Assignment 13A

I read Grinding it Out, which is about Ray Kroc, who is responsible for making McDonalds what we have today.

·       What surprised you the most?

• I was surprised the most by how removed the McDonald’s brothers were from the entire development of the corporation. They really weren’t interested in helping Ray at all and didn’t seem to care whether he succeeded or not.

·       What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?

• I would say his work ethic,  but that is typical of entrepreneurs so I think I admire his attitude the most. It is funny to me that he was so driven to make McDonald’s a quality place to eat when I personally think of it as just a fast food joint that is quick and cheap. I usually would not use quality and McDonald’s in the same sentence, but maybe it was different back then.

·       What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?

• In the early stages of McDonald’s, Ray clearly overlooked some very key details in licensing agreements and other contracts that later came back to haunt him. I would have hoped that he was more careful at these times. I also didn’t like that he had such a commitment to McDonald’s but up and left 2 different wives on a whim.

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

• He really battled adversity for the majority of the time period written about because it was not until just before the IPO that he really seemed to be making a steady profit for himself every year. He put himself at a financial burden for a long time before it finally paid off and actually hired people that he paid more than he paid himself.

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

He had a very strong work ethic, especially in regard to his early years when he would work during the day and play piano at night, only getting about 3-4 hours of sleep per night.

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

It took me a minute to understand being a paper cup salesman because I never really thought of that as a job but I guess it was back then.

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

What are your thoughts on Wendy’s? Reason: To mess with him

What would you have done differently in the early stages of McDonald’s if you could do it again? Reason: To learn from him

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

His view of hard work was obviously strong because of his own actions. He seemed to believe that if you work hard, you will succeed. I tend to share that belief.