Page 241 - Everything I Know About Business I Learned

Epilogue

developing of management candidates, the company never lost
its focus—that the individual restaurant serving a customer, the
moment of truth, was the most important measurement of its
success. And that was everyone’s mission—to make that con-
nection with the customer the best possible experience.

6. Heritage. Ray was involved with the system till he died at
age 81 in 1984. Fred has been active his entire McDonald’s
career. No organization can boast of a more involved group of
founders that continue the tradition. Consider for example,
James McLamore, a Cornell graduate who cofounded Burger
King in 1954, Dave Thomas, who founded Wendy’s in 1969,
Wilbur Hardee, a founder of Hardee’s, and Glen Bell, who
founded Taco Bell in 1962, all sold out in later years.
Of the five organizations, McDonald’s clearly emerged as the
leader by any method of comparison, and I submit that the her-
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itage of the McDonald’s system is a part of the reason why. At
Burger King, within 13 years of its founding, it was sold, though
James McLamore stayed on as president until 1970 and chair-
man until 1976. In Wendy’s case, Dave left after 13 years, in
1982, and then came back to the ailing company to assist in
marketing in 1986. At McDonald’s, however, Ray’s consistent
presence until the day he died meant the system benefited from
a total of 29 years of his continuous involvement. And, of
course, his legend and legacy has been kept alive admirably by
the company, in numerous ways. Fred has been very much a part
of the fabric of the organization for the full 53 years of its exis-
tence, and he still maintains an office on the McDonald’s cam-
pus, and the title honorary chairman. Both men gave their entire
remaining business lives to the company, and the company has
never been without the involvement of a spiritual founder, nor
been sold or acquired.