Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald's

Ray Kroc

Aug 2016 · Sold by St. Martin's Griffin

About this ebook

"He either enchants or antagonizes everyone he meets. But even his enemies agree there are three things Ray Kroc does damned well: sell hamburgers, make money, and tell stories." --from Grinding It Out

Few entrepreneurs can claim to have radically changed the way we live, and Ray Kroc is one of them. His revolutions in food-service automation, franchising, shared national training, and advertising have earned him a place beside the men and women who have founded not only businesses, but entire empires. But even more interesting than Ray Kroc the business man is Ray Kroc the man. Not your typical self-made tycoon, Kroc was fifty-two years old when he opened his first franchise. In Grinding It Out, you'll meet the man behind McDonald's, one of the largest fast-food corporations in the world with over 32,000 stores around the globe.

Irrepressible enthusiast, intuitive people person, and born storyteller, Kroc will fascinate and inspire you on every page.

Ratings and reviews

This was an interesting book. The autobiographer was often not an estimable person and I was struck by the disparity between his repeated commitment to QSC and V (quality, service, cleanliness and value) and my personal experience with the chain over the years. That said, it certainly made me think about what makes a company successful and how to enforce a vision to such a broad group of restaurants. I enjoyed the behind the curtain view of how a company managed to grow so large and successful when surrounded by thousands of similar companies and was awed by Ray's willingness to take such large financial and personal risks time and time again. Not necessarily one of my favorite books, but a quick easy read that held my attention and made me think.

Part biography, part history lesson, part business lesson, part philosophy lecture and part collection of interesting anicodotes, Ray Kroc paints a concise yet vivid picture of both his life and what it took to build McDonalds into the corporate beheamoth and American Icon that it is today. Comparing Krocs' accounts in this book to the movie "The Founder" is quite jaring. They do not sync up. Read the book and watch the film and you'll see. Lastly, as a native Chicagoan (it is Ray Krocs' hometown and headquarters to McDonalds to this day) I found his references to the city and many places in it that I know to be very amusing. A fun, easy, informative and dare I say it, facinating read.

The personal Treats of Mr. Kroc where first developed and later in life exposed by "grinding it out". It seems there is no elevator to success, you have to Grinding It Out !

About the author

Ray Kroc was an American businessman most famous for founding McDonald's at the age of fifty-two. Widely regarded as one of the most successful entrepreneurs of the twentieth century, Kroc was unfailingly motivated, and continued to evolve and adapt his business practices up until his death to make McDonald's the worldwide phenomenon it is today. He died in California in 1984.