Reading Reflection No. 3
For my final reading reflection, I chose to read Grinding it Out: The Making of McDonald’sby Ray Kroc.
1. What surprised you most?
· The thing that surprised me the most was that Ray Kroc was already is his fifties when he finally started the empire of McDonald’s. Making a fast food empire definitely takes a lot of time and energy and I found it amazing that he was able to do it at such an old age.
2. What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?
· The thing that I most admired about Ray Kroc was how he sacrificed almost everything and worked tirelessly to make his vision a reality. I admired that even after failing at many other things he was able to come back strong and make his dream come true.
3. What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?
· The thing I least admired about Ray Kroc is that he had to sacrifice personal relationships in order to achieve his dream. Although I admire his great sacrifice to complete his goals, I did not like that he had to sacrifice his personal relationships in order to do so.
4. Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?
· Ray Kroc encountered a lot of adversity and failure while trying to build his empire. He failed at many things and made many bad investments including bad real estate and playing piano at a bar where liquor was illegally sold. Despite all of the adversity he faced, he simply picked himself up and went on to the next thing.
5. What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited?
· The main competency that Ray Kroc exhibited was his unwillingness to give up. No matter how many things he failed at, he simply started over. Kroc was not afraid of failure and despite failing time and time again he just kept going. His drive and his unwillingness to quit are what enabled him to create the fast food empire of McDonald’s.
6. Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.
· There is only one part that remains unclear to me. I really could not tell what role the McDonald Brothers played in the company compared to the role of Kroc. Kroc takes the credit for making McDonald’s what it is today but the restaurant itself is named after the brothers.
7. If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask?
· The first question I would ask is how he was able to continue to push himself despite failing at many different things and facing adversity at every turn. The second question I would ask him is if he could do it all again would he do it differently. I would ask him this because in his rise to the top he lost many close friends. I would like to know how he felt about this.
8. What do you think the entrepreneur’s opinion was of hard work?
· I think Kroc valued hard work very highly. In order to overcome adversity and failure so many times as Kroc did one would have to hold hard work in a high regard. I share this opinion with Kroc, I believe that hard work is essential for success.
I read this book for reading reflection #1, and I thought it was really interesting to read about the history of McDonald's. I was also very surprised that Kroc did not start the business until he was in his 50's. That definitely teaches others that it is never too late to pursue a dream. I agree that Kroc probably valued hard work. He worked tirelessly throughout his life, but that did come at the cost of multiple relationships, but I am not sure I could share that perspective with him. I think that if I were an entrepreneur, I would not sacrifice personal close relationships for my business. What I least admired about Kroc, however, was that he started a business that, in my opinion, contributed greatly to the obesity epidemic in America. Overall, though, I thought that this book was an interesting read because he is definitely one of the most successful entrepreneurs in history.
ReplyDeleteHey,
ReplyDeleteI have not read this book, but this is the second reading reflection I have read about it and the book seems kinda interesting. From the looks of it, Roy Kroc seemed liked a hard worker and it took job so long to start his business. This goes to show that it is never too late to follow your dreams. I agree with you and his opinion of hard work. It took him so long to have a successful business that he had to work extremely hard to get there.