The other day I read Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald's, authored (at least in part) by Ray Kroc and while finding it morally reprehensible still found a lot of merit in reading it over all. I would have to say what surprised me the most about Ray Kroc is his general unapologetic nature over his entire life. I didn't expect him to be sorry over any of his business practices, but I would be hard pressed to find anyone who doesn't have some regret over their treatment of others in their life. Then again, I wouldn't put my regrets in my autobiography. If I were to read this as a fiction novel I would say I admire the sort of manliness that is present in Ray Kroc. He's not so unlike Ernest Hemingway or Frank Chin in his lifelong journey towards independence (albeit through financial means), and like a character trope it can be a comfortable slot to fill one's self in. When I came back to reality, however, many of his qualities that I admire are simultaneously the ones I dislike. It's easy to act like a fiction character when you don't care about the consequences. Generally when Kroc met an obstacle he met it back with confrontation, doing underhanded business practices or openly disparaging and disrespecting the competition on the market.
The competencies I noticed in Kroc were a general self-driven willpower and willingness to do what it takes, as well as enough business-savvy and intellect to know what it takes. You really can't make a franchise like McDonald's without knowing ahead of time what it is you're going to do, who you're going to piss off, and what you might have to do if something gets in your way.
What I found confusing was Kroc's background overall; he presents himself as a hard-working and self-made man, but all I found was an American white male who managed to go unscathed through the Great Depression and then force his way into someone else's business venture.
If I could ask Ray Kroc two things were he still alive, I think they would be "should college be free?" and "your thoughts on Leninism?". I think it would be funny to see his reaction.
To a man like Kroc, I would have to imagine his idea of hard work involved a combination of self-determinism, individualism, and entrepreneurship. My idea of hard work is similar in ways, but ultimately we fight for different causes.
I think the second paragraph is very reasonable. It’s like adults often say that people need to have goals. Having a goal is like planning ahead. You won't know what you should do unless you have a clear goal. I believe that all of the successful entrepreneurs have a clear goal.
ReplyDeleteI find interesting your perspective on Ray Kroc's success. Even though I didn't read the book "Grinding it Out" I can share your opinion on Ray Kroc's success since I watched the film "Founder." In the film, I saw how he made normal business decisions and somehow got to the end of his career with a tremendous amount of success. It didn't seem like he had some incredible business IQ, he was just a hard worker that never gave up and got slightly lucky a couple steps along the way.
ReplyDeleteHey I found your post super interesting. It actually touched on good points, Ray was an interesting man for sure. The questions you would ask him are great, I think college should be free. In general I loved your post
ReplyDeleteI really liked your description of Ray Kroc. While I haven't read his story, the attributes you described match up with what I have heard other entrepreneurs be described like. Perhaps there is a trend among those successful that starts to say our tame manners and the society dictated way of doing things aren't whats going to make us unique or allow us to fulfill our dreams. Not to say I support being amoral, but there are definitely situations where being the nice/legal guy just doesn't make as much sense. On the other hand, at what cost does a person act outside of what is conventional?
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