Page 169 - Everything I Know About Business I Learned

Courage

visit allowed them, they valued the attention and ability to have
one on one with the executives in their stores.
As usual, we ran a bit behind this day. I drove with Ed in the
passenger seat and the field service manager and the director of
operations in back. As we left a store in Brooklyn, Ed turned to
me and said, “I feel like stopping for a good hot dog.” This out-
of-the-blue comment was not so unusual, as many times during
tours we visited places of interest, including checking out the
competition. But I was running out of time. I responded that
Coney Island, the home of Nathan’s, had the best hot dog. To
which he responded, “Let’s go.”
Now I was at a crossroads. What do I do? Keep him happy
and go get a hot dog, but disappoint one of the restaurants we
were to visit? Or tell him no—to which he could certainly react
in any number of ways to me?
I did what I thought was best, which was of course, to keep
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focused on the tour and forget the hot dog. I told him, “We can’t
go. We will be late for the other stores.” As these words came
out of my mouth, I watched the two guys in the back slink down
in their seats, not believing what I just said and what might next
happen.
Ed glared at me, but thankfully, didn’t say anything the rest
of the day about it. I assumed that I was not on Ed’s favorite list
that day. That night, after dinner, Ed turned to me and said,
“You were right, I was wrong today. Glad you stayed with the
agenda.” Again. An acknowledgment that challenging was okay,
at all levels.

In Summary
Courage has played a big role in McDonald’s growth. From C-
level to crew, individuals have shown the gumption to speak
their mind and to fight for what they believe in. Many acknowl-