Reading Reflection No. 1

For the first reading reflection, I read the autobiography Grinding It Out by Ray Kroc.

                       

1.     The thing about the book that surprised me the most was the number of fields that Kroc dabbled in throughout his career. While he rose to prominence with McDonald’s, he also worked in the music industry (both as a musician and as a distributor), in the real estate industry, and in the sports industry. His willingness to completely switch industries caught me off guard, as he often had no experience before diving into a field headfirst. Kroc’s courage and flexibility when he encountered failure and resistance were his two attributes that I admired the most. He was able to put everything on the line to pursue an idea he believed in, but he didn’t get discouraged when an idea flopped, like the Hulaburger. Instead, he was irrepressible and responded to resistance with renewed determination and work ethic, often pivoting away from the failure to put his wholehearted effort into the next project. While this flexibility and persistence in the face of struggles were admirable, Kroc’s personality was not. Throughout the autobiography, he came across as a self-aggrandizing, egocentric character with a complete lack of humility. He displayed no sense of loyalty, instead pushing away people as soon as they were of no use to him, whether it was his family, his original employees, or the McDonald brothers who granted him franchising rights. While Kroc’s personality traits may have helped McDonald’s rise to prominence, they were certainly not his most admirable assets.

2.     Kroc demonstrated many competencies throughout his career. His headstrong personality was an asset, as was his optimism for the future. He had incredible work ethic and drive, which helped push him past his competitors. He also had complete faith and belief in his product, believing that McDonald’s would out compete anyone who tried to copy their formula for success. Another competency Kroc demonstrated was his attention to detail. By focusing on details like quality, service, cleanliness, and value, Kroc created an efficient restaurant model that called for uniformity across different franchise locations, which became instrumental to McDonald’s success.

3.     One part of the reading that was confusing to me was how many people Kroc included in his autobiography. While all these people were important to Kroc’s life (and McDonald’s), it was sometimes difficult to keep all the names straight, as he often introduced a character only to ignore them until several chapters later.

4.     One question I would like to ask Ray Kroc would be what he thinks of McDonald’s today. I think that he may be disappointed in both the quality of the food and in the fact that working in a McDonald’s is often a dead-end job. I also think he would be disappointed in some of the more modern changes, like ordering kiosks that allow people to order without interacting with an employee. While these changes fit today’s society, Kroc always saw McDonald’s as a people business, something that may not hold true today. Another question I would like to ask Kroc would be how he would change the fast food industry today. Kroc always championed innovation, believing that sitting still was moving backwards. Generally speaking, I think that the fast food industry is not very innovative today. Few new menu items are announced, stores are rarely changed, and the drive-thru model has existed for decades. I think that Kroc would probably come up with several innovative ideas to change the industry, which could help push it in a positive direction today.

5.     Ray Kroc was an incredibly avid believer in hard work. The book title, Grinding It Out, reflects his notion that you had to work hard and grind out many long hours to find success. Kroc was intrinsically hardworking and didn’t see hard work as a conscious choice. Rather, he saw it as an unspoken requirement to reach his goals. I share this belief that hard work is instrumental to success. If you are unwilling to put time and effort into any given endeavor, then you probably should not be pursuing it. Anything worth doing is worth doing well, and doing something well requires time and effort.