McDonald’s on Leadership
SEP 14 Tribune Business Article
This past Sunday, September 14, 2008, The Chicago Tribune ran an article in the Business section on McDonald’s Corporation and their current successes in overseas markets, in spite of a weaker US economy. The article entitled “Sitting Pretty” featured comments from an interview with CEO Jim Skinner by Mike Hughlett, Tribune Reporter.
I guess what struck me the most about the article was the way McDonald’s has focused on working in local markets, developing local leadership and talent, and tailoring their food offerings to the local culture.
Locally based leadership goes down to a countrywide level and “it is very important,” said Palmer, the UBS analyst. “They have established accountability and very effective local leadership.
This decentralized and innovative approach to leadership development is amazing to me for such a large company who many would expect to be inflexible, traditional, top-down, and resistant to change and innovation.
Perhaps this is part of the secret of success for companies in a global economy, where there is a need to connect with people as real people, and not as an impersonal corporation.
Jim Skinner Video at the Chicago Tribune
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