Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald's

Rating:
Summary: Life Begins at 52
Review: From my long tenure of slaving behind the grill, only to see the inspiring words of "DO whatever it takes! For the customer's sake!" above me, i.e., Ray himself whispering sweet nothings in my head, to reading this book, I can firmly attest that I now no longer eat at the Golden Arches - for the better of my body anyway. To find out that he ultimately sells real estate rather than burgers is the mind blower! If he had kept it a low key burger joint in the first place, I might never would have heard of him, but he would definately be a cooler dude. I was distraught to see his vision materialized this summer, as I escaped to third world civilazations, only to find red with yellow arches everywhere. Still, his presence was felt, and I did my best not to support him! Unfortunately, his happy meals don't make me too happy. him and the teletubbies - yuck! 2 stars is all you get, Ray - and that's only because you switched over to vegetable shortning for your fries! You don't even toast your buns anymore!

Rating:
Summary: An Unvarnished Look at One of America's Great Entrepreneurs
Review: Go into McDonald's today, and you see a complex, well-operated business system operated by ordinary people. That is impressive in and of itself. What is even more impressive is to understand the roots of how this business was established, which you can do by reading this entertaining and revealing book.

Unlike most people who write about themselves and their businesses, Ray Kroc was pretty candid about the problems he had, the people who gave him a hard time, the mistakes he made, and his personal life. That makes this book very valuable to those who want to understand what entrepreneurship is all about.

As an adjunct to reading this book, I suggest that you also visit the McDonald's museum near O'Hare airport in Ray Kroc's first store. There are notes there about all of the problems that he had to solve over the years, many of which are described in the book.

Ray Kroc did not invent the original McDonald's concept, but what he franchised and eventually bought from the McDonald brothers was not yet a real business system. For example, when he first tried to duplicate the french fries that were so famous in San Bernardino, California, his french fries turned to mush. It turned out that the storage methods used by the McDonald brothers aged and dehydrated the potatoes a bit so that they could fry up nicely. Kroc had to invest in finding a process for doing that outside of the near-desert climate of San Bernardino.

The McDonald's system that we see today is the creation of Kroc's attention to detail, appreciation for consumer value, ability to solve problems, taking calculated risks that he could not afford to lose, and attracting talented people into the system. The book gives you a great sense of what that was like. Anyone starting an e-business today will be going through many of the same trials and tribulations.

The book is filled with wonderful stories about McDonald's and the people of McDonald's.

I have a special fondness for the subject since I grew up about a mile from the first McDonald's in San Bernardino, and have been eating their hamburgers now for over 50 years. It is truly awe-inspiring to me to see what has been accomplished from such humble beginnings.

Clearly, this book is a stallbuster for you in business. Kroc was 52 when he became interested in McDonald's. He had no special skills in restaurants. (The closest he came was in selling Lily cups and milk shake machines to restaurants, lunch counters, and drive-ins.) He had relatively little money to invest compared to the size of the opportunity. He ran into many obstacles that could have broken most businesses. Yet he just put his head down, and kept moving forward on the most important things. You can learn a lot from his determination.

Good luck with using this example to create a new set of practices for business that exceed what anyone has ever accomplished before!

Rating:
Summary: An Unvarnished Look at One of America's Great Entrepreneurs
Review: Go into McDonald's today, and you see a complex, well-operated business system operated by ordinary people. That is impressive in and of itself. What is even more impressive is to understand the roots of how this business was established, which you can do by reading this entertaining and revealing book.

Unlike most people who write about themselves and their businesses, Ray Kroc was pretty candid about the problems he had, the people who gave him a hard time, the mistakes he made, and his personal life. That makes this book very valuable to those who want to understand what entrepreneurship is all about.

As an adjunct to reading this book, I suggest that you also visit the McDonald's museum near O'Hare airport in Ray Kroc's first store. There are notes there about all of the problems that he had to solve over the years, many of which are described in the book.

Ray Kroc did not invent the original McDonald's concept, but what he franchised and eventually bought from the McDonald brothers was not yet a real business system. For example, when he first tried to duplicate the french fries that were so famous in San Bernardino, California, his french fries turned to mush. It turned out that the storage methods used by the McDonald brothers aged and dehydrated the potatoes a bit so that they could fry up nicely. Kroc had to invest in finding a process for doing that outside of the near-desert climate of San Bernardino.

The McDonald's system that we see today is the creation of Kroc's attention to detail, appreciation for consumer value, ability to solve problems, taking calculated risks that he could not afford to lose, and attracting talented people into the system. The book gives you a great sense of what that was like. Anyone starting an e-business today will be going through many of the same trials and tribulations.

The book is filled with wonderful stories about McDonald's and the people of McDonald's.

I have a special fondness for the subject since I grew up about a mile from the first McDonald's in San Bernardino, and have been eating their hamburgers now for over 50 years. It is truly awe-inspiring to me to see what has been accomplished from such humble beginnings.

Clearly, this book is a stallbuster for you in business. Kroc was 52 when he became interested in McDonald's. He had no special skills in restaurants. (The closest he came was in selling Lily cups and milk shake machines to restaurants, lunch counters, and drive-ins.) He had relatively little money to invest compared to the size of the opportunity. He ran into many obstacles that could have broken most businesses. Yet he just put his head down, and kept moving forward on the most important things. You can learn a lot from his determination.

Good luck with using this example to create a new set of practices for business that exceed what anyone has ever accomplished before!

Rating:
Summary: 2 stars for honesty, 0 for inspiration
Review: I bought Ray's book seeking insight into business and the personal qualities of a business man. The book contains little business insight, but is a complete autobiography of one of the most successful enterpreneirs of the century.

Ray Kroc told his story with honesty and enthusiasm, but I am not richer for it. This surprised me, since I deeply believe in the virtues of individual opportunity, and Mr. Kroc lived his life by this creed.

I was left cold by Mr. Kroc's single minded dedication to business during his entire life. Maybe that is what it takes to succeed on the scale that he did, but it isn't something I would wish on somebody I cared about.

Ray's story taught me to make sure that my search for wealth and success does not consume me.


Rating:
Summary: The Best Book I Have Read In A Long, Long Time
Review: I would like to first start by saying I hate reading. I got this book Tuesday night. It is now 6:30 Wednesday and I am now done with the 200 plus page book. I have not been able to put this book down. I have found it very interesting. I think Ray Kroc was an extremely talented and dedicated man. As a McDonald's manager I was familiar with the story of Ray, from this book I have learned so much more. I was surprised at how well it kept my attention. This is the first book I have read for pleasure in a long time. I recommed it to anyone that enjoys reading about true inspirational people.

Rating:
Summary: A real hero's story
Review: It is truly inspirational to read about a businessman succeeding by being perfectly moral. Ray Kroc continuously focused on delivering positives instead of negatives. He was way ahead of his time, realizing the power of the entrepreneurial spirit and how to harness that in a large corporation.

Rating:
Summary: Ray Kroc Lights the Way
Review: Ray Kroc was more than just a successful entrepeneur, he was a man with a vision. In Grinding It Out, that vision is clearly evident. If you want to succeed in virtually any field, read this book & pay attention to his approach & attitude. This is more than a business biography, it's a "how to" book.

Rating:
Summary: Wisdom
Review: Ray Kroc's wisdom from his autobiography:

"You have to spend money to make money."
"I have always believed that each man makes his own happiness and is responsible for his own problems."
"A man must take advantage of any opportunity that comes along."
"I was driven by ambition. I hated to be idle for a minute. I was determined to live well and have nice things, too."
"I work from the part to the whole, and I don't move on to the large scale ideas until i have perfected the small details."
"It's lonely on top."
"Train for a career. Learn how to support themselves and how to enjoy work first. Then if they have a thirst for learning, they can go to night school."

Ah, great person in America!

Rating:
Summary: Not a Very Satisfying Meal!
Review: This book is like McDonald's - not very nourishing or satisfying! While I loved reading about Mr. Kroc's upbeat attitude and how he became so successful, I don't think the book was very well-written. (I couldn't believe it was written by a former journalist for the Chicago Tribune!) Nevertheless, I found many inspirational quotes in the book, such as the homily that Mr. Kroc recites ... that not even education and talent can make you a success. You need persistence, for the world is full of people who had the other two but never went too far.

Rating:
Summary: Not a Very Satisfying Meal!
Review: When it comes to business literature there are three kinds of writers:

1. Those who did it and write about it: business owners and entrepreneurs
2. Those who read about it: journalists, business books writers, and historians
3. Thos who think about it: professors, researchers, and think tanks

Every single of has their own merit and contribution to the world of business history, but for me it is very important as a business professional to learn from the people who did it. What were they thinking? What where they feels? Why?

The other two kinds of writers can tall you what they did and how but they can never tell you why?

Which is why I recommend reading books like "Grinding It Out".

Even though most people might think that McDonald's was brought to the world by a family baring that name, it was Ray Kroc who found them in California and brought it to the billions of people worldwide.

In this book you make many discoveries as to the reason for McDonald's success. Why did they become number one in their category? What was Ray Kroc thinking and why he chose the path he walked.

I highly recommend this book instead of all of the other books about McDonald's because you the inside prospective from the person who did it all, but perhaps most importantly you get to know why!!!!