Marshall Field, founder of Marshall Field department store in Chicago, ran his company on the premise, “To act from reason rather than rule.”
This philosophy seems to be an excellent business strategy even today. It shows respect and focus on customers.
There is a McDonald’s manager in North Carolina who purposefully orders less coffee from the company than his customers consume. By doing so, he is forced to go to the store and buy good coffee. As a result, his customers flock to his establishment to meet their buddies for a morning cup of java.
Apparently McDonalds is not going to infringe on Starbucks’ market share anytime soon. The burger giant is known for having hot, not exceptional coffee!
By following reason and getting good coffee from the grocery, this manager is able to satisfy his customer base and increase his revenue. If he just followed the rules – only serving company coffee, both his revenue and customer satisfaction would decrease.
Rules have their place. But when they infringe on common sense, perhaps it is time to act from reason.