麥當勞CEO談退休：“這是最佳時機?！?
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????麥當勞公司（McDonald's）備受贊譽的接班人方案已經正式啟動。 ????這家快餐巨頭上周三晚間宣布，執掌公司7年半的吉姆?斯金納即將榮休。麥當勞現任董事長兼首席運營官多恩?湯普森將于7月1日接任這個最高職務。 ????《財富》雜志（Fortune）曾于去年秋天做了一篇關于斯金納的人物報道，我們當時在文中稱，他的領導才能為“金色拱門”（Golden Arches，麥當勞公司別稱——譯注）迎來了一段簡直可以堪稱“黃金時代”的歲月。麥當勞去年的利潤高達55億美元，比斯金納2004年履新時翻了一番多。1月20日，公司股價達到102.22美元，創下了歷史新高。 ????除了創下耀眼的財務數據之外，斯金納還培養出一只高素質的后備人才隊伍：他非常關心公司各個層面上的繼任規劃。斯金納出任CEO那一幕頗具悲劇色彩：前任CEO吉姆?坎塔盧波死于心臟病發作，而原定的繼任者則因罹患癌癥必須接受治療。 ????湯普森出任CEO后面臨的最大挑戰是，如何維持麥當勞公司在斯金納監管下業已形成的發展勢頭。去年5月，在準備那篇關于斯金納的人物報道時，我在位于伊利諾伊州奧克布魯克市的麥當勞公司總部對湯普森進行了采訪?！八俏医洑v過的最有實力的導師之一，”湯普森如此評價他的老板?！八诠镜娜粘＿\營方面給了我巨大的空間?！?/p> ????高效干練的斯金納（他已在麥當勞公司供職41年之久）是一位堅決奉行顧客至上原則的經營大師。我們在2011年的報道中注意到斯金納自己收藏了許多老款的麥當勞咖啡杯蓋——即使顧客喜歡新設計，但他本人真的不喜歡。 ????當時，我嘗試著誘導斯金納談一談他的退休計劃，但他只是開玩笑地說，哪一天他的咖啡杯蓋用完了，他就退休。 ????以下內容節選自斯金納上周三晚上宣布退休后首次接受采訪的實錄摘要。 ????《財富》：看來你的杯蓋真是用完了？ ????吉姆?斯金納：我評估了一下我的咖啡杯蓋收藏，我估摸著還能用大約25個年頭，所以我打算把它們帶回家。 ????為什么選擇現在退休呢？ ????每個人都在問我這個問題，我認為對于麥當勞公司而言，這是一個最佳時機。衡量一項繼任規劃成功與否的真正標準體現在CEO是否在恰當的時間離職。在許多情況下，退休時間宜早不宜遲。 ????還有些人會說：“比我們想象的早了一點?！蔽医衲?7歲，我已經在這家公司呆了41年，在此之前我在海軍服了10年兵役。公司的業績正處于歷史最高位，而且我也有機會把它交給一位已經做好充分準備、并且有能力把這種可持續增長延續至未來的人選，還有比現在更好的時機么？ |
????The wheels of McDonald's lauded succession planning are now in motion. ????The fast food giant announced on Wednesday night that Jim Skinner, who led the company for seven-and-a-half years, is retiring. McDonald's (MCD) president and COO Don Thompson will step into the top job on July 1. ????Fortune profiled Skinner last summer, when we described his leadership as having brought on nothing short of a Golden Age for the Golden Arches. Last year's profits hit $5.5 billion, more than double what they were in 2004, the year Skinner took over. The stock reached an all-time high of $102.22 on January 20. ????Beyond delivering stellar financials, Skinner also developed a deep bench; he cared deeply about succession planning at all levels of the company. He became CEO under tragic circumstances, after former CEO Jim Cantalupo died of a heart attack and Cantalupo's successor underwent treatment for cancer. ????Thompson's biggest challenge as CEO will be to maintain the momentum that took hold on Skinner's watch. Last May, I interviewed Thompson at McDonald's headquarters in Oak Brook, Ill., while reporting the Skinner profile. "He has been one of the strongest mentors I've ever had," he said of his boss. "He's given me tremendous room in terms of the day-to-day business of McDonald's." ????The no-nonsense Skinner, who spent 41 years with the company, is an operations guru with a penchant for always putting the customer first. In our 2011 story, we noted that Skinner had his own stash of the old type of McDonald's coffee cup lids, because even though customers liked the new design, he really didn't. ????At the time, I tried to get Skinner to talk about retirement, but he only joked that he would retire when he ran out of his supply of lids. ????The following are edited excerpts of one of Skinner's first interviews since Wednesday night's announcement. ????Fortune: So you ran out of lids? ????Jim Skinner: I assessed my lid collection, and I think I've got about 25 years left, so I'll be taking those with me. ????Why now? ????Everybody's asking this question, and I think it's the perfect time for McDonald's. The true measure of a successful succession plan is manifested by the CEO handing off at the right time. In many cases, that's sooner rather than later. ????Some other people have also said, "It's a little sooner than we thought." I'm 67 years old, I've been here 41 years, and I had 10 years in the Navy before that. What better time than now, when the company's performing at the highest level ever and there's the opportunity to pass it on to someone who's more than ready and capable of delivering sustained growth well into the future. |
