cover of episode Listen Now: The Best Idea Yet

Listen Now: The Best Idea Yet

2024/11/4
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American Scandal

Key Insights

Why did Super Mario become the best-selling video game character?

Nintendo's strategy of 'The Infinite Game' and the inability to secure the rights to Popeye.

Who was behind the idea for the McDonald's Happy Meal?

A mom in Guatemala who inspired the concept.

What role did Yolanda Hernández play in the first McDonald's franchise in Guam?

She was the trailblazer, taking charge and ensuring the franchise met corporate standards while feeling like a family-owned restaurant.

What is Hamburger University and why is it significant?

A training program for McDonald's franchise owners, it's the first of its kind globally, focusing on supply chain, management, and leadership skills.

How does McDonald's balance corporate standards with local innovation?

While maintaining uniform customer experiences, McDonald's encourages franchise owners to pay attention to local customers and take initiative on great ideas.

Chapters

The story of how Yolanda Orozco, a franchise owner, prepared to open the first McDonald's in Guam, highlighting the challenges and meticulous preparation required to maintain the brand's standards.
  • Yolanda Orozco and her husband opened the first McDonald's franchise in Guam.
  • They invested their own money and paid a licensing fee to use the McDonald's brand.
  • Yolanda attended Hamburger University to learn the corporate standards and management skills.

Shownotes Transcript

Have you ever wondered how the candle d's happy new became the best selling meal of all time? Or who's really behind that bottle of Sarah in your fridge? Or why almost every house in amErica has at least one game of monopoly, introducing the best idea yet, a brand new podcast about the untold origin stories of iconic products and the people who made them go viral.

Like, did you know that super mario, the best selling video game character of all time, only exists because nintendo couldn't get the rights to POI? Or that the idea for the mcDonald's happy meal first came from a mom in guana every week on the best idea yet theyll be digging into a product you already know well. But you'll never believe there are surprising origin stories. You're about to hear a Cliff from the best idea yet while you're listening. Follow the best idea yet on the wonder APP or wherever you get your podcast.

It's june nineteen, nineteen seventy, twenty cities historic district and elena for nana o is grilling from year to year because the opening day for very first mcDonald's franchise located in gut aba and SHE at her husband, they own IT.

She's turning forty next month, and she's really excited for this new chapter in her life because it's been months of work to get this thing ready, to bring in the supplies, to hire and then to train thirty, forty employees, all while raising five kids of their own as a lot. Now quick S I note mcDonald CoOperation, they don't actually owe most of the restaurant. Great point, jack, that would be the fancies.

So you longer and her husband are small business owners, and they put up their own money to build the first squad. Min, mcDonald's location based. They're paying mcdevitt licensing fee in exchange for the rights to use the mcDonald's brand logo.

And all those little sweet recipes, mac moss gray, did they call that actually that but this a system that's been in place since even before ray cross, who is the cut through entrepreneurship, eventually, the Mickey D C E O, that muscle the down brothers out of their own company back in nineteen and sixty one. For that story, you can curl up on the couch and watch a movie called the founder. It's a good in airplane movie I watched on the flight the other day, but yet he's mcDonald.

They started expanding to international markets in the late sixties. But as of one thousand hundred and seventy four, mcDonald sm made a huge dent in lam america. So as guamos first mcDonald's franchise, SE, Yolanda or Donna jolie, as she's now locally, is ready to introduce this fast, affordable, this fantastic new food to heart community.

Now the coffee o. Fernando family, they may own the franchise together, but it's dona yoi who really takes charge. SHE is the fast food trail blaze or as mcDonald's employees like to say, she's got catch up in her veins.

What a great expression. Although that can't be good for the blood pressure. I think you may want to see certain, but still don't. Iai SHE wants their location in goa. O to feel like a family owned restaurant. SHE does not want this to feel like a change, but there are a lot of haden steps are going to creating this kind of environment.

Like all the details you have to nail the sort of found the hiring standards, the daily signage ensure the sesame seed bund is the same density in guana OA yeah as IT is grand rapid is you are literally running a business when you're franchise SE. But since it's a business you didn't found, you got to do everything according to the corporate standards. And this is why doni ventures two thousand and seven hundred miles from her home to elk grove village, ila.

Oy, that's right. Don't know you. I is going hamburger university. You, I have some questions about this university. Oh, jack, you may need to apply.

Well, let's get into a aby hamburger university, which is, by the way, should absolutely be A D one school is the brainchild of a guide name, fried turn. Now thread. He actually started as a girl man, and one of the very first mcDonald's franchise location.

But this university he dreams on, its actually a training program for franchise owners. The very first type of train program like this in the entire world is the harvard for hambard, is the stanford for fries month. The cambridge for corner.

Pounders and IT all starts in the basement of a make in l. Grove village, a suburb not that far from chicago. S.

S. Old hair airport. Now the students are hamburger university. There are a bacheller of hamburger ology with like a minor and french fries.

Jack, would you hang out all? I feel like that's a good diplomat to brag about? no. But on my brand new mcDonalds location, exactly. Because despite what you may think, hr university students there are learning everything from supply chain to management to leadership skills. And actually IT is really hard to get to hamburger university.

You ready for some statman hit me OK today that the shanghai campus, a hamburger university, has a one percent acceptance rate is actually lower than hard. So I take IT back. I will put that to put on from jack when doni attender universe she's absorbing everything.

But there is one thing that you london learns at hamburger university that really gets fired up. McDonald is naturally all about delivering a uniform experience for their customers. That was one of the keys to mcDonald explosive growth in one thousand nine hundred fifty.

Exactly, jack. But the company's leaders, they want to clash the entrepreneurs instincts of their franchise. Don't you yoi, for example, he knows her community Better than corporate does, especially being nearly three thousand miles away in central.

So while corporate wants the fries always fried at a certain temperature and the pad is all to be the same weight, they also want a franchise owner to pay attention to their customers, right? yeah. And if they get a great idea, they want the french iie to take initiative.

Well, that exactly does he had back to, oh, hair passes through the same permanent as a family, and then spends the whole light to go to city thinking. And SHE is more energized than ever, because when SHE lands, SHE thinks she's got IT. But he has no idea that her brain stone on that plane is about to make best food yesterday.

You can listen to the best idea yet early, an anthy right now by joining, wondering plus in the wander APP or on apple podcasts.