Page 204 - Everything I Know About Business I Learned

Everything I Know About Business I Learned at McDonald’s

After hours of fighting over each line item, and reluctantly on
occasion giving up on a budget item that we felt we really
needed to run our region, Fred, and in later years Mike Quin-
lan, sometimes asked a simple question: “If you had the oppor-
tunity, forgetting the budget for a minute, what would you like
to do in your region that would have impact?”
The question left us stunned. We were mentally beat up by the
process, ready to slink out, feeling cut to the bone. The opportu-
nity to make a positive impact on the region, by this point, was
about the last thing on our mind. We were spent, literally and fig-
uratively. Still, that the chairman asked our opinion indicated that
he really cared about your opinion. So, with whatever fight we
had left, we expressed how we really felt about an issue and more
often than not the request was granted—giving us a boost after
a really tough day. Even after being raked over the coals, we left
the session with a win and the knowledge that we’d be able to
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return to our region with the ability to make a difference. We left
feeling that the process wasn’t so bad after all. And although we
never realized it at the time, nor do I think management really
understood it either, it was a very powerful learning experience
in communications for everyone.

Lesson Learned

All organizations from time to time must tighten the belt by
cutting to the extreme. But they also need a process to ensure
that these cuts don’t cause irreparable damage. In this process it
is important to express a certain amount of flexibility. Otherwise,
field experts who understand the nuances of the market will feel
beat up in a budget process, stripped of their ability to do the
right thing. And that can be very demoralizing.