In our continuing series of MUFSO quotables, following are some more of the ideas and thoughts that were expressed by participants of the various MUFSO events around the country:
“To succeed in this business, the operator of the 1980s is going to have to have the energy of a dynamo, the sway of Latin lovers, and be as mean as a junkyard dog.”
—Warren Rosenthal, chairman and president of Jerrico Inc., 1981
“All of a sudden the watchdogs and do-gooders and anyone else who wants to get into the act are going to try to regulate and involve themselves in our industry. You’re not going to escape the political arena. You’re not going to escape these issues. And you’re not going to escape government involvement and control—it’s going to get much more intense.”
—Charles Lynch, chairman and chief executive, DHL, 1986
“We’re going to have to produce an honest meal for the customer. He won’t tolerate less. Today’s customer, and the emerging customer, is not long going to put up with cigars, balloons and gimmicks when what he wants to pay for is what he gets on his plate and how he gets it.”
—Richard Blumenthal, head of restaurant division, Restaurant Associates Industries, 1970
“We have to be self-policing of our industry when health claims are made on the basis of marketing requirements rather than science.”
—Ed Rensi, president, McDonald’s USA, 1990
“The thing that distinguishes entrepreneurs from other business-people is that they are willing to say: ‘Ready, fire, aim.’ They act first, and think later.”
—Don Boensel, president, Soup and Salad Systems, 1988
“Let us turn a deaf ear to the competitor who would selfishly have you believe there is plenty of business for all. For while he croons this lullaby of coexistence, his brain is reeling with schemes to smack you from your position of leadership.”
—Patrick O’Malley, president, National Restaurant Association, 1976
“Change will come faster, government control will be greater, and, most important, our reaction time will have to be as close to instant as possible. In other words, we’ll frequently have to take action before all the facts are available.”
—Don Bennett, former president, Uniworld Foods
—House of Pies, 1973