Page 68 - Everything I Know About Business I Learned

Everything I Know About Business I Learned at McDonald’s

One on One with Mike Quinlan

t’s easy for us former McDonald’s folks to look back on our
Itenure nostalgically. And, given McDonald’s penchant to “never
be satisfied” (see Chapter 3), it’s not surprising that some of the
best of us look to review our careers with ways to improve the
system. Take Mike Quinlan, whose home I visited in a Chicago
suburb on a warm winter’s day. “If I could go back today,” said Mike,
referring to changes he would make as CEO, this time around with
the gift of hindsight at his side, “I would pick something like a
president’s counsel, a chairman’s counsel, but not as a formal
body.” This got my interest. “Like a cabinet—but loose?” I asked
him. “Maybe individualized,” Mike said. “So that there are no
politics in the group. And [the group that I set up] would be some

38 company people, some suppliers, a couple of operators [with]
whom I would regularly consult, and then aggregate all the input
and do what you have to do.”
In fact, Mike is serving in that exact capacity at a Wall Street
firm, as a mentor to the CEO. “I am able to be of tremendous help
to [the CEO] because of the advantage of my experience, and also
I have no axe to grind. I’ve got time, and I don’t need to be a
director; I like it. And, you know, he can tell me anything and it
doesn’t go any further. I wish I would have had that; it would have
helped me a lot. So that’s where I am on relationships, I think that

they are very important.”
As a consultant today, I agree with Mike that it’s critical for
leaders to have a confidante who is objective, at arm’s distance
away, familiar with the business, but not part of the business.

These make for the most powerful relationships.