I read Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald's, about Ray Kroc, the man who revolutionized McDonald's as what we know it as today.
1. What surprised me the most is that Ray Kroc isn't a founder of McDonald's, but when he heard the idea and their business model he was intrigued so he flew out to meet them. It amazes me and I admire how much faith he had to put in his business ventures. I most admired how he was able to see the potential in not only McDonald's but also his past jobs of paper cup sales and milkshake sales. I least admire the dispute that Kroc had with the McDonald brothers before he bought them out. He encountered adversity at all steps of his business ventures. When he began selling milkshake mixers, he was only retaining 40% of this earnings, after franchising McDonald's, he went through quality control problems trying to ensure that every franchise operated exactly the same. To solve his problem, he brought in experts to solve his problem. For example, he struggled to get all his fries to taste the same. He brought in the Potato and Onion Institution to perfect the process.
2. Kroc had many competencies. He made a McDonald's policy that customers can get refunds if their orders were wrong or took more than 5 minutes to serve. This built customer loyalties. He also could see potential that allowed him to be successful in different jobs. He also always believed his best years were in front of him, which is a great skill for any entrepreneur.
3. One part of the reading that was confusing to me was how he struggled dealing with the McDonald brothers and how the best solution was to buy them out.
4. I would ask him what made McDonald's stand out from the other thousands of kitchens he'd been in before seeing the potential in McDonald's. In his franchising process, he was told that his fries were so much better than any competitor that "he was in the fry business not the burger business." I would ask him if he recognized this statement in his business operations and how it may have changed the outlook for the company.
5. I think his opinion of hard work was always looking toward the future, thinking that the future would always be brighter. I agree with this because along the way of failures and hardships you will learn to perfect your craft as time passes.
Hi John! I really liked your summary on Ray Kroc. I thought it was very interesting how he began selling milkshake mixers and barely keeping any of his earnings but then took this experience to build the most famous fast food restaurant. Also, I think his perfectionist personality is reflected in his business today because we see such uniformity in the menu items at McDonald's, which has contributed to their success. Overall, I think the humble background of Kroc and his strive for perfection in the McDonald's kitchens helped the business succeed for decades to come.
ReplyDeleteHey John, I must have skipped over Ray Kroc
ReplyDeleteon the reading list. That must of been a cool read. I found your post amusing, and I fascinated about Kroc's journey, which began selling milkshake mixers. Overall, you were really detailed in your post and I need to add this to my next reading list!