- I was most surprised that Ray Kroc was 52 when he started taking on the McDonald's business.
- I admired Ray Kroc's work ethic and how much he believed in McDonald's and its future. He was a dreamer and never stopped pushing for the company to improve and grow. He also had close relations with the people who came onto the team and never compromised his values or his vision.
- It's hard to find something that I didn't admire about Ray Kroc but I guess what I least admired about him was how he didn't dedicate a lot of time to his family. It's understandable since he was working so hard to build up the company but it seemed he never made room for his family.
- Ray Kroc faced adversity and failure, but he always found a way to solve the problem - either by reaching out to other people for help (either for money or more manpower) or trying to compromise with those involved. He never gave up.
3) I was confused with some of the business jargon, how some of his deals worked with the leasing for his properties, and some of the compromises he had to make in order to gain ownership of the company.
4) If I were able to ask Ray Kroc two questions, I would ask what were his biggest motivations behind his drive for McDonald's and if he had the opportunity to change the school system, how would he reform it? I thought it was interesting his take on how schools teach students and wonder how he would modify it and why he worked so hard to get McDonald's where it is today.
5) Ray Kroc's definition of hard work entails being persistent and dedicated to your cause. I also share this opinion - because no matter how talented you are, what advantages you have, none of that compares to if you're actively putting in effort and exhausting the resources you have.
Ashley,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post about how Ray Kroc started McDonald's. I have seen the movie called "The Founder," which reveals the story about how McDonald's was created; but, like most films made after books, I am sure the book went into greater detail and was more interesting. It seems like most entrepreneurs in this time period began their story selling a particular product and eventually moved on to a much larger service. For example, I read the book on how Nike was created and Phil Knight began by only selling shoes.
Ashley,
ReplyDeleteSince I read a different biography, I liked being able to learn at least a little bit about Ray Kroc from your reading reflection. I did not know that he was 52 when he started the business. I also thought it was interesting that his work ethic, vision, and the people around him helped him be successful because this was true for Phil Knight, the entrepreneur I read about, as well.
Ashley,
ReplyDeleteAs I was reading your reflection, I realized there was something in common between Ray Kroc and the person I read about, Muhammad Yunus. This is their lack of time to spend with family, they only concentrate on the work that they need to do. Definitely respect their hard work but even once in a while would be nice to physically see the family. Thanks for writing such a concise reflection about who started McDonalds.