Jim McLamore - The Burger King: A Whopper of a Story on Life and Leadership

The
Burger
King

A Whopper of a Story
on Life and Leadership

James W. McLamore

Cofounder and first CEO of Burger King

Mango Publishing

Coral Gables

Copyright 2020 by McLamore Family Foundation.
Published by Mango Publishing Group, a division of Mango Media Inc.

Cover Design: Roberto Nez
Cover Photo: Jim McLamore / McLamore Family Foundation
Layout & Design: Roberto Nez
Editor: Tucker McCormack

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The Burger King: A Whopper of a Story on Life and Leadership
For more information, visit www.TheBurgerKingBook.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication number: 2019954720
ISBN: (print) 978-1-64250-282-4, (ebook) 978-1-64250-283-1
BISAC category code: BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Personal Memoirs

Printed in the United States of America

Dad would have dedicated this book to his partner of forty-nine years, Nancy Nichol McLamore. For as long as I can remember, Dad never forgot to introduce Nancy during each of his speeches and at special functions. She was his partner in life and made sure he wanted for nothing throughout their marriage. Her dedication to him would have been returned with this book dedicat ed to her.

Sterling Whitma n McLamore

McLamore Family Foundation

The McLamore Family Foundation was created to continue the vision of James W. McLamore by promoting activities which were important to him including: education, entrepreneurship, leadership, youth activities, and cultural, civic, and community Service Programs. The foundation has donated over four million dollars in Jim McLamores name in honor of the work he loved. In 2011, we partnered directly with the Burger King McLamore Foundation to provide three $50,000 WHOPPER scholarships annually for their top c andidates.

All proceeds from this book go to support the McLamore Family Foundations charitable a ctivities.

Burger King McLamore Foundation

Our story started back with our namesake Burger King cofounder James Jim W. McLamore and his belief in the importance of higher education for all. With the inspiration and intention to honor Jim, the Burger King Scholars program was created in 2000. The intention of the program was to advance the education of deserving students in North America and serve as a tribute to Jim, and it has been doing so ever since with the help of the McLamore Family Foundation, Burger King Corporation, its guests, franchisees, system vendors, and supporters who believe in the mission of the program and the f oundation.

Table of Contents

Jim McLamore, the businessman, was a true entrepreneur, one whose vision created a great American enterprise through his dogmatic approach in business and in life. He was the ideal person to team up with Dave Edgerton to start the Burger King empire. Jim was the perfect CEO, one whose strengths in planning, administration, and finance made for an excellent partnership with Dave, who was the perfect operational and engineering expert. Together they became one of the greatest success stories of our time.

This book represents the bulk of my fathers professional life. His achievements did not stop with his retirement from Burger King in 1972 at age forty-six, but continued in his work as a board member for many corporations, and carried through to his philanthropy. His philosophy of giving back to his community and to the institutions that helped propel him along the way was paramount to his wishes for the McLamore Family Foundation. Fittingly, near the end of his life, the franchise community, Burger King Corporation, Dave Edgerton, and the family all came together to pay tribute to Dad by helping to fund the James W. McLamore Executive Education Training Center at the University of Miami. When we presented this honor to him, we also announced our creation and naming of the Burger King McLamore Foundation in support of education throughout the United States. He was deeply honored an d humbled.

Dads greatest talent was his gentle approach to doing business. Whether you were a crew member, a manager, a franchisee, or a corporate executive, he treated you with respect and was eager to learn more about you and your opinions. Many early franchisees have said that his word was his bond and thats just the way he did business from the beginning. Trust, loyalty, devotion, and compassion were virtues deeply ingrained in his personality. Fortunately, he carried those traits into his philanthropic efforts. As chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of Miami, Dad spearheaded the now famous $400 million five-year fundraising campaign, which far exceeded its goal by raising just over $517 million by its conclusion. Chuck Cobb, a family friend and fellow board member, said at Dads memorial service, He judged his ability to inspire a donation by how big a gulp they took when he asked for their cont ribution.

An article written after his death made mention of Dad as the Master Gardenercapable of growing people as well as plants. He had talent at both, but he was best known for his tropical garden at home. Dad carried over his gardening interest to the Fairchild Tropical Garden after Hurricane Andrew took its toll. As the newly elected chairman of the board of the Garden, he took great pride in announcing a $5 million fundraising plan to a shocked board of directors, throwing in the fact that he had already raised $1. million.

We are constantly reminded by others what a great inspiration Dad has been and how lucky they feel to have known him. He was a hero to us all and will be missed.

Sterling Whitma n McLamore

We are competing in a global marketplace where labor costs are a fraction of our own, with jobs and production leaving the country in search of more favorable economic advantages. Like it or not, US corporations are cutting out much of the fat as they continually try to get leaner and more competitive. Jobs are no longer sacred, and unfortunate as it may be, corporate loyalty to long-term employees is becoming less significant in the minds of corporate executives. Competitive efficiency is the major issue concerning businessmen today. Lean and hungry is the watchword. Survival instinct is the driving force in determining corporate strategy. In this maze, people can be expendable. When the corporate world gets increasingly competitive, workers will be asked to do the same. If they elect not to, they risk losing their jobs to less demandin g workers.

Sounds pretty grim, right? Well, not necessarily. In an age of corporate downsizing, wherein corporations are driven toward the increased efficiencies of outsourcing and competitive labor pricing, two things will begin to happenboth good. First, corporate profits will increase, even in the face of the lowering of consumer prices, which then brings greater confidence to financial marketsa key principle in the success of the Burger Ki ng empire.

Today we have huge economic advantages in the fields of high technology, space endeavors, communications, aircraft production, and many other activities. World demand will increase and this will benefit our economy, but competitive threats coming out of global markets will be a constant thorn in our side. Companies may fail for a variety of reasons, but tomorrows failures will occur principally because: (1) they are overleveraged and cant service their debts, (2) their markets have shifted and they have been unable to react to the change, (3) they dont have a working strategy designed to give customers value, or (4) they have an uninspired workforce lacking l eadership.