McDonald’s CEO Blamed His Mom for Going Viral. Aristotle Would Have Approved

Make the joke before anyone else can.

EXPERT OPINION BY BILL MURPHY JR., FOUNDER OF UNDERSTANDABLY AND CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, INC. @BILLMURPHYJR

McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski. Illustration: Inc.; Photo: Getty Images, McDonald’s

This is a story about personal branding, McDonald’s — and Aristotle.

Let’s start with Aristotle.

Long ago, the great Greek philosopher argued that everything has a telos — a purpose, a cause — and it achieves its “good” by fulfilling that purpose excellently.

It applies to everything from inanimate objects to real-life human beings.

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So, a pen would be better being used to write a beautiful poem or sign a marriage certificate than to scrawl obscenities on a bathroom wall. A person with a natural gift for singing flourishes more by developing and using that gift than by ignoring it entirely.

The idea suggests you cannot achieve your telos by trying to be the best version of someone else. You can only get there by being, as visibly and fully as possible, the best version of yourself.

All of which brings us to McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski.

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