Page 89 - Everything I Know About Business I Learned

3 Standards:

Never Be Satisfied

The quality of a leader is reflected in the
standards they set for themselves.
—Ray Kroc

Those of us with ketchup in our blood, the ones
who rose through the ranks and were turned on in a competi-
tive way, had a saying: never be satisfied. And we weren’t. This
statement spoke volumes about McDonald’s culture. We were
always looking to beat yesterday’s sales, cut energy expenses,
increase our customer counts, and lower costs to the stores. We
were driven to be faster, cleaner, and better. The best of us were
always on the lookout to exceed expectations.
Ray knew from the very beginning that high standards would
set the company apart, as he told the McDonald brothers on
Dictaphone tapes from the late 1950s: “Our policies, our sound
way of doing things, is paying off. And we have the respect of
top-notch people. I now know of four 15-cent hamburger deals
being Henry’s, Carroll’s, Chef Burger, and Golden Point. And
heaven knows how many more there will be. And they are going
to be run loose as a goose. Those fellows are going to do any
doggone thing they want to do, and the owners of the name are

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