Page 59 - Everything I Know About Business I Learned

Relationships

came down on the side of the operators,” Irv told me. Ray and
Fred “did the right thing by the operators. They needed an oper-
ator community to have a healthy company. I’ve always believed
that’s the key, that’s the secret.” Owner/operator Sam Samaha
agreed. “I always felt comfortable with McDonald’s, even
though we may have had differences, if you will, as it is in any
organization. But a handshake in McDonald’s from the time I
was there was as good as any legal document,” he told me. “I
never had a lawyer; never retained a lawyer because I would
always use McDonald’s legal department. And I think that was
the basis for a lot of what we were accomplishing at McDon-
ald’s overall,” Sam added, referring to the support and confi-
dence he felt was ever present.
Tom Peters explains the franchise relationship in his book,
Thriving on Chaos: “McDonald’s continues to soar. The dealer
or franchisee is a cherished member of the family; it’s as simple
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as that. Yet again, few seem to get it.”
Fred Turner understood from the very beginning how these solid
relationships foster trust, loyalty, and commitment. These quali-
ties permeate throughout the organization, at the lowest levels and
up, at times an unspoken ingredient, but still ever present. If you
need something, there is that sense that people have your back.
Need more buns? Holler, and someone from the crew delivers.
Need someone in real estate to conduct a breakeven analysis so
you can see if a certain property will work? Call and say, “I need
your help right now,” and you’ll be taken care of, and quickly. Oth-
erwise everyone’s productivity will suffer. This teamwork is auto-
matic, at a level of intense support not unlike the kind you see in
the military and among emergency workers. Loyalty, support,
trust—these are givens. As Paul Schrage, retired senior executive
vice president and chief marketing officer, has told me: “Relation-
ships were a part of our business. We became friends. And when
the going gets tough, who but your friends would be true?”