I’m Lovin It! I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to do a lot of work with McDonald’s. Most recently, I was speaking for a regional meeting in northern Ohio (which I am proud to share) kicked off the pilot of a continuity program to keep my message alive in the restaurants.
In my research for the program, I spent a lot of time in McDonald’s restaurants in the area, talking to managers, working to understand their process and what they thought could improve, and I even spent a day behind the counter, learning to make sandwiches.
But as interested I was to find out about all the many ingredients that go into McDonald’s huge menu—seriously, you guys should see all the charts they have in the back for all the different sandwiches they offer—nothing could have prepared me for the great emotion that I felt from the employees.
There were some employees that loved McDonald’s so much that it brought them to tears. It was a second family to them or they loved the energy and challenge of the fast-paced environment or it had been the only job they’d ever known as they’d gone from crew to manager to department head to owner over decades of service.
Despite all the bashing we hear, there are plenty of reasons to love McDonald’s—I myself used to eat at McDonald’s on every trip because, before gluten free menus were around, I knew that I could trust McDonald’s to have an all-beef patty with no fillers. But ultimately, the reason I love McDonald’s has little to do with the food—it has to do with the amazing people I’ve met who work there and are so committed and joyous in their career there. Through my time spent researching, the brand changed from brick and mortar, from bad media headlines to heart and soul. I love McDonald’s because I have grown to love the people I have met who make it work day to day.
How do you foster that kind of loyalty and brand love? Create an environment where people know they have the opportunity to grow—make it known that this can be a ten, 20, or lifelong working relationship. Give them the training they need, not just for the job they have now, but the positions they will fill in the future. And above all, give them something to love, whether that be the energy, the community, or just the project.
Do your employees or peers love your brand? Why or why not? Consider that this week, and shoot me an email to let me know what you’ve observed!
As a speaker and author, Curtis Zimmerman has impacted over one million people with his life-changing messages and award-winning programs. Curtis is an expert at transforming organizations by inspiring individuals to live their lives at performance level.
Want to be inspired? Check out his podcast The Next 24 Hours.