13A: Reading Reflection

1) Over the last 4 weeks, I read “Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald's” by Ray Kroc.

What surprised you the most?

Of course, the thing that surprised me the most about the story of McDonald’s was the fact that it was written by a man who originally sold the McDonald brothers a “multi-mixer,” not the McDonald brothers themselves. While some argue that he took advantage of the McDonalds for his own personal gain, you have to admire the fact that he turned a mom-and-pop shop into the biggest restaurant company in the world.

What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?

Ray Kroc is a hustler. The stories he tells of his life show how much he puts into his work and how much he wants to succeed. Kroc saw years of prosperity and decades of failure before even coming into contact with McDonalds, but he persevered and finally made it big in his 50s. He started out working for the Lily Paper Cup Company, in where he saw the country go into a depression, and even then, made his company millions. He was an amazing salesman, and that’s how he convinced the McDonalds to start franchising their stores.

What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?

The only thing I did not like about Kroc’s career was the fact that he coerced the McDonald brothers into franchising their stores when they did not want to. He forced them into selling their business for $2.7 million, and even went on to open a McDonald’s franchise across the street from the original location.

Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?

Ray Kroc, as mentioned before, saw years of failure in his days as a multi-mixer and paper cup salesman, from ages 20-50. During prohibition, Kroc played the piano at speakeasies, and experienced tons of legal trouble from it.

2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited?

Kroc knew how to sell a product, one way or another. He was always thinking about how to grow a business, whether it was his or not.

3) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

Nothing in the book was really confusing; Kroc wrote in a very straightforward manner. The only thing that was confusing, perhaps, were the old-timey allusions and references to things going on around his time, especially Chicago-related topics.

4) If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?

The first question I would ask is, “If you had to build McDonalds from the ground up again, what would you do differently.” I’d ask this because while McDonalds grew very quickly, he did make some mistakes that almost ran the company to the ground. I would also ask, “What modern entrepreneur do you admire, and has the most similar ‘salesman’ qualities that you see in yourself?”

5) For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?

Most of “Grinding it Out” was focused on Kroc’s devotion to hard work. He never stopped grinding, and lost multiple spouses over it. I definitely share that opinion with him; hard work, for me, is extremely important for living a good life, but one needs to know when work is getting in the way of more important things, like family and friends.