Page 37 - Everything I Know About Business I Learned

Honesty and Integrity

examples of doing that, from the supplier relationship side of the
equation, and the way that we have always talked we still do
today. There is nothing wrong with making sure our suppliers
are healthy and making a good return on their investment in
McDonald’s as well as demanding a terrific price generated
because of our size at the back door for our restaurants.”

Leaps of Faith Driven by Values
Ray Kroc was the consummate salesperson, as former chief fran-
chise officer Burt Cohen explained: “You’d go into his office and
sit down, and he’d have the most harebrained idea, but after five
minutes you’d say, ‘Let’s get started.’ He could convince any-
body.” But as Burt pointed out, Ray’s “passion and commitment
to a set of values” was always evident. And that proved vital in
getting good people on board. And that inspired those hand-
7
shake agreements. Again and again.
Suppliers had faith in the company, whose leaders pushed up
their shirtsleeves—much the way they have always done on the
restaurant floor—showing them precisely how to meet the com-
pany’s strict standards. Whether it was cultivating potatoes or
producing beef, suppliers saw a real partner in McDonald’s and
had no qualms investing hundreds of thousands of dollars to
build plants in order to properly honor the handshake agree-
ments. It was a two-way commitment. Ray demanded their
integrity, and the implicit message was that he would stand by
them so long as they followed McDonald’s rigorous standards.
They not only followed, they developed the technology to ensure
food safety and quality, catering to McDonald’s buying patterns,
ultimately adopting the highest industry standards and certifi-
cations. “Suppliers were trusted to voluntarily meet food stan-
dards set by McDonald’s and they lived up to corporate
expectations,” noted retired senior vice president John Cooke.