Page 64 - Everything I Know About Business I Learned

Everything I Know About Business I Learned at McDonald’s

Food for Thought

How Can You Build Relationships?

Try this interactive exercise, one that I’ve used to great suc-
cess and is easily done at any meeting within your group.
Ask each person to turn to the individual to the right and
provide one example of something he or she appreciates
about working with that individual. This exercise never
fails to stir some deep positive emotions within the group
and get everyone to think of their peers in a new way.

Mentorship
Mentorship played a big part in these relationships. It started at
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the top and trickled all the way down to crew. Where there are
positive relationships, good leaders want what is best for their
people. Fred Turner demonstrated this philosophy by mentor-
ing his executive staff to become “McMillionaires,” providing
a form of wealth management that instructed us how to accu-
mulate stock.
In 1985, Fred handwrote a letter to the McDonald’s officers
at the time. McDonald’s was an $11 billion organization then,
and Fred Turner wanted to share his enthusiasm for the poten-
tial growth of both the company and its executives in his inim-
itable manner. This is very characteristic of Fred’s style of
openness and exuberance at the idea that his staff could become
financially secure. Here is that letter:

To Officers McD Corp
The attached list of shares owned as of 12/31/85 is the infor-
mation made public thru the SEC. As long as your next door
neighbor has access to it, you might as well see it.