave has endured enough challenges that could keep therapists engaged for many many years but he’s surmounted them with a very simple and positive approach to life which can serve us all very well.
Enjoy….I doubt you’d be disappointed.
I read many books, a disproportionate number being business leadership stories, and I found this book truly endearing. I enjoyed learning about the story of Dave Thomas and Wendy’s. The folksy voice and simplicity of the writing allows the power of the lessons and Dave’s guiding principles to shine through and really land.
If you enjoy reading business and leadership books or want to glean some useful “life lessons” from someone who has navigated his fair share of adversity then this is a powerfully refreshing read. Dave has endured enough challenges that could keep therapists engaged for many many years but he’s surmounted them with a very simple and positive approach to life which can serve us all very well.
Enjoy….I doubt you’d be disappointed.
April 25, 2023
fantastic book. Tells how to work your way up from an Army mess cook (and Dave wanted to be a cook so he could learn how to cook "for the masses). Find out a lot of stuff about restaurants. One funny story was Dave told how when he became a millionaire his millionaire buddies told him he needed to buy a yacht. So he did and regretted it. Such a common sense guy!
August 23, 2020
Interesting and from the heart
Good general read. For a generic product interesting to see how they differentiated and played on it to achieve reasonable scale. Also good insights on how the Wendy's founder helped build many of KFC brand attributes
Good general read. For a generic product interesting to see how they differentiated and played on it to achieve reasonable scale. Also good insights on how the Wendy's founder helped build many of KFC brand attributes
August 18, 2014
This book surprised me. I picked it up at a sale and couldn't put it down. Terrific business tips are woven throughout heartwarming personal stories.
July 2, 2014
(pre-Goodreads)
Enjoyed it.
Estimated date.
Enjoyed it.
Estimated date.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews