Chet Cadieux

Millions of customers know that QuikTrip stores are models of speed and efficiency: gas, snacks, coffee, Advil if you need it and, for the optimistic, a Powerball ticket. Three minutes, five bucks, zero surprises, every time.

But getting an interview with QuikTrip President and CEO Chet Cadieux? Now that’s going to take some time. With a blend of friendly professionalism but unassailable finality, his assistant confirms that he’s booked solid – a schedule that reflects the amount of dedication he has for his people.

“My first priority is to help my employees get their work done, which means being available for them no matter how busy I am,” Cadieux said. “I can work on my stuff later, but if I am making them wait on me, that means the whole company ends up waiting.”

And if there’s one thing QT does not do, it’s wait. Co-founded in 1958 by Cadieux’s father, Chester Cadieux II, and business partner Burt B. Holmes, QuikTrip has steadily grown into a $10 billion company with more than 600 stores, 13,000 employees, and its own distribution network across an 11-state footprint. New stores continue to open, and existing sites are aggressively scrubbed of anything dated – stock, equipment, furnishings, and operations. It is this commitment to modernization that keeps the QuikTrip customer experience remarkably consistent.

“Even the parts of your model that you are ‘leaving alone’ in the grand scheme of things need to be undergoing constant improvement,” Cadieux said. “Our OPS manuals, training programs, recruiting and hiring standards, labor allocations, are constantly being tweaked and improved – literally every week.”

This is where all of those employee discussions and feedback make a difference.

“Most of our improvements come from our store teams,” he said. “We have a ‘Test and Learn’ process that all changes are run through, whether they be changes in store design, procedures, geography – whatever. It’s essentially the good old scientific method. Someone in the organization suggests a hypothesis, and we say, ‘We should go test that.’ This is a constant and vigorous process for us because we really, sincerely want to keep learning.”

Cadieux, 45, understands the value of store-level intel — he started working on the front lines as a part-time clerk when he was 16. Even after graduating from TU in 1989 with a bachelor’s degree in management, he was scheduled to a demanding graveyard shift in the stores.

“Talk about a lifestyle change!” he said. “I went from the sweet college life at TU to working six nights a week. At least I got Sunday nights off.”

Although he’s made the most of his TU education in the years since, Cadieux readily admits he didn’t push himself too hard in college.

“I generally had a ‘B’ average, but I definitely should have worked harder at it in order to get the whole benefit,” he said. “My advice to today’s TU students is to work harder in school than I did. Once you get out, you probably won’t get a chance to do it over again.”

Even if Cadieux regrets his ‘B’ average, he credits his education for helping him build such a successful career.

“I got an incredible education at TU,” he said. “The small class sizes combined with phenomenal professors meant that you couldn’t help but learn a ton. That said, like most people, what I learned at TU was really only the foundation for my business career. Once I got out of school, my ‘continuing education’ really began. My dad definitely taught me a lot, but so have many other people at QuikTrip. Working with a great team 50 hours a week for 25 years is an education in and of itself.”

Apart from the constant accessibility that he offers his team, Cadieux’s extensive community contributions keep his calendar full. He is a trustee of the Tulsa Community Foundation. In Tulsa, he has shared his considerable leadership skills with the area United Way chapter, the River Parks Authority and the Metro Chamber.

Cadieux also has been more than generous with his support of TU. He serves on the Board of Trustees and formerly served on the Executive Advisory Board for the Collins College of Business. His sustained financial support has placed him in the President’s Council and in the Circle Society. Cadieux’s allegiance to TU follows a long tradition of thoughtful support from his father and the rest of the QuikTrip family.

As Oklahoma’s largest private company, QuikTrip has drawn the attention and approval of industry observers across the country. Fortune magazine has named QuikTrip among its 100 “Best Companies to Work For” for 10 straight years.

Cadieux is undoubtedly proud of that performance, but he would rather talk about the next round of improvements. When asked to explain his key values and habits, he is quick to include “Never be satisfied” and “Never stop learning – period.”

“It is so easy to say you are ‘good enough’ at something, but that is a dangerous trap,” he said. “There is always someone who is better at it than you – someone who is smarter than you. So go learn from them!”