Page 217 - Everything I Know About Business I Learned

Recognition

Turner each $1 million in stock. That gift to Patty was a
powerful recognition to her role as a spouse.
“Ray was very generous,” Fred said recently. “He gave stock
to other employees. And when he gave stock to Patty and me,
he wanted Patty to get the same amount. He was very conscious
of that, and he paid the tax for it.”
By issuing that stock to both Fred and Patty, Ray was taking
care of family. And that sense of family spilled over into
corporate and into the stores, where as peers and mentors we
were trained to recognize QSC, and credit employees, at any
level, for enhancing the customer experience. We had a lot of
tools in our arsenal to give instant recognition on the spot. We
were looking for reasons to show our gratitude to people.
Ray’s gift to the Turners showed his deep appreciation for
Fred’s ability to build the company into what it is today. And
yet, McDonald’s stock was distributed to employees at all levels.
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Though this practice now must meet with stricter Securities and
Exchange Commission guidelines, private companies today may
be well served to distribute shares, with the same style for which
Ray was legendary, to an extremely deserving right-hand person.
Ed Rensi, retired president, remembers Ray’s gifts to
employees in a number of ways. “When he turned 70 years old,
he gave me enough stock that I could buy my first house. What
a great and wonderful gift he gave me! Ray Kroc would send us
popcorn makers on Father’s Day. He would send us umbrellas.
He would send us stuff on Mother’s Day for the women.”
And recognition was not just for the operators or the
company employees. Consider Ted Perlman, who started out
with his father and has served as a McDonald’s supplier for 49
years. Of the recognition his organization receives from the
company versus other organizations he is associated with, Ted
said: “It’s more, just because you’re involved more. Here the
suppliers have much more of an input and involvement. We just