A Good Work Ethic, Rewarded

It's stories like this that should uplift everything

I came across this from NPR.

On one level, it’s a celebration of a good work ethic. On another level, it’s about the wisdom of crowds and the pervasive nature of decency.

Kevin Ford, this is him and the photograph is his.

So, when most people joined this story Kevin had worked for Burger King as a cook for more than 20 years without a sick day.

So, sometime last May, those 20 years earned Ford a coffee cup, a movie ticket, some candy and few other tchotchkes and EVEN FOR THIS Ford was grateful: "I know not everyone gets something,"

He recorded a video of the gift.

The video went somewhat viral.

People reacted with a mix of celebration and outrage (“all he got was this bag” being the sentiment.)

And then a GoFundMe is started. Basically to crowdsource a more appropriate gift.

The public came together and raised over 400K. Ford plans to use the money to retire and to spend more time with his family.

An awesome turn of events for this hard-working man.

I know it’s probably bad form to bring McDonalds into a story about Burger King, but you know what else is good in life? Work leading to success, and there are a myriad of stories about how people who start out working at McDonalds enjoy skills and experiences that often lead to great workplace success. Two that come to mind are:

• Jeff Bezos! He worked at McDonald's as a teenager. He has said that the experience taught him valuable lessons about customer service and teamwork.

• Steve Easterbrook, the former CEO of McDonald's! He famously started his career with the company as a crew member and worked his way up through the ranks, eventually becoming CEO in 2015.