MY DAD BECAME a McDonald's operator in
1973—he opened the first McDonald's in Sweden. I worked
there at a very young age. By the age of thirty-five, I was
running McDonald's Sweden and we were working closely with the
Natural Step, an organization that trains companies to
understand the environmental challenge and what to do about it.
We started waste separation for recycling, started buying
organic, began phasing out plastics, and used 'green'
electricity from '95 onwards. We also were working actively to
promote nonviolence, to integrate different ethnic groups, and
to employ associates with mental and physical disabilities.
“But I realized that if tomorrow were the last day of
my life, I wouldn't want to live it the way I was living. I
began to ask, 'What am I supposed to do?' And most of the people
who I respect told me, 'It's great that you have all these
ideas, but don't leave business. Most people who have these
ideas drop out, write books, and give meaningless lectures in
empty hallways. That's not the way to change the world. You've
got to hang in there.'
One friend asked me what I would do if I were the CEO of
McDonald's, and I said that I'd do what we did in Sweden. He
suggested that I go over to the U.S. and tell the CEO that's
what they ought to be doing. He said that if they fire you or
don't want you, then you'd be free to go. So I mustered up some
energy and went to Chicago and told the number two guys what I
wanted to do, what my vision of the world was, and what business
should become. I told them that if McDonald's wanted my
services, I was happy to help them, and if they didn't, I'd move
on. To my great surprise, they offered me the job of global VP
for strategy. For the last five years, I've had various jobs at
McDonald's Corporate but basically played the role of chief
strategist, helping McDonald's to change.
“As always with either politics or big companies,
change doesn't happen as fast as we would want, but I am very
proud of what we have accomplished. Our social responsibility
efforts are amplified and enhanced. The goals, objectives, and
the actions we are taking are both more effective and more
transparent than before—from trans-fatty acids reduction
and eventual elimination to elimination of hormones and
antibiotics in beef to waste reduction and water purification
issues around the world to work conditions in toy manufacturers
in China.
“But I never intended to be a senior executive in a
large, large, large company. About a year ago, I felt the time
was right to move into a more entrepreneurial role again. The
CEO offered me the chance to run McDonald's Ventures, a
collection of brands outside our core business (Chipotle, Boston
Market, Pret A Manger, and RedBox DVD). I am excited to again
have the opportunity to work more entrepreneurially and am
particularly proud of how these businesses are incorporating
triple-bottom-line approaches—profit, community, and
environment—to their respective businesses.
“My ultimate dream is to manage a set of businesses
that all are born out of a purpose bigger than their product. I
believe that is what my particular journey is about. I am
somewhat tired of going to meetings where spiritual people talk
about how the world can be a better place but with very little
evidence of any tangible outcome. Maybe I'm impatient, maybe I'm
intolerant, but I like to see things change in front of me. I
want to see physical manifestations of spiritual intent. My
greatest sense of spirituality or connectedness is when I'm with
people who come together for a cause much larger than themselves
and do great work. In fact, I probably prefer action with only
partially good intentions over intentions only partially acted
upon. And the best way I know how to do that is to keep
identifying, managing, supporting, and helping businesses that
have a purpose bigger than their product. I believe
wholeheartedly that a new form of capitalism is emerging. More
stakeholders (customers, employees, shareholders, and the larger
community) want their businesses to think, to act, to feel, and
to be connected with a larger context. That is spirituality in
action. And that is what I am about.”