Fastrack Group's Mr. Usama Siddique joined McDonald's Restaurants system in 1977. Initially, worked at grass root level familiarising and gaining expertise in Operational procedures and management; at the same time not only helped to develop McDonald's training procedural manual but also helped to open over 90 new restaurants.

In 1983, Mr. Siddique was asked to join McDonald's Information Services. As a senior systems analyst and designer helped to develop management reporting system for the higher management; it included International systems such as In Store Processor.

In 1988, he was requested to join the UK Operations in London and within four weeks of induction he was given the responsibility to run the flagship restaurant in London with over three million pound turnover.

In 1993, Mr. Siddique's services were highly appreciated and he was granted franchise for McDonald's Restaurant in Barnet and within three years North Finchley branch was franchised to him. Although, the Company had plans to franchise further restaurants to him but he left McDonald's systems in 2006. During his time he topped the UK market in profitability, transaction count and achieved A grades in 5 areas of audit.

USAMA SIDDIQUE, Director Global Franchising & Restaurants Davison, Fastrack Group
Masters in Computer Science with Applications, the University of Aston, Birmingham, UK

Most successful organisations in the World are vision guided and values driven. McDonald’s Corporation structure can be superimposed onto value driven organisations except in cultural entropy. Personal, structural, values and mission alignments are the fundamentals of this organisation. Twenty eight years of association with McDonald’s allowed me to polish my entrepreneurial marketing skills and techniques, strict budgetary controls boosted the sales by 60% in five years, breaking all the records in profitability while attaining a top position in the UK market. In franchising, McDonald’s were the stakeholders, I ensured all policies and procedures were adhered to. Leadership qualities and collective management with attention to HR and training helped to achieve 5 A’s and a B in an unannounced audit in all areas of assessment. Furthermore; rigorous training, staff development, performance analysis and recognition punctuated by team building lead to three of my managers each winning a President’s Award while three were awarded franchise opportunities. One of my employees was even honoured by the Queen.

As a franchisee one needs to develop internal and external relationships for a successful business. Chairman posts that spanned over many years for Chipping Barnet Heritage Trust, Police Sector Working Group, Barnet Traders’ Association, Starlight Ward Appeal and Governorship of two schools allowed me to interact and build relationships internally and externally with higher management, media, professionals, politicians, artists, academics, local residents and government officials. While working for numerous charities, the highlights must have been raising £150,000 for Imran Khan Cancer Appeal and £60,000 for Starlight Ward Appeal for premature babies in Barnet General Hospital London. I managed to build a team of over 100 external volunteers and my entire staff that worked tirelessly over the years. At a personal level it required creativity, networking skills, good communication and interpersonal

skills, logical and methodical approach to planning and organising , leadership qualities and powerful decision making; complimented by integrity, transparency, self-discipline, resource, time and process management and sheer hard work which all homed in the required results.

Another highlight of my success was the turnaround of High Barnet, from a failed town with 23% of the unit closures to 99% occupancy and forced abandonment of red route and the ‘one way system’ by the council. An MSc in computing & systems analysis, design and implementation complimented by related job experience allowed me to take a structural, logical and methodical approach to planning and organising. I kicked off with the newspaper article ‘fighting for a fair deal’, followed by ‘Black July Campaign’ which was televised. Once in the Public Domain, the project had to be managed with extreme care to protect McDonald’s brand by making decisions that are aligned with its guidelines, the integrity of the high profile individuals involved while keeping the ultimate goal in focus. The actions

created a conflict and misunderstanding with the councillors and council officials. However, with clarity in vision, strategic planning, clear definitions of goals and objectives with priority indicators, powerful decision making, media and conflict management skills and pleasant disposition; result was a resounding success. A street party that was held by me for eight consecutive years with over 30,000 turnout, 12000 local resident petition signatories over car parking facilities and charges, and personal contacts with all three major political parties, writing columns in Barnet Times Newspaper and TV appearances were major contributory factors.

Nomination to The House of Lords by over 25 national and local organisations, ‘Londoner of the year award’, entry into Who’s Who International of Professionals, and the Gold award from the Mayor for my contribution to Education Business Partnership Scheme are some of the indicators of the success that resulted from the above contributions. Before I left I handed over the information and contacts that were held, used and maintained for all organisations I was responsible for.

McDonald’s had been the beacon of education and indulgence in diverse cultures, religions and ethnicity through thousands of employees I worked with. It helped me to understand political, social and cultural behaviours and strengthen me in the ‘Peoples Side of System’ and indeed development in my people’s skills. I was passionate about my relationship with McDonald’s and it was not only compatible with my character, beliefs, power of self-motivation, thought process, academic qualifications but also it was a challenging environment that pumped adrenaline into my system to work for a company that opened endless opportunity to all the individuals in a fair manner. It is indeed commendable