Ray Kroc, Founder of McDonald's

I read about entrepreneur Ray Croc, the man who founded McDonald's. What surprised me the most is that although he created the empire, the original idea of McDonald’s was not his but that of two brothers named Mac and Dick in San Bernadino, California. I really admired Kroc’s natural knack for selling and working, it was said by many of his peers that he could sell just about anything. I least admired how easily he was able to put his own work and pride over his family and in specific, his first wife Ethel. Their marriage died not because he was difficult or in love with another woman, but because he was too caught up in his own plans. Ray Kroc definitely encountered adversity and failure, starting with the music shop he owned with his buddies as a young man, all the way up to the Padres losing so many of their first games with him as the owner. The adversity and failure never stopped coming, as is the nature of life, but Kroc never let it get him down. He embraced his failures and learned from them.

One of the main competencies I noticed in Ray Kroc was his dedication and honesty. Not only to his job but to all the people that worked for or with him. He always tried his best to do what he could to make sure they were being treated fairly and was always upfront about what their situation looked like and it’s potential failures. Kroc always wanted to do right by both his customers and employees, he helped them and gave them advice so that they could always make the best business decisions possible and succeed.

I was, at times, a little confused by the order of events, especially at the beginning. He started off with his meeting with the McDonald brothers, but then completely back-tracked to his childhood. The collection of photographs in the center of the book also threw me off because it interrupted a sentence, it was nice to put faces to names, but it might’ve been better put at the end or putting each photo in a strategic place (where it belongs in the story) to help get a better visual.

If I was able to ask two questions to Kroc I would ask him:

1. Do you think you would’ve been capable of this same success if you would never have hired June Martino and Harry Sonneborn?

June and Harry were his two biggest partners besides the McDonald brothers, and 100% his biggest supporters. I feel that without them he would have burned out and wouldn’t have been able to grow in the way he did.

2. Would finishing high school have been beneficial or detrimental to your success?

Kroc never finished high school but went on to recieve an honorary doctorate from Dartmouth University. Also, all McDonald’s franchisee’s are required to have at least a high school diploma.

I think Ray Kroc loved hardwork, it’s not hard to come to that conclusion because he says so himself several times in the book. He loved work as long as it was the work he liked to do. Anything that involved selling or playing piano, he loved. But things like school were just not for him. I do share that opinion, when I have nothing to do I feel bored and ansty, having work is a really good learning experience no matter what it is. But when I’m doing work that I feel doesn’t suit me, I get frustrated and overwhelmed very easily.