CHICAGO McDonald’s Corp. vice chairman and chief executive Jim Skinner urged attendees of the National Restaurant Association’s annual trade show and convention to resolve that critical issue and others by working as allies rather than competitors. —Citing food commodity shortages as “our next big challenge,”
“There’s plenty of competitive spirit in this room,” Skinner told the McCormick Place audience for his May 18 keynote address at the NRA’s Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show here. “[But] we are all restaurateurs. We all know the poetry of a well-run kitchen. We all know the excitement of the rush at lunch.” —Citing food commodity shortages as “our next big challenge,”
He added that every operator today knows the challenge of changing the public’s sometimes negative perception of working in the industry and of safeguarding an increasingly imported food supply. Skinner also cited the across-the-board problems of heightened government and consumer activism, and the need to foster more consumer trust in the industry, which he characterized as his personal mission at McDonald’s. —Citing food commodity shortages as “our next big challenge,”
In contending with the challenges of this or any other day, Skinner said, McDonald’s adheres to a slogan that is part of its heritage: “‘None of us is as good as all of us.’ It’s the simple yet powerful resource that has driven our success.” —Citing food commodity shortages as “our next big challenge,”
He wove the mantra several times into his speech, underscoring the theme that restaurateurs are far more resourceful when working in concert than they are while struggling in isolation. That may be particularly true, Skinner suggested, in addressing food shortages, which he described as “no doubt an immediate crisis, and possibly a sign of a larger trend.” —Citing food commodity shortages as “our next big challenge,”
Skinner spoke in the wake of natural disasters in Myanmar and China that are expected to affect the agriculture of those areas gravely. The preceding weeks also brought riots in several underprivileged nations that were touched off by shortages of basic foodstuffs. —Citing food commodity shortages as “our next big challenge,”
“With a challenge this great and this global, it will require our collaborative creative thinking,” he said. —Citing food commodity shortages as “our next big challenge,”
After warning of the growing gap between food demand and supplies, Skinner stressed the importance of sustainability and the need to preserve food sources through “environmental stewardship.” —Citing food commodity shortages as “our next big challenge,”
True to his contention that sharing ideas may be in the interest of all, Skinner often disclosed what McDonald’s is doing to contend with particular industry-wide issues, including lingering perceptions of foodservice jobs as a career path of last resort. He aired two commercials that used a high-tech time-lapse technique to trace the job histories of two people as they moved from crewmember posts into management roles. The individuals appear in a progression of McDonald’s uniforms, ending with the outfits of today. The final identifications indicated that they were actual unit managers and their stories were true. —Citing food commodity shortages as “our next big challenge,”
He acknowledged that many in the business assume McDonald’s has an easier time in grappling with such macro issues because of its size and the resources that affords. “If it were only that easy,” he said. In regard to impressions of restaurant jobs, for instance, “I don’t have to tell you that fewer companies have had a tougher time with their employment image than us,” he said. “I only have to say the word ‘McJobs.’” —Citing food commodity shortages as “our next big challenge,”
Similarly, he said, preserving food safety when menu items increasingly are being purchased from all over the world is a challenge regardless of scale. —Citing food commodity shortages as “our next big challenge,”
“More products from more places has forced us to strengthen our focus on food safety,” Skinner said while underscoring the risks to reputations that all operators face when any operator is linked to safety problems. —Citing food commodity shortages as “our next big challenge,”
“If our food supply is not safe, we all have to be concerned,” he said. “We all need food standards that are in harmony with each other, from Bolivia to Beijing to Boise. —Citing food commodity shortages as “our next big challenge,”
“There’s a new phrase: ‘All supply chains are global.’ It doesn’t matter how big you are.” —Citing food commodity shortages as “our next big challenge,”
As for McDonald’s newer food offerings, Skinner acknowledged that his chain “is learning from all of you” about expanding “our menu options to fit more needs.” Among borrowed adaptations he described as “my favorites,” Skinner cited McDonald’s Asian-derived salad toppings of edamame and snow peas. —Citing food commodity shortages as “our next big challenge,”
Conversely, “we collaborate with the whole industry to put the best practices in place” for protecting that wider array of menu choices. —Citing food commodity shortages as “our next big challenge,”
Skinner noted that McDonald’s did not always embrace the spirit of collaboration he was espousing that afternoon. —Citing food commodity shortages as “our next big challenge,”
“In the early years, we thought we could do it ourselves,” he said. “Clearly we couldn’t.” —Citing food commodity shortages as “our next big challenge,”
That recollection brought to mind for some in Skinner’s audience that Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonald’s Corp. and longtime driving spirit behind the brand, had once famously remarked that if a competitor was drowning, he’d put a hose in the poor lout’s mouth. —Citing food commodity shortages as “our next big challenge,”
Today, Skinner said, “we are dignified in a unified voice.” —Citing food commodity shortages as “our next big challenge,”
He ended his speech with a call for the whole industry to work together in protecting everyone’s reputation. “None of us,” he said in conclusion, “is as good as all of us.” —Citing food commodity shortages as “our next big challenge,”
Speeches, soirees highlight NRA confab —Citing food commodity shortages as “our next big challenge,”