• 7-Eleven took a decent ride upward and has actually settled above where it was before the show aired.

• White Castle experienced a substantial leap over a three-week period, which has since tumbled close to pre-show levels.

• Hooters enjoyed a mild bump, only to settle back to its previous level.

Mark Holmes from Manage My Employees shares some thoughts about Undercover Boss. Here are some of the highlights:
…the Hooter’s CEO episode was sad.
Cody Brooks/CEO was not only out of touch with some essential perspectives from his employees and customers, but he had failed to visit one of their more important food manufacturing facilities since taking over as CEO in 2006.
Furthermore, Brooks admittedly hadn’t been “out in the field personally” for 20 years! How can you run a company that way?
How can a CEO be that far removed from his/her people? That far separated from the daily operations?
How can one climb the ladder of success as a leader yet fail to understand the ramifications of a basic leadership tenet: that employees support mentally and emotionally what they help create, not what gets jammed down their throats!
…
Bottom-line: Immunization from honest dissonance as a leader leads to dangerously myopic, endogenous decision-making. The organization’s sacred cows live on as leaders control ops from a mink-lined rut. CEO’s, all leaders for that matter, must get out, get involved and get their hands dirty once in awhile if they expect to grasp reality.