Success in any industry is acheived by a variety of factors, amount of capital, market segment targeting, values held by company founders and the type of people who are hired has a big impact as well. Still, something that many companies lack to take them to the next level is the organizational structure that allows the right people to be in the right place. There’s a saying that goes: First you gotta have the right people on the bus. Then you gotta make sure each person on the bus is sitting the right seat that’s designed specifically for their unique strengths. Only then do you worry about where the bus is going.

I believe that Jollibee had the same idea when they introduced a host of changes to their business beginning in 1994. These changes were mostly focused on creating more structure and taking advantage of more resources. First of all, they hired Tony Kitchner, the first outsider vice-president to handle their international operations. This was a key move to separate Jollibee International from Jollibee Philippines. They introduced FSM’s, known as Franchise Services Managers to help keep their franchise owners abreast of the new changes. These changes were aimed at creating a “world class” view, and you could see some of the changes visibly through the newly differentiated logo to the new packaging. They also instituted a dress code change as well as began to recruit from outside.

Overall, these changes certainly kept Jollibee ahead of the game, as 10 years in the future, their success would be so great as to garner the Entrepreneur of the Year Award by Ernst & Young for founder Tony Tan Caktiong.