"Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald's" by Ray Kroc with Robert Anderson
What surprised me the most:
What surprised me the most about how McDonald's came to be
was how Ray Kroc came up in the world. I was surprised to read that he never
received his high school diploma, Kroc dropped out his Sophomore year. (Kroc
& Anderson, p. 13) You always hear the phrase that school isn't for
everyone, and getting a proper education isn't always an indicator of success.
Ray Kroc is the perfect example of that. School was boring to him, and he felt
like he wasn't advancing while being there. (Kroc & Anderson, p. 13) He was
more interested in being on the frontline where he could be part of the action.
"Books bored" him. (Kroc & Anderson, p. 11) It surprised me to
read that the person behind McDonald's widespread success wasn't someone with a
business degree but someone with years of sales under their belt with a deep
understanding of customers.
What I admired the most:
Ray Kroc always made sure to think about his customers. It was
a recurring theme throughout the biography from his time as a successful
salesman to the founder of McDonald's. As a salesman, he would focus on the
customer's needs and alter his pitch based on them. As Kroc stated, "No
self-respecting pitcher throws the same way to every batter, and no
self-respecting salesman makes the same pitch to every client." (Kroc
& Anderson, p. 15) Kroc never forced sales on individuals when he knew that
they were in financial trouble or they didn't require his products. Kroc held
an appealing ideology. If Kroc couldn't sell a customer on his product by
ensuring an increase in sales, he felt that he wasn't doing his job well. (Kroc
& Anderson, p. 25) I admired this because salespeople get the reputation
that they are willing to say anything to make a deal. It is refreshing to hear
that Kroc didn't deceive or force his products on unwilling customers, even at
his expense.
What I admired least:
There were times when I was reading that I thought Kroc's
ego got in the way. Kroc knew that he was skilled in many areas and successful,
sometimes that knowledge led him to be extremely boastful. For example, during
the Great Depression, Kroc worked for a paper cup company known as Lily-Tulip
Cup Company. Kroc was the best salesman, he brought in many large accounts for
the company, but due to depression, everyone in the company was taking a salary
cut. He refused to make the cut and quit. He didn't tell his wife and continued
to lie to her about having a job. He felt insulted at the fact that his company
treats their best salesmen in such an "arbitrary fashion." (Kroc
& Anderson, p. 39) While I understand that he brought in much money for the
company and was a precious asset, we cannot ignore the problematic economic
position many people were in. Kroc had a job with an income, and the pay cut
was temporary. Lying to his wife and his child about his career also rubbed me
the wrong way.
Adversity and failure:
When he was just married and starting up in the world, Kroc
took several jobs to provide for his family. He worked at the paper cup company
and a radio station. Kroc would get up at seven in the morning and would
typically work until two in the morning with small breaks in between. (Kroc
& Anderson, p. 21) He had to sacrifice time with his family to be
successful and for them to live comfortably. The way he dealt with this was by
always keeping a lookout for more promising opportunities.
Competencies:
Kroc was an excellent salesman. He had a way of knowing
exactly what to say and do to make a sale. Even with people that were tough to
crack, Kroc was persistent if he knew that he could help them with his
products. He had a unique ability to sense opportunities and successes like
that of McDonald's. Lastly, Kroc had a sixth sense when it came to hiring the
right people for the job. He always seemed to know what people were right for
what positions. Some examples include June Martino and Harry Sonneborn. These
two worked tirelessly besides Kroc to ensure McDonald's success. (Kroc &
Anderson, p. 77)
The confusing section:
Kroc was extremely critical of the McDonald's brothers. He
seemed to judge them quite harshly when they did not seem to share the same
vision as he did. The McDonald's brothers were extremely comfortable with their
restaurant's success and were not interested in scaling it as Kroc did. They
were extremely reluctant to go along with Kroc's vision. (Kroc & Anderson,
p. 7-8) Since they were on different pages from the very beginning, they caused
problems for Kroc later on. They refused to help Kroc on several occasions.
This caused Kroc to become bitter. I was confused at Kroc's reaction; he knew
from the very beginning that they were not interested in the same vision as
him. What did he expect from them? He knew that they were not on the same
"wavelength." (Kroc & Anderson, p. 108)
Questions:
- If you could do the deal with the McDonald's brothers again, would you do it differently?
- As mentioned previously, Kroc struggled with the brothers throughout his career. It would be interesting to hear if he would change anything knowing the struggle it brought later.
- How were you so motivated to continue, even when others didn't believe in your vision?
- There were times were even Kroc's first wife didn't believe in his ideas and methods, yet he persevered through the criticism. I wonder how he continued through it all without wavering.
Hard work:
Kroc believed that hard work was the foundation behind the
success of McDonald's. Kroc never seemed to slow down, he worked and sacrificed
a lot. Even after he decided to step down from a leadership position, he
continued to help McDonald's. I don't think there was a day where he wasn't
working in some way.
Citation:
Kroc, Ray, and Robert Anderson. Grinding It out: the Making
of McDonald's. St. Martins Griffin, 2016.
Hi Taylor,
ReplyDeleteI can say that I am not surprised that Ray never received his diploma. He had an idea that was the first, basically an invention. When something is created for the first time there will be problems that come along with it, but he knew how to solve customer needs. I admire that he worked day and night to provide a comfortable lifestyle for his family and in the end it all worked out for him. He always wanted to innovate and make the business better even when he didn't have the brothers on his side.
Taylor,
ReplyDeleteIt seems to be a common trend with motivated individuals working hard, never giving up, believing possible what others thought was impossible, and giving more attention to work instead of family. Same situation with Steve Jobs for the book I read for this assignment. The same goes for the next book I'm reading about Elon Musk. I bet for every one of these type of guys who actually succeeds, there are ten who don't and are just distant from their family while trying and failing.