Page 43 - Everything I Know About Business I Learned

Honesty and Integrity

integrity,” he told me. “There were some certainly, but I think
that was one of the character traits where there was a standard
set that was so high, that people that didn’t have it washed out,
probably without even being fired . . . just couldn’t function well
and it didn’t fit. [They] could never fit in, just weren’t really part
of the whole system, . . . never got comfortable, and they left. I
think that, again, that it was part of our actual culture to be
honest and have integrity to do what was right.” The company
looked for that in our suppliers and franchisees, and expected
those behaviors in our employees.
Those who didn’t mirror those expectations were sent pack-
ing. For example, while serving as a regional vice president back
in the 1990s, I caught an owner/operator running unacceptable
stores, who’d opened a chicken restaurant directly across the
street from his McDonald’s unit and used McDonald’s product
in his chicken restaurant. This was in direct violation of his
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license agreement. We disenfranchised him.

Food for Thought
How Can You Promote Honesty and Integrity in Your
Own Organization?

Not only must you walk the talk, so must everyone you
work with, whether he or she is a colleague, vendor, or
partner. While honest people as a rule tend to attract like-
minded people, keep in mind that you will on occasion
encounter someone unscrupulous. Sever ties with that per-
son. That individual—as well as others in the organiza-
tion—will get the message loud and clear that you will not
tolerate dishonesty in your organization.