Page 175 - Everything I Know About Business I Learned

Communications

are asking them to do and wanting them to do it. And I think
that is all about communications and salesmanship and trust.”
Yet decentralization did not remove corporate staff from get-
ting into the action. Instead, the key executives made it a point to
visit the regions, presenting those of us in the regional offices with
the distinct advantage of access to some of the top experts in the
company. And we had open communication with these key
experts. For accounting issues, we had ready access to Gerry
Newman, McDonald’s chief accounting officer, who always fig-
ured out a way to structure favorable financing for licensees. In
real estate matters, we looked to Win Christiansen, former senior
vice president for Worldwide Restaurant Development, who had
tremendous experience working with developers. With market
research we turned to Jim Rand, vice president, marketing,
McDonald’s who headed global expansion for McDonald’s and
intimately understood the potential sales volume for each new
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store and how that potential would affect existing stores. For
advertising, Paul Schrage, retired senior executive vice president,
was renowned for his ability to connect with consumers and to
build a brand. For legal, Don Horowitz, retired McDonald’s exec-
utive VP and chief legal counsel, comprehended the legal chal-
lenges operators faced in each of the regions and kept many of us
out of trouble. And for franchising, we sought Burt Cohen, retired
senior vice president of licensing, who had a deep understanding
of the legal aspects pertaining to licensing and maintaining the
integrity of the system. These individuals spent time working with
the regions and providing support for these key areas, and they
were some of the best in the industry in their particular areas. As
Bob Weissmueller, former McDonald’s vice president who became
CEO of Fazoli’s, commented on Gerry Newman making visits to
the regions: “The time that Gerry would spend, coming out to the
regions and really helping you understand the business, and how
to work through your individual problems, really helped to
develop your broader business sense. It made me a smarter busi-