I chose to read about Ray Kroc and the making of the famous McDonald's empire. What surprised me the most about this story is that the man behind the chain is not actually a McDonald. He ended up using the milkshake machine from the McDonald brothers and made it revolutionary. I admire Ray Kroc because he seems to be an insanely dedicated entrepreneur and he was always really honest. Most entrepreneurs are stereotyped to want to steal your money and con you into buying things. I least admire that Kroc let his business mindset take over his personal relationships. I personally value a good work-life balance and it seems like Kroc could not have success while maintaining his. He did encounter failure through several business ventures and struggled while selling paper cups before he came upon his success. His competency is that he was a very dedicated worker. The confusing part about this reading was that it seems like there are two sides to the story and that the McDonald brothers might feel very differently about the situation. If I was able to ask him two questions I would ask him what advice he has for a beginning entrepreneur and I would ask about his biggest regret in the making of the franchise. I think Kroc would say that hard work is the most important thing you need in life to be successful and happy. I disagree with this. I think that happiness can just as easily come from a satisfying personal life.
Molly,
ReplyDeleteIt's pretty funny and cool to learn that the man behind McDonalds is not actually a McDonald! But it's genuinely inspiring to see that he took a product from the McDonalds brothers and turned it into an entrepreneurial cash cow. It goes to show, among other things, that success can come in un-traditional ways or that the right business mindset can lead to one individual's success over another less-knowledgeable individual. It's also interesting to see that Kroc struggled to sell paper cups before McDonalds. Oftentimes, it takes practice and failures sometimes until you find your groove!
Hey Molly! I also read about Ray Kroc's success story with McDonald's. I agree with your statement when you said that Ray Kroc was an honest man. As far as we can tell, from his autobiography, he does seem like he went around his business with only the mind set of achieving a win-win situation for everyone. This does go against the stereotype, which I believe is actually false, that most entrepreneurs are out there to steal people's money.
ReplyDeleteHi Molly,
ReplyDeleteI think you did a good job on this post. I like how you pointed out that the McDonald brothers might not feel the same way as Kroc. From what I remember of this situation, the brother's didn't want to expand their business, but Kroc saw the potential of the company when the brothers didn't. I don't think Kroc stole from the brother's.