Page 182 - Everything I Know About Business I Learned

Everything I Know About Business I Learned at McDonald’s

the end, it was style and content that really mattered. You had
to know your facts and be able to back them up. This group
was not giving up anything without solid backups of your posi-
tion. Again, the ability to intelligently argue a differing opinion
was a great start for a future career in corporate management
and working with independent licensees. It wasn’t about the
brawn anymore, or position power, as it had been on the restau-
rant floor; it was about the preparation, knowledge of the facts,
and style.
As my persuasion skills developed, my colleagues looked to
me to make small presentations or lead discussions within the
group at various meetings. Supported by my franchisee at the
time, a powerful and dynamic speaker himself, I became more
proficient. The ability to express my opinion, contrary or not,
became an integral part of my personality.

152
Lesson Learned

It’s important to question, but it is equally important to
question in the right way. As Ed Acre, a McDonald’s licensee,
once pointed out to me: “It’s okay to disagree, but don’t be
disagreeable.” Taking Ed’s words to heart, I also made it a
point to always give an alternative solution, not just to
disagree.

McDonald’s manual of core competencies for staff touts the
importance of giving “open and honest and timely communica-
tion.” As Roland Jones commented in his book Standing Up &
Standing Out: “I characterize the everyday flow of communi-
cation as organic rather than bureaucratic. Without a rigid hier-