The phrase “digital transformation” is often used when large corporations embark on technology-driven change. The first time I heard these words together I received a letter from HR informing me that I was being moved to a new team at Royal Caribbean – Excalibur. Our mission, besides pulling the sword from the stone, was to digitize the entire guest and crew experience. Today, the phrase is much more commonplace, but it still makes people uncomfortable. Three-plus years into my tenure at McDonald’s, we are on a product-led journey – or dare I say digital transformation – with a mission to deliver a one-in-a-billion experience to every single customer.
I joined McDonald’s – one of the world’s iconic brands, if not the world’s most iconic brand – when it was starting to pivot. Simply put, a hamburger company aiming to become a tech company led by product teams. Historically, we were focused on the solution. It wasn’t unusual to hear, “Wouldn’t it be cool if the app did …” followed by, “Yea, let’s build that!”
Then, everything changed. We started embracing the mindset to put the customer and crew at the heart of everything every team does. We are focused on problems to solve.
This shift has shaped my current role, where I oversee the owned delivery experience – placing an order directly in the McDonald’s app. We are a team focused on creating easy, frictionless, and memorable ordering experiences. We’re iterating towards a connected ecosystem that enables customers to order and engage how and when they want. We believe in offering more choice and more control.
My team and I are solving hard problems, identifying what will bring the most value to our customers, crew, and business (although not necessarily in that order). There is relentless prioritization with multiple stakeholders. I want us to be THE best in class and THE easiest way to order McDonald’s.
So, the question I’m often asked is, what’s the secret ingredient that makes a high-performing product team? Well, it’s not just one ingredient – it’s all about the secret sauce. And, at McDonald’s, it’s about how we bring that sauce together.
Throughout my career, I’ve taken on many new roles. In retrospect, I’m often moved by leadership when someone needs to drive complex projects or help teams execute.
Many of the teams I’ve worked with were newly formed. As a leader, I’m helping to guide the team through the stages of group development – a theory made famous by Tuckman – from storming to high performing.
There’s a culture to build, including psychological safety and trust, especially in the excitement (or chaos and uncertainty) of a transformation that disrupts an organization. Changing the way people, teams, and departments think is hard. There’s a famous slide from a mentor I reference all the time: we (the product teams) think we’re scaling Mt. Everest in a t-shirt and flip-flops, the organization thinks we’re a rambunctious bull set loose in the antique shop.
I’ve found that great product teams – consciously, or subconsciously, are generally oriented around common guiding principles. These are, in my opinion, the secret sauce. They have been adapted over time and, like any product, are iterative – meant to evolve. They come from a variety of sources… books, mentors, lengthy discussions, riveting debates. Some are shamelessly stolen. Behind each is often a good, or dare I say great story or two but, that’s another article.
Jared’s secret sauce to high performing product teams
- We challenge everything. This means we are never done learning.
- We sweat the details, mindful of progress over perfection.
- We are obsessed with our customers, more than our most loyal customers are obsessed with our brand.
- We are the SME (subject matter expert), we know our product inside and out.
- We tell our story with enthusiasm and excitement because if we don’t, someone else will.
- We fall in love with the problem, and measure value by the outcomes we deliver.
- We are execution oriented. We put the product into the hands of our customers.
- We collaborate as relationships are critical to our success.
- We want it – we dream it, we design it, we build it, we ship it.
Grounded by these principles, teams can take on a common approach to problem-solving and product development. No matter what industry, digital is big and is only getting bigger.
In my roles at McDonald’s and elsewhere, these traits encourage learning, experimentation, and continuous improvement. It requires us to put our customers at the center of everything we do.
Change takes time. Building high-performing product teams requires grounding around meaningful problems to solve with a common narrative to keep everyone aligned and focused. Think of it like turning a massive cruise ship on a dime – slow and steady, but oh-so-satisfying when you finally see the horizon shift. So, even in our t-shirt and flip-flops, we can scale Mt. Everest together, and hope there’s a Big Mac – covered in secret sauce – waiting at the summit.
Jared Finegold is a distinguished leader with over 15 years of experience in product and customer experience (CX). Today, Jared leads the development of the global owned delivery product at McDonald’s. Jared is laser focused on driving channel demand, growing the business and most importantly… creating an innovative, best-in-class experience that customers love. Jared’s strategic acumen and commitment to excellence have solidified his reputation as a trailblazer. He’s been recognized by Forbes as an Under 30 and by Brand Innovators as an Under 40.
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