Lydia Dishman at Fast Company interviewed Darren Serrao, VP of beverages and breakthrough innovation at Campbell's Soup, and he revealed an interesting thing he learned on the job well before he was a big-time executive.
He was a teenager flipping burgers at McDonald's. There, he learned about the value of a process-driven company.
Serrao says he learned the value of a "disciplined, repeatable process" thanks to McDonald's "operations machine" which is timed down to the second.
Everything in a McDonald's is a set process. All the tasks behind the counter are logically related, so you as long as everyone does their specific jobs, things get done efficiently. That's what allows McDonald's to get the food to its customers so quickly.
And all of this can be applied to innovation. Under CEO Denise Morrison, Serrao has independent innovation teams working on projects for Campbell's. The structure lets them move more quickly.
"From an innovation standpoint it's highly relevant, because you are able to move through the process time and again no matter who you are working with," he told Fast Company.