McDonald’s new CEO, Steve Easterbrook, accepted a huge problem as his to solve. The former darling of the fast food industry is losing customers. First quarter revenues fell 11 percent. And unlike IBM, which uses share buybacks to maintain earnings per share (EPS) growth in the face of declining revenue, McDonald’s EPS plunged over 25%. Meanwhile, McDonald’s ingredient costs, wages, and healthcare expenses are rising, thus making a quick turn-around challenging. As worrisome, franchise owners are rightfully upset. So what happened? McDonald’s failed to stay relevant to consumers, forcing the behemoth into catch-up mode. But being late to the party extracts a price. Former customers who had ruled the chain out as it fell behind might consider McDonald’s as a meal option again. But winning new customers’ will require more than closing gaps. McDonald’s is curbing antibiotic use in chickens, for example. It’s…
The power of teamwork. The peril of presumptuousness.
Excuse me for wanting to stretch Wisconsin’s glorious victory over Kentucky in the NCAA Basketball Final Four into another day. But I can’t resist. There are business leadership lessons for us to learn. Kentucky is mostly a one-and-done school when it comes to basketball. Coach Calipari recruits young men ready for the pros to spend their requisite waiting-year in college. According to the coach’s website, “Since the 2008 draft, 24 of Coach Cal’s players have been taken in the NBA Draft, including 17 first-rounders.” For seven straight drafts, he’s produced a top-10 pick, something no other school has accomplished. Bo Ryan, the coach of the Wisconsin Badgers, has had some future pro players but for the most part grooms the less talented in whom he sees terrific potential and a willingness to play Badger basketball. As a freshman, Frank Kaminsky looked nothing like…
50 ways to lose your customers
Singer-composer Paul Simon’s classic song “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover” is about an emotionally torn man who “struggles to be free” of his wife. He learns, from his mistress, “The answer is easy if you take it logically.” Her advice? “You just slip out the back, Jack. Make a new plan, Stan. You don’t need to be coy, Roy. Just get yourself free.” Companies usually don’t want to slip out the back, leaving their customers feeling dumped. But companies can unconsciously induce their customers to say goodbye to the company’s brands – in ways as swift and sure as the song’s recommendations. I won’t bore you with fifty ways, but here are seven sure-fire mistakes leaders make that lead their customers to “slip out the back” or “make a new plan.” 1. Placing profits before people and customer experiences. Financial outcomes are…