13B Reading Reflection

Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald’s

• What surprised you the most?

Ray Kroc was 52 years old before he started to work with the McDonalds brothers. He worked for 30 long years before he made a big break. 

• What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?

I admire his endurance and his determination to create his own happiness. 

My favorite quote from the book: 

"Happiness is not a tangible thing, it’s a byproduct of achievement. Achievement must be made against the possibility of failure, against the risk of defeat. It is no achievement to walk a tightrope laid flat on the floor. Where there is no risk, there can be no pride in achievement and, consequently, no happiness. The only way we can advance is by going forward, individually and collectively, in the spirit of the pioneer. We must take the risks involved in our free enterprise system. This is the only way in the world to economic freedom. There is no other way.”- Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald’s

• What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?

I admired his ability to do whatever it took to succeed. However, throughout the book, it described how he would have countless sleepless nights as he had work 19 hours throughout the day and only had Sundays off. He was a hard worker, but it seemed as though he had no balance in life. As an entrepreneur, I think it is important to have a balance between work, family, and personal hobbies to induce as much flow states as possible.

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

Ray Kroc was a salesperson for most of his life, selling many different products. Once he left his job for the Paper Cup company to sell mulitmixers with a new business, the paper cup company demanded him to 60% of his new business since he still had a contract with him. Also, even after he started working with the Mcdonalds brothers he faced more adversity with issues such as quality control etc.

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

I believe Ray has mastered the art of endurance. Throughout his career, he somehow managed to keep working despite the ambiguity. Most people would have given up iif they were in Mr. Kroc's shoes. 

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

How Ray was able to find the best locations for McDonalds, somehow Ray was able to see potential in a piece of property that just bare ground 

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

Did you do any type of exercise to manage your stress levels and fatigue in order to allow you to make big decisions?  

What keeps you going after 30 years on the job?

I want to learn the techniques he uses to keep himself motivated even in hard times besides the self-hypnosis he mentioned in the book. 

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

I think Ray Kroc's opinion of hard work is that its the only way to success and that there is no other way around it.