不懼后來(lái)人

????“漢堡大學(xué)”（Hamburger U，麥當(dāng)勞的培訓(xùn)機(jī)構(gòu)）的理念曾經(jīng)一度遭人恥笑，人們并不把它放在眼里，但對(duì)于斯金納這種既沒(méi)有大學(xué)文憑，也沒(méi)有MBA學(xué)位的人而言，管理培訓(xùn)絕非兒戲。榮任CEO一年后，斯金納組織了一個(gè)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力培訓(xùn)項(xiàng)目。該項(xiàng)目歷時(shí)九個(gè)月，參與項(xiàng)目的是全公司最優(yōu)秀的管理人員，他們共同研究如何解決麥當(dāng)勞所面臨的重大問(wèn)題。此外，斯金納還自掏腰包，發(fā)起了一個(gè)專為新晉管理人員開設(shè)的培訓(xùn)項(xiàng)目。

????多年來(lái)，斯金納極力推進(jìn)公司的人才培養(yǎng)計(jì)劃，這也許將成為他留給麥當(dāng)勞最豐厚的一筆“遺產(chǎn)”。 在今年四月份的美國(guó)“全國(guó)招聘日”，公司一次性招募了62,000名新人，目前，麥當(dāng)勞僅在美國(guó)國(guó)內(nèi)就擁有700,000名員工。他要求所有管理人員至少培養(yǎng)兩名“繼任者”，一名能即刻接替工作，一名則可以在不久的將來(lái)就任，或者按照麥當(dāng)勞內(nèi)部的說(shuō)法，一名是“隨時(shí)接任者”，另外一名是“未來(lái)接班人”。人們很容易推測(cè)，這種復(fù)雜的人員配備和斯金納本人的晉升之路有著密切的關(guān)聯(lián)。每年，包括斯金納在內(nèi)的麥當(dāng)勞高管團(tuán)隊(duì)會(huì)對(duì)公司200個(gè)高層職位及其儲(chǔ)備人才庫(kù)進(jìn)行審查，總共有400人?！拔覀儠?huì)逐一討論每個(gè)人的狀況，”麥當(dāng)勞首席人力資源官里奇?福洛施如是說(shuō)。

????員工可能會(huì)因?yàn)殡S時(shí)有“后來(lái)者居上”而感到惶恐，但斯金納對(duì)于這樣的員工從不心慈手軟。斯金納這樣說(shuō)道：“青出于藍(lán)而勝于藍(lán)，很多人受不了這種危機(jī)感。我常說(shuō)，我的目標(biāo)就是讓身邊的人都能超越我，這一點(diǎn)我從不害怕?！彼菇鸺{對(duì)此身體力行：無(wú)論是分析會(huì)，還是電話通話，他都非常尊重自己的二號(hào)人物唐?湯姆森的意見。2010年至今，唐?湯姆森一直擔(dān)任公司首席運(yùn)營(yíng)官。

????當(dāng)然，斯金納自己也有“隨時(shí)接任者”。分析家們普遍認(rèn)為他的接班人就是湯姆森。麥當(dāng)勞公司并沒(méi)有強(qiáng)制規(guī)定退休年齡，66歲的斯金納也不會(huì)輕易透露他的退休計(jì)劃。對(duì)這個(gè)問(wèn)題，他倒是開玩笑的說(shuō)：“人們總是問(wèn)我?guī)讜r(shí)退休，我都會(huì)告訴他們：‘等我的咖啡杯蓋用完再說(shuō)?！?/p>

????翻譯：劉進(jìn)龍/富來(lái)細(xì)特/汪皓

Don't be afraid of your No. 2

????There was a time when the idea of "Hamburger U," McDonald's training facility, used to elicit titters, but to Skinner, who didn't graduate from college or earn an MBA, management training is no joke. He created a leadership institute a year after he became CEO. One nine-month leadership program brings together top-performing executives to work on addressing big issues for McDonald's. Funding for another program, for all new officers, comes out of Skinner's own budget.

????This push for talent development may be Skinner's greatest legacy at the company, which has 700,000 employees in the U.S. alone, thanks in part to its April "national hiring day" spree of 62,000 workers. He requires that all executives train at least two potential successors -- one who could do the job today, the "ready now," in McDonald's parlance, and one who could be a future replacement, the "ready future." One could speculate that this redundancy might have to do with the way Skinner came into his current position. Every year the executive team, including Skinner, reviews the top 200 positions in the company and the feeder pool, which means it ends up looking at about 400 people. "We talk about all of them," says HR chief Rich Floersch.

????Skinner doesn't show much sympathy for employees who can't handle the thought of having a subordinate right behind them who's capable of tackling their job at any moment. "That's always a danger, and some people can't live with that," Skinner says. "I always like to say that my goal is to surround myself with people smarter than I am. I'm not afraid of it." And Skinner seems to practice what he preaches: At analyst meetings and on calls, he regularly defers to his No. 2, Don Thompson, who moved into his current job as chief operating officer in 2010.

????Skinner isn't exempt from having a "ready now," and Thompson is widely believed by analysts to be his heir apparent. McDonald's doesn't have a mandatory retirement age, and the 66-year-old Skinner won't say when he plans to make the move. He does offer one lighthearted hint: "People always ask me when I'm going to retire," he tells me. "I say, 'When I run out of lids.'"