Reading Reflection #1

For our first reading assignment, I selected Grinding it Out: The Making of McDonald’s by Ray Kroc.

1)            What surprised you the most?

I was very surprised by how often Kroc encountered failure in his early career. Although we all fail sometimes, failure seemed to haunt Kroc persistently throughout the first several years of his career. He details these failures extensively in the first few chapters, and he spends much of the rest of the book reflecting on how these failures prepared him for later success.

What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?

I most admire Ray Kroc’s grit and perseverance. Throughout the book, he describes experiences where many others may have chosen to give up, but he chose to pursue his goals relentlessly in spite of overwhelming difficulties.

What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?

By Chapter 11, Ray and Harry’s working relationship has deteriorated to the point that morale within the company became severely affected. Many employees even began referring to themselves as “Ray people” or “Harry people.” I did not admire the way Ray mishandled his conflicts with Harry and allowed those conflicts to create such a divisive climate within the company.

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

Absolutely, without question. Perseverance despite failure is a central theme of this book, and Kroc’s philosophy is centered around the idea of “grinding it out” in the face of adversity. In other words, when he encountered adversity and failure, he kept working relentlessly toward his goal until it was achieved. No other outcome was acceptable to him.

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

                Ray Kroc’s greatest competency throughout his career was his opportunism. He had an acute ability to identify unmet needs and create solutions that were superior to any alternatives. This competency allowed him to grow McDonald’s at a much faster rate than could be achieved by most entrepreneurs.

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

                I found it somewhat confusing that Kroc eventually allowed the paper cup company to retain 40% of his sales from the Multimixer. Although the specific terms of his contract are not particularly elaborated upon, it seemed uncharacteristic for him to concede such a large portion of his business.

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

                Question 1: “If you could redo the decisions you made at McDonald’s, knowing the outcomes, what would you do differently?”

                Question 2: “Do you believe that any venture you undertook could have become as successful as McDonald’s, or was there something special about that venture that distinguished it from others?”

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

                As the title of the book implies, hard work was a cornerstone of Ray Kroc’s philosophy, and his time-tested belief in the value of hard work is expanded upon extensively throughout the book. I absolutely share this opinion with him. Anything worthwhile can be achieved through hard work, and very few things can be achieved without it.

Source:

Kroc, Ray. “Grinding it Out: The Making of McDonald’s.” Chicago: H. Regnery, 1977. Accessed via Amazon Kindle.