Page 212 - Everything I Know About Business I Learned

Everything I Know About Business I Learned at McDonald’s

the #1 Club vividly. “Do you know I still have my shirt with my
patches?” he asked me recently. “Once I decided as a crew per-
son that I think I wanted to do this, the next step was to make
the #1 Club. You got performance reviews every month as a
crew member back then, and you had to be rated outstanding
for a full three months to even be considered, and then, any
manager could veto your entrance into it. I think it was the thrill
of recognition. I can remember it like it was yesterday.” In the
early days of the #1 Club, I, of course, had no idea it would
leave such a lasting impression on its members. For some of our
top performers, it turned out to be a more powerful motivator
than I could have imagined.

From Shrines to Handshakes
Recognition has lingering aftereffects. I still have a wall adorned
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with my awards from McDonald’s. These I show off with pride
when visitors to my office inquire about them. And I’m not alone.
Frank Behan, a former zone manager and senior vice president,
refers to his stockpile of McDonald’s awards as “a shrine.” And
retired senior executive vice president Paul Schrage, has a huge
4 × 5 painting of a Big Mac, which has sat prominently in the
foyer of his house for the past 30 years. And around the corner
is a display case of his 35-year career with the organization for
all to see. And consider the sentiment of former McDonald’s
division president Debra Koenig, who, back in 1979, working in
Philadelphia, won the President’s Award, one of the company’s
most prestigious awards, given annually to the top one percent
of all corporate employees.
“I won the President’s Award only a few years into my time
with McDonald’s—and I was hooked,” says Debra, who after
25 years at McDonald’s served a stint as CEO at Vicorp, a chain
of 250 family restaurants, headquartered in Denver, Colorado.