Everything I know about business I learned at McDonald’s 1

There are seven leadership principles that drive McDonald’s break out success. Can you match the following examples with the corresponding leadership principles?

Examples	The Leadership Principles
(A) A CEO claimed proudly that “I would not under any circumstances take anything from the company” (p.11) not even a free hamburger to his wife. “[H]andshake agreements are alive and well with McDonald’s suppliers, even in today’s litigious society (p. 4).”	(1) Relationship
(B) In order to boost the sales and morale, a CEO once sent 35,000 tins of popcorn to managers, the regional offices, and all staff and wrote “sit down with your family and watch television and eat some popcorn” in the letter.	(2) Lead by Example
(C) A CEO would still clean the toilets today if he saw a dirty one in a McDonald’s. His message is clear and loud that all units much have clean restrooms and he meant it. (p.94)	(3) Honesty and Integrity
(D) The CEOs have no hesitation in closing down underperforming restaurants that were dirty, under-staffed, and poorly run (p.60). As there are “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. (p.62)”	(4) Standards
(E) In January 2003, a CEO did something rather unusual when the Wall Street laid enormous pressures on him to quickly improve the performance of McDonald’s: he cut the development of new stores, and focused on getting more sales in existing restaurants. (p.120)	(5) Communications
(F) The courses offered by Hamburger University are taught in 28 languages so as to support a diverse culture and accommodate its global workforce. Also the university displays the flags that represent the countries of the visitors that are there that week, and those that work on the premises. (p.40)	(6) Courage
(G) McDonald’s values the exchange of ideas and there are no doors on offices. Moreover, CEOs in McDonald’s still appreciate old-fashioned conversations like handwritten notes, letters and phone calls.	(7) Recognition

Answers:

(A) – (3)

(B)  – (7)

(C)  – (2)

(D) – (4)

(E)  – (6)

(F)  – (1)

(G) – (5)

Facella, Paul. (2009). Everything I know about business I learned at McDonald’s. NY: McGraw Hill