Page 95 - Everything I Know About Business I Learned

Standards

tends to create a team. The hunger to succeed builds unity far
better than special incentives or team-building exercises.” At
McDonald’s we had that hunger—a quality that seems to spur
the organization on, even today, as it navigates new economic
challenges around the world.

One on One with Current CEO Jim Skinner

asked Jim Skinner about how McDonald’s continues to raise the
Ibar. Here’s what he shared: “Right now, we need to do a better
job on drive-thru capacity and efficiency; it’s a huge opportunity.
We are still operating on the same kind of drive-thru concept that
we had for 30 years. If you look around the world, that is where
their big opportunities are—these drive-thrus. The percentages
aren’t as high, they have fewer of them, but those that have them
haven’t focused as much on them.” Jim looks for opportunities as 65
a way of seeking continuous improvement. As he put it: “It’s
another way of saying that we are never satisfied.”

Lesson Learned

Getting a team focused and engaged on a specific objective
that is clearly measurable can provide ownership of
achievement and empowerment for the team.

In speaking with Claire Babrowski, a former executive vice
president of McDonald’s and now COO of Toys “R” Us, she
mentioned the culture of “customer obsession.” She went on to
say that “McDonald’s has always seen the store as their real
business” and commented how unique that was in many retail