Page 171 - Everything I Know About Business I Learned

6 Communications

It’s not how often you communicate,
but how well.

—Ray Kroc

Every company has its story to tell. And during
my tenure at McDonald’s, that company was no different. From
its very beginning, Ray was mindful of McDonald’s narrative,
from the 15-cent hamburger to QSC, whether he was commu-
nicating internally to the regions, staff, franchisees, and vendors,
or externally to the public or shareholders.
“It is essential that a strategic leader communicate his goals
and objectives,” Ed Rensi, former president of McDonald’s, told
me. “Strategic leaders have to have beliefs and values. They have
to have a mission statement. You have to state your beliefs, val-
ues, and who you are. And when confronted with any decision,
you have to go back and say where does it fit in your beliefs,
where does it fit in your values, and where does it fit in with who
you are. And if you can’t get it to fit into all three categories, and
it doesn’t fit in your mission statement, then you’re in trouble.
I’m sure that neither Fred nor Ray was ever schooled at that. I’m
equally sure that they understood it. One of the things about who
we are is that we practice what is in the mission statement.”

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