13 - Reading Reflecton 1

For this reading assignment, I read "Grinding it out: the making of McDonald's", the autobiography of Ray Kroc.
1.) I'm not sure why, but the thing that surprised me the most to learn was that Ray Kroc, while he deserves most of the credit for turning the business into the global monster it is today, did not come up with the idea for the fast food restaurant. He simply saw potential in the unique operation of a single store that was run by the actual McDonald brothers and decided to jump on the opportunity. Previously, Mr. Kroc was a salesman for paper cups and milkshake machines. The quality I find most admirable about him is his ability to spot opportunities and take massive risks without worrying too much about the possible consequences. A quality I dislike about him is that he seemed to value chasing his business dreams over ensuring his family stability - he jumped on opportunities without consulting his wife and there was a period of time where they barely scraped by. He also divorced his second wife the instant he found out the other woman whom he loved more but hadn't seen for 5 years was divorcing her husband. Kind of a dick move, since it seemed like his marriage was working out just fine, but whatever I guess... it just leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth because I got the impression that he didn't respect the women in his life as much as he should have. Whenever he encountered adversity, he rarely gave up on his goals. he kept pushing forward as if he could already see the light at the end of the tunnel.

2.) Ray Kroc's competencies include the ability to know (most of the time) when an idea was good or bad, excellent salesmanship, and perseverance.

3.) The most confusing part of the book was the later chapters that described his life after McDonald's made him rich. I think it was confusing to me because I, being a lower middle-class person, do not understand all the ways money works when you have so much of it. I barely understand the basics of the stock market and I'm not totally sure what exactly "shares" of a company are, other than that they are worth some amount of money.

4.) If I could ask Mr. Kroc two questions, I would ask him what he thinks of the stereotype of McDonald's being a crappy place to work, and if he thinks the quality of McDonald's food has changed since the company became so massive. He painted a vivid picture of McDonald's being this clean, professional, and strict operation that prioritized food quality and service above all else, but that's not what I grew up understanding about McDonald's, or fast food in general. I've always thought of McDonald's as a cheap place to eat when I'm on a road trip or in a hurry where I can get a lot of food quickly for a low price and I don't have to even go inside. I've never viewed it as anywhere close to being a classy place to eat, and I'm pretty sure most people would agree. I've also heard the phrase "you don't want to end up working at McDonald's, do you?" as an example of a bad future for people who don't do well in school. I would be curious to know what Mr. Kroc thinks of these things.

5.) no question about it, Ray Kroc believes that hard, honest work is the only way for people to amount to anything. I think that's true for most people, but there are certainly people who are privileged to belong to a well-off family and therefore have many more opportunities presented to them and are able to follow their dreams easier than others. One of the worst atrocities of the modern day is how many brilliant and talented people are chained into poverty because they literally don't have time to pursue anything other than their current job that only covers the bills and leaves them unable to save. I think America has changed a great deal in the last century, and we no longer live in a society where "hard work" is enough.