The book that I chose for my reading reflection is "Grinding It Out," by Ray Kroc. What surprised me the most was how Ray Kroc was able to open his own McDonalds after making a deal with the McDonald's brothers. Supposedly anyone can open a McDonald's today, but first they need to work in a McDonald's for a certain amount of hours to be able to open up their own franchise. Ray Kroc opened up his first McDonald's at age 52. He expanded so quickly to 4,000 locations in just around 20 years. It is amazing how he did it. In the book, he talks about how he chose his locations and he used his company airplane in the beginning. I thought that was a smart idea!
What I admired the most about Ray Kroc is that he had many jobs in his life and he never gave up. He was always the hardest worker and the one at the top in his business. He first began selling paper cups and was the best sales agent and then he moved to selling Multimixers. He wanted to sell Multimixers to McDonalds, but instead he got the idea of opening McDonalds locations himself across the U.S. and made a deal with the McDonald's brothers. He still brought his Multimixers to McDonalds to increase more sales.
After reading the entire book, Ray Kroc said himself that he judged people before getting to know them. Once he was in his business, he had to hire people to help him, and he said he always judged men that he was interviewing. He was looking for sharp people, so I can see why he did that. But, judging someone before you actually get to work with them, won't do you any good. That is what I least admired about him.
Ray Kroc did encounter failure. When he first opened his McDonald's, he had a hard time making fries like how they should taste. He failed a few times, but kept trying and finally made them just right. He said it took him a year to get his first McDonald's up and running perfect, so he had to go through a lot of bumps, but he never gave up.
Some competencies that I noticed that the entrepreneur exhibited included always trying his hardest to succeed. Every job that he had, he always managed to get to the top of the ladder. He worked long hours and worked with tenacity.
I was not confused by any of the reading. Everything was straightforward and easy to understand.
The two questions that I would ask Ray Kroc:
1. What made you want to open a McDonald's location?
2. What would you have done differently in your life?
I think Ray Kroc's opinion of hard work was giving your all and being your best. Kroc thought hard work meant achieving the best results by putting in the effort. You have to do what it takes to succeed. I do believe he is right and I do always try my best when doing anything in life. Ray Kroc taught me a lot and I hope one day I will be as successful as he was.
This wasn't the book I read but I actually saw a movie about this story and I found it pretty incredible. I remember being very impressed and inspired by the fact that this man never gave up on his dream. I noticed that you also pointed that out in this assignment. Overall, you did a great job here and I especially liked the two questions you have asked yo Ray Kroc if he was still alive.
ReplyDeleteI feel like the story of Ray Kroc is very interesting. I'd want to know what he saw in McDonalds, why he was so focused on that one strategy, and why he felt the brothers didn't succeed where he did.
ReplyDeleteHey Monica, I did not read this book so I found your post very informative yet to the point. I think its interesting that Kroc struggled with the taste of the fries even though now they are some of the best in the fast food industry. This example just shows that we must not give up as entrepreneurs and should stay focused on achieving the goals that we wish to accomplish. I also did not realize how quickly he was able to expand the McDonald's locations across the country. Now, I feel like there is a McDonald's on every corder and they are almost hard to avoid.
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