13A- Reading Reflection No. 1

1)    

I chose to read Ray Kroc’s Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald’s.  Ray Kroc founded McDonalds Inc. with the Mcdonalds brothers in his early 50’s, using a few of the entrepreneurship skills we have been practicing.  This was what surprised me most to learn.  Usually I think of successful people becoming successful when they are young.  For Ray Kroc to take such a life altering risk at a later stage in his life is uncommon.  To build it into an empire in the course of the rest of his life- at 50- that’s unheard of. What I admired most about him was his determination.  He wasn’t ever content with things the way they were.  He always worked to make his life better, and his company.  It didn’t matter how long it took, or if everything was completely orthodox. He recognized a problem, and committed to finding a solution to that problem. This kind of discipline and stubbornness is, I think, what it takes to be successful in an entrepreneurial venture.  

It didn’t matter what kind of setbacks or problems that stood in his way, he faced them head on.  To change the pace of restaurants, he had to redesign the kitchen completely.  He designed it to mirror a production line, tasks were split up and distributed to increase production.  This method has been adopted by most fast food restaurants now, Kroc was the inventor of this type of food service.  He also faced adversity in the stages of expansion.  In those days communication and coordination was much harder.  He had McDonalds franchises that deviated from the menu, or the methods.  This had to be changed to ensure the quality and integrity of the growing company.  He put people he trusted in charge, and kept a close eye on all of his establishments. 

What I least admired about him was how he treated the McDonalds brothers.  They opened the first McDonalds, and their selling points were their speed, and price of the burgers.  Their plan for the business was much simpler than Krocs.  They wanted to stay small, and serve their customers locally and responsibly.  Obviously, this flew in the face of Kroc’s plans, but he still went into business with them.  As Kroc pursued his dream he stepped on those of the brothers.  He blatantly went against their wishes, and let them have very little influence on the workings of the company.   In the end, he didn’t even give them their share.  He bought the company from them for 2.7 million- much less than the company was worth.  He was selfish and disrespectful of the brothers wishes.  These kind of traits- while they led him to build a great company- are not something I admire as an entrepreneur.  

2)

            Ray Kroc exhibited a couple consistent competencies on his journey with McDonalds.  He was driven.  He wasn’t ready to quit for anything.  No many the consequences, no matter the obstacles, he kept on his path.  He didn’t know if it was possible, because the dynasty that he imagined had never been accomplished.  This required serious creativity.  He came up with a factory style kitchen, he created a new, nation-wide, business model for a restaurant, and created a market for a different style of food.  His creativity grew his business, because he was doing something different than anyone else. The combination of his drive, and his creativity combined to allow him to create something completely new.

3)

            The part of the book that was most confusing to me was Kroc’s own descriptions of his friendship with the McDonalds brothers. I had to do some research to get the full story, because Kroc’s personal bias doesn’t give a full summary of the story. It was hard to see what the nature of their relationship was through Kroc’s words.  I think that Kroc tries to put himself in a better light than his actions actually did.  

4)

Do you regret how you treated the McDonalds brothers?  

While their ideas woud never have taken McDonalds to the scale it is now, it is their name and was their restaurant.  I doubt Kroc would regret the actions that led the company to success, but I’d like to know if he regretted how much money he gave them for the company.

What kept your faith in the company, even during the challenging stages?

I think the hardest part of entrepreneurship is working thought the difficult times.  For Kroc, those times seemed to come on all at once.  I’d like to know if it was just because he had nothing to lose, or if there’s some secret to being to focused and proactive.

5)

            Kroc values hard work.  His time as a salesman showed him that hard work was the basis of success.  I think that he felt that he wasn’t being properly rewarded for his work as a salesman. He decided to take on more work by starting his own company, and was rewarded for it.  He’s seen through his own eyes the importance of working hard. It’s the way he built his business. I share this opinion, I think that hard work is the only real way to progress your aspirations.