Page 92 - Everything I Know About Business I Learned

Everything I Know About Business I Learned at McDonald’s

through the building before. We were walking to the elevator,
and I absolutely never forget, there was this guy on his hands
and knees scrubbing the thresholds of the elevator, which were
either gold or polished brass. I never forgot that. I get goose
bumps even now, thinking about how hard we worked to run
an A-store, and we were doing it because it was just the way we
were raised in the company.”
And Willis wasn’t alone. Bob Weissmueller, a retired vice pres-
ident and former CEO of Fazoli’s, said, “I always felt, from the
day I started, this ‘fanatical attention to detail.’ The attention to
details, to take care of the consumer every day, every time to
focus on the customer.” Adds former division president Debra
Koenig: “McDonald’s is pretty strong about making sure that
the brand promise was intact in every experience.”

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From Crew to Corporate
McDonald’s sets standards for every task, from crew to corpo-
rate. The operations manual clarifies job descriptions and roles,
and there are any number of corresponding tools to support
each individual, from training videos, to courses at Hamburger
University, to field visits, to coaching, and more. These stan-
dards included “core competencies” for company staff employ-
ees. Interestingly, among the list are “communicating effectively,
continuous learning, customer focus, drives to excel, holds self
and others accountable, and teamwork and collaboration.”
There may have been no better example of setting the stan-
dards, than the “Full Field Report” that was used over the years
to ensure that quality standards are met in the stores. While the
report is now called a “Full Operating Report,” its function is
the same. The field representative would spend up to two days
on an announced visit to the restaurant with the full management
team as well as the operator present. Interestingly, both the cor-