Three months ago, if someone had asked me what I could learn from the Communist Party, I would have jokingly replied, “How not to run a government.”

However, since then, I read Douglas Hyde’s book, Dedication and Leadership. Hyde was a news editor of the Communist newspaper London Daily Worker and outspoken Party member during and after WWII – in Great Britain no less. Finally coming to the realization that the Communist philosophy is intrinsically flawed, Hyde resigned from the Party but argued that the Communist leadership methods are, in many cases, extremely effective and worth emulating. “Never in man’s history has a small group of people set out to win the world and achieved more in less time,” he wrote. In his book, Hyde demonstrated that the techniques Communism used to create leaders and spread its influence are not “Communist” techniques at all. They are, in fact, very effective and powerful strategies anyone can use to instill dedication and leadership in others.

Here are a few of the strategies that Douglas Hyde revealed from the Communist Party:

Give people something grand to aspire toward.

The Communists gave their new recruits a grand cause worth fighting for. They understood the idealism of youth and dramatically appealed to it. Members were recruited to lead for the cause, not themselves. Of course, it was equally important to show every person how they fit into the “great struggle for mankind.” But the Communists believed before you can show a person what role they will play, you must first give them a copy of the entire script—they have to see why the seemingly mundane things they are doing really help to create a new and better world.

Ask a lot. Expect a lot. Get a lot.

When a person converted to Communism, they came prepared to give—extravagantly. Why did the Communist Party get this kind of response? Mostly because they asked for it. “…Communism demanded everything…it asked for the whole man and got it,” Hyde wrote. The Party proactively set expectations so that recruits were already prepared to sacrifice until it hurt. People respond in the same degree that they are asked; if you ask for little, you will get little in return. So be bold. Don’t beg for bare the minimum. Make huge asks—and watch as people rise to the occasion.

Use Trial by Fire to Build Commitment.

Once new recruits joined the Party, they were immediately given a task to recruit others in public settings for several reasons. First, when a person is actually investing time and energy into something, they are much more likely to remain committed to it. Second, it gave them a chance to apply and defend what they had already learned. Third, since they were still new, they would inevitably fail to respond to the tough opposition, which convinced them of their inadequacy and built a stronger appetite for further learning. In this way, further development met a felt need.

Hyde was not the only person to leave the Communist Party after becoming disillusioned with the basic ideology. Yet many dissenters were conflicted since they had joined for all the “right” reasons. Wrote Hyde, “I have had former Communists say to me: ‘Even though I now see the evil in Communism, I still believe that when I joined the Communist Party it was the biggest and best decision I made in my life. It was the most unselfish thing I ever did.'”

Ideas have consequences. For that reason it’s important to realize that leadership isn’t “right and wrong.” In some cases, it’s life and death. That’s what makes dedication so important.

How can you use these strategies to inspire dedication in your followers?

What we learned on our trip still influences how I think about leadership. But for now, I’d like to share a few notes about the man who invented the original chicken sandwich.

Who Was Truett Cathy?

Cathy was born in Eatonton, Georgia in 1921, which meant he grew up during the Great Depression. One of seven children, Cathy began selling Coca-Colas at age seven to the local community to contribute to the family’s unstable income. Soon he was also selling magazines and had a newspaper route. After serving with the U.S. Army in World War II, Cathy opened the Dwarf House restaurant with his brother Ben in 1946. After Ben was killed in an airplane accident, Cathy continued to operate the restaurant by himself. After many business challenges and experiments with the boneless chicken breast, Cathy developed the perfect recipe for what became the Chick-fil-A sandwich in the early 1960s. Chick-fil-A now operates restaurants in 39 states (and Washington, D.C.) and earned $4.6 billion in sales in 2012. The company is still family owned.

What Can We Learn from Truett Cathy?

It’s Easier to Succeed Than to Fail. The title of Cathy’s first book in 1989, this lesson seems counter-intuitive until you hear it from Cathy’s prospective. Cathy lists several reasons: money spent to fail must be spent again to succeed, doing a job over a second time is an expensive use of time and a person’s credibility and morale decrease with failure but increase with success.

Be Dedicated. Cathy once worked 36 hours straight in his first restaurant – not because he was a workaholic but because the work needed to be done or else the customers wouldn’t be served. There is some value in hard work for it’s own sake, but the difference for Cathy was dedication to his commitments: the cause and the customers.

Each Customer is Precious. If there’s one thing Cathy hated more than anything else, it was losing a customer. He would bend over backwards to accommodate and build good relationships them. He constantly asked for feedback. The problem with poor service, he said, isn’t that the customer will complain. It’s that they won’t complain – and then won’t come back.

You’ve Got to Give Something to Get Something. Cathy subscribed to the old proverb, “he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed,” or as the late Zig Ziglar put it, “You can have anything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.” For Cathy, this meant generous promotions that involved free food and free coupons. Early critics reasoned that Cathy would never make it in business because he gave so much away for free. Instead, customers loved Cathy’s food and service so much they were willing to pay for it – and invite their friends.

Wealth is Only Worth It If You Give It Away. When faced with a life-threatening surgical procedure midway through his career, Cathy acknowledged that his brush with death taught him the insignificance of material things. Even though it may seem ironic for a man worth billions of dollars, Cathy related in his latest book Wealth, Is It Worth It? that you can’t take anything with you after you die. Therefore the only way wealth has any lasting value is if you use it to benefit others.

A Good Name is Worth More Than Anything Else. If you take away wealth, awards, and all the outward signs of success, all you’re left with are your choices, reputation and the quality of your character. A good name is worth more than everything else combined. Furthermore, if you associate yourself with other people of high character, you’ll be able to truly build a winning team.

Not only does Truett Cathy use his restaurant to feed hungry people, but also to sponsor high profile community events, like the Chick-fil-A Leadercast seminar on May 10. To find out how to attend with me, click here.

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, trainer and thought leader.  Receive his ebook Trusted Leadership Advisor by subscribing to his website or   follow him on Twitter.