Innovation at McDonalds Australia

I attended an American Chamber of Commerce luncheon this week where the speaker was Andrew Gregory, CEO of McDonalds Australia.  He spoke about innovation at McDonalds Australia.

As a regular at McDonald and a regular traveller to the USA, I have always been fascinated by how much more innovative and ‘upmarket’ the McDonalds restaurants are here in Australia by comparison, so I was interested to hear his thoughts on why the local organisation has been successful with regard to image and innovation.

His message boiled down to two key points:

1. They won’t be afraid to change or try something new, if it is something their customers really want; and
2. If a decision comes down to pleasing the customer or an internal stakeholder, McDonalds will ALWAYS do what pleases the customer.

So a customer-led approach to development, and an appetite for change are the keys to their success.

by Adam Hyland