Page 129 - Everything I Know About Business I Learned

Lead by Example

All along I found that nothing is more inspiring than when own-
ers and key executives push up their sleeves to accomplish what-
ever is needed to get done. Irv Klein commented on a remark he
had heard Fred Turner make on several occasions: “You don’t
understand the McDonald’s business unless you work the McDon-
ald’s business.” We followed that lead and made sure to be in the
restaurants doing our best to serve customers.
Owner/operators were mentored too. Rick McCoy, at one
time one of the largest franchisees in the system with 90 restau-
rants, recalled working with a mentor, a field representative, who
“would just throw everything out if it didn’t look good. I remem-
ber really dumping things, and after he did it about five or six
times I would think, wow this guy is for real. It’s not a show.”
Prospective owner/operators spend up to two years training
in stores for as much as 20 hours a week before learning if they
will even be considered for a store. Not only did they learn what
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it meant to run a $2 million business, they also learned about
McDonald’s culture, where sharing knowledge is an expectation.
Behind the counter, I grew accustomed to working alongside
my managers as well. As crew in my early years working for a
franchisee, I remember the senior franchisee—to my teenage
eyes, a much older gentleman—who had come into town to visit
the stores would quickly get behind the counter and help to
wrap burgers when we got busy, lending a hand and fostering a
sense in us that our work was important. This was hardly an
anomaly. Operators and managers worked together with crew
during a rush, and for good reason. As Ed Rensi pointed out:
“You could never get more out of people than you were willing
to give of yourself to them. And if you aren’t willing to get down
there and respect dirty hands and sweat, then how can you
expect those people with dirty hands and sweat to respect you?”
But you didn’t just pitch in when needed. You took owner-
ship of your job. That was the behavior you saw all around you.