Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald's
Ray Kroc
Ray Kroc
- Entrepreneur: Ray Kroc
- I think I was most surprised that McDonald's was built to what it is today by a man who did not have the last name McDonald. Also, the fact that the McDonald brothers were more of a hindrance than a help to the building of the brand and how they sold out for what was a lot of money at the time but far below what they could have made had they stayed in the business. I was also surprised that he wasn't successful with McDonald's until he was 52.
- I admired Ray Kroc's determination, dedication and perseverance. Throughout all obstacles he found a way to succeed even if it meant financing the operation himself. He never gave up and remained focused on his vision. Also his altruism and how he wasn't doing anything for money itself but rather for the brand, the quality of the product and the customers. He also never backed down from what he believed was right. An example is when he decided to quit the Lily Tulip Paper Cup company instead of taking a pay-cut like everyone else.
- I did not like what he wrote about his wives as far as when he divorced each of his first two, he made a point to say he made sure they were taken care of financially. That's a good thing that they were taken care of but it almost seemed as if he were buying them out like a normal business deal. It seemed he was trying to get the readers to forget about how they were getting divorced (especially the second wife) and accept it by saying they he made sure they were taken care of. Throughout the book he made a point to say that money was not a primary objective but yet he made it one when he was saying they were taken care of financially. He neglected the fact they were probably both heartbroken as they wanted him and not necessarily his money. Also, the way the book was written makes me believe his third wife may have wanted him more for financial reasons as before she would not divorce her own husband early on but when she decided to go through with it later when she saw how much Ray had accumulated. On the business side I did not like how Ray requested June Martino retire. I know it was a business decision but she had been with him from the start. He could have let her decide when she wanted to retire out of personal loyalty rather than putting the business first in this one instance.
- Ray Kroc encountered a tremendous amount of adversity and failure. He never gave up his vision, always surrounded himself around quality, competent people and did whatever it took at the time to ensure success. From the failures selling the swamp land in Florida he unwittingly got involved in to the dealings with the McDonald brothers he fought through all adversity and stayed true to his beliefs.
- Competencies
- Ray Kroc displayed the ability to sell and get people to see things his way. He was able to talk people into things they never thought of before but when he made his vision clear and showed how they would be successful and sell more of their own product they succumbed to his thinking. He also showed that hard work and determination will always win out.
- Confusion
- I was confused about why the McDonald brothers did not want to help as much. It was their name and they stood to gain a lot more out of the entire operation than Ray Kroc. They already had a few other locations that Ray had no part in and they were getting a profit from all the locations Ray was able to license after their deal. Also I was confused why Harry Sonneborn was so steadfast in wanting to do things his way and decided to eventually leave. Ray had built it from nothing so why wouldn't he take more consideration into Ray's wishes rather than his own. I was also confused about why he didn't want the corporation to own more than 30% of the franchises.
- Questions
- I would ask Ray does he regret making June Martino retire? I would ask that because that situation could have turned out like the situation with Harry Sonneborn and it could have ended their friendship.
- I would ask him why didn't he want the McDonald's corporation to own more than 30% of the locations? From Harry's perspective they could have owned a lot of real estate and it seemed like that would have been good for business where they could have accumulated a lot more profit. I know he wanted to help the franchisees but the corporation could have benefited as well.
- Hard Work
- Ray Kroc explicitly says hard work is important and it was evident in his success story. He believed that determination and hard work were essential to success and paramount to seeking profit only. I share this opinion but I also believe that luck plays a factor in success as well. I read a book by Malcolm Gladwell called Outliers where he makes the argument it requires 10,000 hours to be great at anything but successful people also benefiting from being born in the right era, year, place, etc. at the right time. I think there is some truth to that logic as well.
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