Well Done! The Common Guy's Guide to Everyday Success

by Dave Thomas, Ron Beyma

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.

Genres: Business, Autobiography, Nonfiction

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Please see: Dave Thomas


Rex David Thomas was an American businessman, philanthropist, and fast-food tycoon. Thomas was the founder and chief executive officer of Wendy's, a fast-food restaurant chain specializing in hamburgers. In this role, Thomas appeared in more than 800 commercial advertisements for the chain from 1989 to 2002, more than any other company founder in television history.

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dave Thomas autobiography (if you want to call it that) is a collection of lessons learned on what leads to success in everyday life. There is little in here about the building of Wendy's and some things about his personal life but it mostly recounts the stories of those he knows and what makes them successful. For those looking for a lighter read about common sense, good values, and treating people like you would want to be treated this is a great place to go but not for a lot of business information. It is also not an in-depth look at the history of Wendy's.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very encouraging and inspiring!

Also, the not-so-subtle [subliminal?] messages have me craving a frosty.

[Luke Southard · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dave Thomas, for those that don’t know, was the guy that created Wendy’s. He was a former KFC franchisee before deciding to branch out and make his own burger place.

This is his second book.

I was intrigued because it’s always interesting to read philosophies from people who have led different lives.

But I did NOT enjoy this book. Despite the title, it’s not so much a “common guy’s guide to everyday success,” as it is a disorganized showcase of Thomas’ examples highlighting specific values.

He also veers hard to the right sometimes out of nowhere.

There’s a lot of folksy charm and disarming words and then a screech of the tires as the car tries to keep up in the turn. Things like “I’m just a simple burger man and don’t know much beyond the fact that burgers should be fresh and never frozen but it just seems to me that we can’t trust a government that can’t get control of the illegal alien situation at the border.”

My neck hurt from all the whipping around.

I was about a third of the way into the book, just getting more and more pissed off - not at his thoughts, per se, but the packaging of them where he tries to use his down-home manner to lure you into his train of thought - until it hit me that Thomas is basically your drunk uncle at Thanksgiving.

After that, the book flowed a lot better. Imagining him leaning in, booze on his breath as he burped in your face and told you something like how he watched your little league game and you did great but it’s not gonna matter because only the Hispanics are going to get hired to play in this bullshit PC age, really helped all the rambling go down more smoothly. (A made-up example)

I didn’t like it and I was glad to be done with it. I felt irrationally betrayed because I knew very little about Dave Thomas besides the facts that I loved him in Wendy’s commercials and that he build an adoption charity - both great things. Why I couldn’t figure out that a person who cares enough about kids to help find them homes could also be an isolationist with strong Christian values that would almost certainly be featured in tweets that would outrage the masses today is beyond me, but it made me want to avoid similar books

[Derek Riley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty sentimental book, but not much else is offered. The whole book is pretty much your grandpa, who just so happens to run Wendy's, tell you about his life and things that might help you. Very personal book focusing on the relationships, stories, and little things that worked for him throughout the years.

[Wes Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gave great insight to staying positive and being thankful for the Lord's blessings.

[Jennifer Bounds therrien · Rating 4 out of 5]

The World could learn some manners and love from this very humble man!

[Christopher Lewis Kozoriz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written by Dave Thomas, the founder of Wendy's.

There is much sensible advise in this book on success. Dave shares stories of others who he believes have set a good example for others and commends with the words "Well Done".

I did find some of this book boring in some places, and was ready to switch books at times, but I plowed through and learned some wisdom from Dave.

[Emily Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a kid, I was pretty active. Always busy playing or running about. But the world would stop for People's Court, Cornell Sanders and Dave Thomas. So it was not a big surprise that I would instantly love this book!!

"Well Done" is a no nonsense guide for everyday success. Examples are based life experiences from Dave Thomas, the owner of Wendy's, and other ordinary people.

Great book!

[Kiki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't remember if I finished this book or not, but I do recall liking it. Dave Thomas is a nice guy, and a book on how a nice guy became successful is a good read.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoy the stories he tells and the entrepreneurship in it.