15 Mar 2012 Talking to Greg Solomon, MD of McDonalds SA
Greg Solomon, MD McDonalds, describes the company as “a family and a family business. Looking outward we want to be talking to a family – a mother, a father, a child – and that’s who we cater for. We are not just a business that caters for kids. One of our fastest growing markets is the young adults. For us there is a family feeling in this business. It is an open ended learning environment”. This article looks at Solomon’s from a leadership perspective…
He refers to a three legged stool to describe the business further, which of course means every leg is critical as the chair cannot remain standing without one leg. The first leg is McDonalds Corporation. The second leg is the suppliers. Leg three represents their franchisees. What binds the three legs together is a strong partnership.
Solomon explains further that “at McDonalds we do not enter into business contracts with our suppliers; we enter into long term business partnerships with our strategic suppliers. We don’t enter into a small three year agreement with our franchisees; we enter into a long term sustainable business proposition with our franchisees. These are deeply entrenched partnerships where we work hand in hand, and relationships are co-dependent on each other.”
They own seventy five percent of their properties in SA. So, while some may believe they are actually in the property business, they mostly see themselves as being a people’s business. They are also a learning institution with a Hamburger University that formally trains about two thousand five hundred people. This is a formal learning institution for which Solomon has a much larger vision.
In SA there are currently one hundred and sixty restaurants with over seven thousand five hundred employees between McDonalds and its franchisees. Worldwide there are over 1.4 million employees in one hundred and twenty countries. In short Solomon describes McDonalds SA as being “about partnerships, family and learning”.
Solomon grew up in Johannesburg and was schooled there as well. He qualified as a Civil Engineer, through Wits Technicon at the time. While working as a civil and structural engineer he came across a McDonalds advert for a construction project manager, as they were entering the country. His wife encouraged him to go for it.
He comments: “And so she pushed me as she does so many times. I applied and the rest is history”. He spent six to seven years ultimately leading the construction and development portfolio.
The American CEO at the time called Solomon into his office and explained they had too many expatriates in the business. The plan was to change this over three years and they identified him as one of the future leaders. This resulted in a fast track leadership development programme.
He went into Auckland Park McDonalds for a year, learning the trade – cooking, working hand in hand with and understanding the crew – the entry level of the organisation. He later became Director Operations, then Executive Director and finally the CEO.
Solomon says: “McDonalds is a very proud business. To lead this business you need to know how to make a hamburger. You need to know where the raw ingredients come from.”…..