Page 101 - Everything I Know About Business I Learned

Standards

years, a training filmstrip, and were of course communicated
through new technological mediums as they advanced. The thor-
oughness was evident, which even included the correct way to
clean a toilet! (Did you know that the lip under the toilet bowl
needs to get scrubbed daily to prevent buildup?) The idea of
cleanliness was driven at all levels. One of the favorite sayings
was: “If you have time to lean, you have time to clean.”
Roland Jones, in his book Standing Up & Standing Out,
reflecting on his career at McDonald’s as both an employee and
a franchisee, had his own thoughts on the importance of stan-
dards within the system: “My reason for concentrating on
upgrading the physical environment was straightforward. I
believe that physical appearance affects not only the impression
outsiders have of a person or a business but also the way that
the person or business functions. The environment influences
how people think, and it is very difficult to maintain enthusi-
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asm for a job when the work environment is drab, dirty, and
disorganized.” Roland makes a valid point. When an organiza-
tion doesn’t make the effort to physically look its very best, it
loses out on more than customers; it also misses opportunities
to connect with quality vendors and talent in its staff.
I realized quickly that McDonald’s had a “system” for every
aspect of the business, and it struck a chord with me in my
young career development. My grandfather, who emigrated
from Sicily to the United States as a young teenager, used to tell
me, “If you are going to do something, do it right.” Maybe this
was the sentiment of his generation, but clearly Ray and Fred
shared that same attitude, and they built the McDonald’s sys-
tem on it. Fred’s legendary intensity on the details memorialized
these standards for the system.
Ray articulated well when he commented, “In the early days
when we couldn’t get people to have confidence in buying a 15-
cent hamburger, I said, ‘I’m going to have that place so clean