10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
And I dont even eat at McDonald's, February 10, 2009
This review is from: Everything I Know About Business I Learned at McDonald's: The 7 Leadership Principles that Drive Break Out Success (Hardcover)
I found the book to be outstanding, easy to read, simple, and right on the money. I have not eaten in McDonald's in over ten years and I am not an advocate of the products that they sell(I am too much of a health guy).
That said, they have been incredibly successful as a business and the book explains what the author thinks are the key reasons for their business success.
7 reasons:
1 - honesty and integrity, all in a handshake.
It is not what you do, it is the way you do it -- Ray Crock.
I have often said that having a legal agreement is much less important than doing business with people of high integrity and I have long been an advocate of the handshake over anything else.
2 - the rule is relationships, he speaks glowingly of the great relationships amongst the MacDonald's staff and talks about the three legged stool. This refers to the relationship among the three partners as operators/owners, suppliers, and corporate staff. Each is dependant on each other to support the group as a whole.
3 - standards will never be satisfied.
The quality of the leader is reflected in the standards that they set for themselves -- Ray Crock.
MacDonald's is the ultimate e-myth company. They set process and standards and expect everyone to religiously follow them. They have done a great job of communicating what those standards are and I love the never be satisfied philosophy.
One of the great lines that is totally simple is if you have time to lean, you have time to clean.
4 - Lead by example: clearly this one is obvious and many people try to do this; however, actions speak louder than words. Never underestimate ones actions.
One of the things that I particularly liked in this chapter was in the lessons learned -- "achievers never stop learning" (this is one of the things that I always ascribed to).
5 - Courage -- telling it like it is. The gist of the message is, regardless of what the message is, positive or negative, people need to know what it is and the larger the organization, the tougher it is to get the get the truth. People tend to avoid the risk in telling people the truth.
6 - Communications: It is not how often you communicate, it is how well -- Ray Crock.
There is an entire section on decentralization -- try to get the decision making as close to the customer as possible, of course all within a frame work and a philosophy. I am a big believer in decentralization as I believe this is the way to be the most efficient. It is also the way to get the little things to matter.
7 - Recognition: there is no better way to inspire a team then with recognition. Deep down we create that recognition. I think I could use a little work on this one.
Its a good book. Good words of wisdom.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Think business, think leadership, March 13, 2011
This review is from: Everything I Know About Business I Learned at McDonald's: The 7 Leadership Principles that Drive Break Out Success (Hardcover)
I checked this book out of the library, not for business advice, but for insight on effective leadership which the book definitely delivers. When you read the subtitle of the book "The 7 leadership principles that Drive Break Out Success," it makes sense.
The first chapter is entitled Honesty and Integrity. The chapter leads with a quote from Ray Kroc "It's not what you do, but the way you do it." I like the "Food for Thought" and "Lesson Learned" scattered throughout the chapter. My favorite was on how to gain a group's trust. Included are "Model your own personal integrity." and "By following up on your commitments and obligations". If leaders do not follow up, how can they expect staff to.
The book leads us through other principles as well including standards, communication and courage. How many leadership books actually address the topic of courage - telling it like it is? Not many. Many books tell you what to do, but not how to get the courage to actually address the issue.
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4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Big Mac Scores..., October 20, 2008
This review is from: Everything I Know About Business I Learned at McDonald's: The 7 Leadership Principles that Drive Break Out Success (Hardcover)
I enjoyed reading this book on 3 levels; first, as a friend who was excited to read about "stuff" that has happened to the author that I did not know about and remembering things that I did, second, reading it as an "ex" Mickey D alumni that brought back fond memories that helped form my path in life and business, and third, as an interesting business tool that gives insight to successful planning, coaching, and action guides that offer accountability and positive long lasting results.
The author is successful on all three levels. The anecdotes in the book keep it fresh,interesting, and personal.
A must read for all who would like to have an insightful guide to being a respected leader who gets results, inspires loyalty, and maintains long lasting relationships.
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