A
Fail Proof Plan
“…I
tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields.
They
are ripe for harvest.” John 4:35
If
simplicity and service are the keys to a sound business, Richard and Maurice unlocked the doors early on…and the fast food
world has never been the same.
Ever since A & W Root Beer originated the “drive-in”
restaurant in Sacramento in the 1920’s, carhop servers were the rage for over
two decades. In the 1940’s, these two
entrepreneurial brothers joined the wave only to implement some significant
changes. They eliminated the carhops,
lowered the prices, and opened two windows where customers would place orders
from a newly limited menu.
They
decided that the menu would include milk-shakes made from a newly designed
mixer, coca-cola, and a 15 cent hamburger which you could have anyway you
wanted as long it was with mustard, ketchup, onions, and two pickle slices.
The new
approach drew almost more business than they could handle as crowds flocked to
their Riverside location. Soon, Richard
and Maurice McDonald, would encounter a middle-aged man named Ray Kroc
who would help them franchise their restaurants. By 1961, Kroc was running 228 outlets and
would buy the brothers out for $2.7 million.
By 1963, McDonald’s would had sold over one billion hamburgers while
opening its 500th restaurant while introducing the character Ronald
McDonald portrayed by a soon to be weathercaster name Willard Scott.
Chairman
Ray would keep the philosophy easy by saying:
“Build simple, casual and easy-to-identify restaurants where the
service is friendly, the prices are low, and there’s no waiting for tables” eventually
transferring the philosophy for others to follow.
Over the
years, McDonald’s has maintained this standard formula that has set the stage
for an almost fail-proof plan and their passion to reach their world market is
undeniable. A few years ago, the
McDonald’s Vice Chairman and President said, “There are almost 4.5 billion people in the countries we operate in.
That’s 13.5 billion meal opportunities a day, and we feed only 45 million of
them. That’s less than half of one
percent.” Translation…they’re not
going to be contented until they reach them all.
In John 4:34,35, Jesus gave God’s formula that
brought a different revolution. “My
food, said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.
Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest?’ I tell you, open your
eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for the harvest.” Translation...success with God comes when we
follow His plan and turn our attention to a hungry and hurting world that needs
His touch. It’s hard to improve on a
formula like that.
Terry Risser
© Copyright Terry
Risser - 2014
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