Reading Reflection No. 1

1a) What surprised me the most was that I had a negative attitude about McDonald’s before I read this biography, and my attitude turned into a positive one by the end of it. Ray Kroc wasn’t out to make a company that would cause so much controversy and for people to think he had negative intentions, he just wanted to make a successful burger business.

1b) What I admire most about Ray Kroc was that he seems like a humble man. He came from a normal, middle-class family and started his entrepreneurship career selling paper cups to restaurants and other businesses. He was good at his job and believed in the product.

1c) I could not really find anything I disliked about Ray Kroc, he seemed like a great person and entrepreneur. He was successful but always gave back to society and opened many charities and foundations, he also never had an expense account or salary with McDonalds.

1d) Kroc encountered many hiccups on his journey. The fact that he was an entrepreneur during the Great Depression meant that he dealt with a great deal of adversity. Even when McDonald’s was already established he faced difficulty with his relationship with the company’s President, Henry. All of the obstacles thrown his way, he overcame by staying grounded and focusing on the quality of his work, knowing that this is what his customers valued.



2) Ray Kroc showed several competencies. He was a risk taker who always followed his gut and stuck to his decisions even if there was a huge chance for failure. He was a great leader who started one of the largest recognized companies in the world, people looked up to him and see him as one of the greatest entrepreneurs if all time. Ray Kroc was definitely driven and dedicated, working hard to sell everything from paper cups to the multi-mixers which is what set him off to start McDonald’s. Lastly, he was incredibly innovative, constantly coming up with new marketing ideas, food ideas for the restaurant, and even ways of turning the multi-mixer from a 6 spindle machine to a 5 spindle one.




3) One part of the reading that was confusing to me was Ray Kroc’s relationship with Henry, his President. Harry was more focused on real estate and viewed McDonald’s restaurants as revenue once the mortgage lease was up, whereas Ray Kroc focused more on the revenue coming from the burgers and fries themselves. Through the years tension was built between them and even the offices were split on who they supported more, until Henry left the company with plenty of stock and $100,000/year. I do not understand why Ray would have wanted a president who wasn’t on the same page as him, he needed someone who had the same mindset as himself that was more focused on the quality of the food than mortgages rates.




4) If I were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur I would ask:

1) What’s one thing you would change about the McDonald’s corporation?

2) Do you have any regrets on any of your business deals?

I would ask these questions because I believe we can learn a lot through people’s experiences and if there was something that Ray Kroc learned in the entrepreneurship world it would be interesting to know, that way we would have a lesser chance of making a similar mistake.




5) I believe that Ray Kroc’s opinion of hard work included working until you have provided your customers with complete satisfaction and they think your product is of high quality and value. He never sold a product he wouldn’t use or believed in. I totally share his opinion on hard work, if you believe in your product or service then customers will have a positive reaction and your business will succeed, when this happens I consider it hard work.