What's the secret to achieving a sustainable competitive advantage? What will keep your customers coming back year after year? How can you invest in your employees, the community, your brand and still make money in epic economic darkness? Find out the secret recipe to success in Biscuitville, a worthy template for restoring trust in business everywhere. Founder Maurice Jennings opened up his first Biscuitville restaurant in 1966, in Danville Virginia. Needless to say lots has changed since then. But one thing hasn't. Ok, make that two. Biscuitville still makes the most scrumptious and best-tasting biscuits in the South. The other, and most important constant, is Biscuitville's commitment to its employees and community. In fact, true ethical standards are the norm at Biscuitville and are precisely why this vital and growing young company will exit the gloomy post-recessionary tunnel with more market share, greater employee loyalty, a Rock-of-Gibraltar balance sheet, a highly recognizable brand within their footprint, and an enviable sustainable competitive advantage. But what is the secret recipe to its business success? Inside Biscuitville, Phil Johnston takes you on a journey. From the first store opening, to meeting Helen, it's 1001st employee, here are just a few of the things you will discover : * How Biscuitville learns moral code by example, eschewing hollow written etchics statements; * How soft power leadership produces hard dollars; * The impact of a `People First' philosophy; * Why Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs (where primary focus is on physiological needs) is out and meeting employee needs for self-esteem is in; * The secret to achieving the Holy Grail sought by all businesses: a sustainable competitive advantage. The impact of Biscuitville's philosophy has resulted in a wonderful success story. The company is an example of innovative leadership, enlightened business ethics, and consistently high standards of customer service, resulting in a sustainable competitive advantage (SCA). J. Phillips L. Johnston, J.D. is the Chairman and Chief Financial Officer of GET Interactive based in Winston Salem North Carolina, USA, which Biscuitville is a part of. Prior to joining GET Interactive, Phil was with Nexsen Pruet Adams Kleemeier, PLLC in the practice of corporate governance law. Prior to that, Phil has been CEO of ten venture-backed technology companies -- three of which became public companies. Phil Johnston is also the author of Success in Small Business is a Laugh- ing Matter which Esquire magazine called "the best book ever written about small business." J. Phillips L. Johnston, J.D. is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Center for Board Evaluations based in High Point, North Carolina, USA. Prior to joining The Center for Board Evaluations, Phil was with Nexsen Pruet Adams Kleemeier, PLLC, a 197-attorney business law firm, in the practice of corporate governance law. Before that, Phil was CEO of ten venture-backed technology companies - three of which became public companies. Phil is also the author of Success in Small Business is a Laughing Matter which Esquire magazine called "the best book ever written about small business." FOREWORD All throughout the developed world, the corporate community has lost its way. Greed manifested in short-term, quarterly earnings games at the expense of long-term achievement and the lack of leadership in C - suites are at the top of the list of causes. If the Enron's and Tyco's were the left jabs in a high-stakes Wall Street prize fight, then highfalutin derivatives, no equity sub-prime mortgages with their built-in interest rate grenades, and gamblers like Bernie Madoff betting billions of dollars of OPM (other people's money) were body blows to the solar plexus, causing immeasurable pain to the public trust. Flotsam and jetsam from the backwash of such investment shenanigans will sully financial shores for years to come. The worldwide scene is reminiscent of the all-nighters in "The Great Gatsby". The result is the Great Recession of 2009. It is worldwide, its roots are insidious and history will measure it in years, not quarters. How does the corporate world restore this dashed public trust? We know first-hand that in most developed nations, the master legislation named Sarbanes-Oxley and legislation similar to it in other countries, has been an abject failure. Furthermore, smart money says governments that are becoming more and more the masters of big business will not be the restorers of public trust (or, for that matter, the bottom line). We need to acknowledge that the fix is not in more legislation. Morals and values cannot be legislated; it will not be management by governments that instills probity. Instead, we offer these pages as alternatives, if not answers, to the restoration of public trust using the uniqueness and soundness of Biscuitville's business recipe (pun intended): * Ethics by example of business leaders. Esc