Page 22 - Everything I Know About Business I Learned

Introduction

Despite its global presence, McDonald’s for many years was
not the kind of firm that might be covered in the Harvard Busi-
ness Review as the latest in organizational development. In fact,
in the early years, those with higher education were in some
ways shunned. Ray Kroc never graduated from high school.
Most of the executives in the early years and throughout the his-
tory of the company had a remarkable lack of formal educa-
tion—though many of the leadership, including former CEO
Mike Quinlan did earn college degrees, and in some cases grad-
uate degrees. We were an eclectic group, with amazingly diverse
backgrounds, including military credentials, blue-collar skills,
and so on—and most of us had little if any previous restaurant
experience. There was no bias overall, just a penchant for get-
ting the job done. Yet the idea of organizational charts, well, as
Honorary Chairman Fred Turner—Ray’s direct protégé—told
me, “We built the organizational chart around their talents.”
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Again, it’s not something you would hear about in the latest
management book on organizations. But perhaps it’s something
to consider in reviewing your own organizational structure.
But that never seemed to matter. While grandiose plans and
formal organizational charts were not the norm, the system
developed a tenacious work ethic and a laserlike focus on being
the best experience to the customer. Through sheer passion and
determination, the organization created a culture second to none
in the industry. It attracted the kind of individuals who enjoyed
this results-driven culture and blossomed in this environment.
These folks stayed on, to long-tenured careers within the organ-
ization. And these core principles, which we will review, are rel-
evant in other organizations today as well.
That drive propelled McDonald’s into the big leagues, push-
ing us insiders into situations we could never have imagined.
Take this anecdote from former zone manager Frank Behan:
“We were at a Coca-Cola/McDonald’s convention one time, and