PowerTalk

Joining me this week on PowerTalk is Ron Shaich, the Co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Panera Bread (PNRA). As tends to be the case with these 1-1 conversations, we cover a lot of ground during our time together including the strategies that has led to strong growth in Panera’s revenues and stock price over the last several years. Focusing on the customer experience, transparency, and as Ron says simply “doing it right” are some of the strategies that led to that significant growth at a time when most competitors like Einstein Noah Restaurant Group, Inc. (BAGL), Cosi (COSI) and others were been struggling. Ron and his team also successfully navigated the rise of many alternative eating styles -- Atkins, Paleo, raw and others -- by offering the customers a wide selection of products, including my favorite -- bear claws. Besides being a leader in the business community, Ron is  an advocate for getting our political leaders to work better together. He’s a part of No Labels, a growing citizens’ movement of Democra