Everyone likes having fun, and some companies are better than others at making this an essential part of their vision.
In this clip from the Rule Breaker Investing podcast, Motley Fool co-founder David Gardner talks about how companies that create an enjoyable atmosphere or product set themselves apart from the competition and inspire repeat customers.
Make sure to check out the other parts of this series:
Businesses That Win Trait #1: Create Value for All Stakeholders
Businesses That Win Trait #2: Solve Real Problems
Businesses That Win Trait #3: Long-Term Thinking
Businesses That Win Trait #4: Not Afraid to Adapt
Businesses That Win Trait #5: Be Fun!
A full transcript follows the video.
This podcast was recorded on Oct. 21, 2015.
David Gardner: Number five, what else characterizes the businesses that win for me? The ones that create, one of my favorite words, a three-letter word: fun. The businesses that create fun.
Who doesn't want more fun in our lives? Whether you're for-profit or not-for-profit, when are you looking at stock or you're an entrepreneur, I think having more fun, creating fun, putting fun in your product or service, surprising people -- lots of people like pleasant surprises, that equals fun for me. The companies that really are about fun, it's really hard not to win if you do that well over long periods of time.
Two quick examples that come to mind, these are completely different businesses, but how could I not lead off with Disney, which I think has a better sense of fun and has created more fun for more people living today than any other company, possibly by far? This is a great example of the businesses that win.
But then, a completely different company, much much smaller and really just a restaurant company at heart, Texas Roadhouse, for those who know, a recent pick of mine in the last year in Motley Fool Stock Advisor. This is just a steakhouse for the most part. But two things I want you to know about it. First of all, there will be spontaneous line dancing that occurs when you're there on a given night, led by the servers. For me, that's something you wouldn't expect normally. You could have gone to any steakhouse chain, but that's just kind of happening there.
The second thing about Texas Roadhouse, and one of the other reasons I like the stock, harking back to an earlier point made in this podcast, they treat their employees really well. For the most part, there's a strong esprit de corps among the staffs at individual Texas Roadhouse restaurants. So, it's just a steakhouse in one way, but it's actually the fun one. And that's my point.
So there we have five traits of the businesses that win.
