Grinding It Out - Ray Kroc
1) This book was about Ray Kroc, the man behind McDonald's success. What surprised me the most was the fact that Ray Kroc didn't start pursing the idea of franchising the McDonald's brand until his mid-fifties. From his teenage years, Ray was hustling. He started a lemonade stand, work at multiple grocery stores, and became skillful pianist. I admire his determination and unwavering spirit. His ego was the only thing I did not admire. He came off as abrasive and when others made mistakes, his short temper would get the best of him. However, I believe, and he says in the book, that his ego was somewhat responsible for the success. Ray encountered failures ever since he opened his lemonade stand. He sold paper cups for 17 years before realizing the demand was diminishing and was forced to take an entrepreneurial risk. After his time at Lily Tulip Cup Company, Ray invested his own time and energy to sell Multimixers (milkshake makers) to restaurants. His first attempt at opening a McDonald's was an absolute disaster; He faced legal issues and operational setbacks. Despite these failures, Ray remained focused on his goals and took each problem head-on one at a time.2) Ray displayed tenaciousness more than anything else. In order to succeed like Ray did, you must fail like he did. Not once did his shortcomings alter his vision or goal. If anything, they motivated him to work even harder. After running into legal issues between him and the McDonald's brothers, Ray said, "So I said, 'let them try', and I plunged ahead" (Pg. 70).
3) One part of the story, when he first got started in McDonald's, was confusing to me because I didn't quite understand how Ray was able to work in the venture and support his sales company at the same time with minimal help. He mentions working long hours and commuting miles between the two businesses, but still I can not comprehend him doing that.
4) If I had the chance to question Ray Kroc, I would ask:
- Did you ever regret not spending as much time with your family? Family-work balance is important for your health and well being
- How are your able to manage your time and maximize it? Do you have a certain routine or practices? He has the same amount of time as everyone else, yet he accomplishes so much more.
5) I believe Ray's opinion of hard work would be, more or less, the foundation of success. If there is one thing I learned from this book is to set your ambitions high and go after them relentlessly. I truly believe in that mindset.
Hi Aaron,
ReplyDeleteInteresting post about Ray Krock. I think your questions are super interesting and insightful-- especially the one about balancing family and work. This question has made me think about the socioeconomic changes from the past 50 years. I feel like our parents & grandparents were much more focused on their career (if they were working) and free-time/family time came second once the funds were secured. Nowadays, I feel like we value experiences over money, which is why we are more focused on family. I think this is all due to a current trend of finding fulfillment outside of materialism.
Hi Aaron,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing the story of Ray Kroc. I honestly did not know how McDonald's had come about and this reading sounds very interesting!
I agree with you on your view of failure and loved how you tied it in with Ray Kroc's story. I believe that you learn more from failures than anything else, and a lot of people's major successes can be attributed to their failures.