McDonald’s: A Brilliantly Boring Business Case Study
Did you know I used to work at Mcdonald’s?
I was 16 years old, living in a rural town in central Illinois that was situated precisely between a corn and a bean field. Unsurprisingly, it was a pretty quiet place until one day, IT happened.
A McDonald’s was erected.
As a teen, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. I could get all the fries and chicken nuggets with honey mustard and Big Macs my little heart desired. And when I realized I could get a discount on all that yummy goodness by working there, I applied for a job.
My training started where everyone starts—the fry machine. I didn’t take long to advance through the burger line, the breakfast crew, and the drive-thru window. Within eight months, I was promoted to manager.
This meant deeper discounts on salty fries and shakes and the chance to learn about the power of a Brilliantly Boring Business Model.
I was sent to the neighboring towns to train with more seasoned managers, and I was amazed at what I saw:
- Everyone started on the fry machine.
- Everyone learned to count cash registers when closing out their shift in the same way.
- And EVERY hamburger had precisely one squirt of ketchup and mustard, ½ teaspoon of dehydrated onion, and two pickle chips.
The systemization was BRILLIANT, especially when bus loads of tour groups or traveling sports teams pulled in. We could crank out 60 hamburgers in 2 minutes flat.
This isn’t a fluke. It’s by design. The vast success of McDonald’s (and countless other franchises), is due to good ‘ole simplification. So when I opened my business, I studied simplification and franchising like it was my business.
I realized that the more BORING I made things, the more money we made.
The more BORING I made things, the more freedom I had.
The more BORING I made things, the more clients we could serve—all while they continued to get raving results in their own businesses.
It seems counterintuitive, doesn’t it? Yet, when you walk into a Starbucks, a UPS store, or a Macy’s, you know EXACTLY what to expect. So what do all these franchises have in common?
They all developed a Signature Method to streamline EVERYTHING so that they could maximize their profit and their customer experience.
And you can create the same.
And if you need help with making your business boring in the most brilliant way, I’ve got you covered. Click here to schedule a Strategy Call with Amy, and we’ll map out a BORING (but profitable) game plan for your business. During your personalized Business Growth Strategy Call, we’ll…
- Take a look at your marketing, sales, and client delivery systems to see what is and is not working.
- Review your niche, offer, and pricing to identify what’s possible for you in the next 90 days (and beyond!).
- Uncover the #1 bottleneck restricting your growth and holding you back from expanding.
