Reading Reflection No.1
What surprised you the most?
Being that this is the first time I read something into the history of McDonald's, what surprised me was how exactly McDonald's got started. I didn’t know previously that two brothers started the small company and then Ray came into the picture with the plans to franchise the business. I was also surprised by how cheap things were and how much money people made a week. I've heard of things being cheap back in the days but actually reading what Ray Kroc got paid weekly just put things in perspective.
What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?
What I really liked about Ray was that he took on all sort of opportunities when he was younger. There really wasn’t anything that he seemed to turn down. He seemed to use each opportunity as the next stepping stone to the next. He also didn’t allow for failures to hold him back.
What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?
So, his first wife Ethel would "complain" that he was never home and he wrote in his book that looking back he "guesses" it was unfair. If you are guessing something then you really don’t mean it. I didn’t like that because he decided to leave his family to be with someone and then he decides there are more important things out there but still keep them around. Not only that but he also had a daughter with the woman and since he was never home I take it he also missed out on a lot of family-related events. He essentially put work above all.
I also didn’t like that he was in the business of selling land to older folks that were underwater. Knowing that there was really nothing they could do with that land. To me, at that point, he just seemed like a con artist.
Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?
Ray encountered failure after failure starting from a young age. He would start a business venture and when it wouldn’t work out he would just move on. I think he just used everything he learned to better his next hustle.
What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited?
Ray was strong-willed and ambitious because he would not allow his failures to define him nor keep him from trying more business ventures. He showed a lot of determination to turn any business venture into a successful one. He was also, a hard worker. He would commute between his two businesses and he would pick up trash that he found around his first McDonalds.
Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.
I was confused as to why his wife would not want to go into business with him. She was upset that he didn’t spend much time at home but then when he was starting out his new business and asked her to be his assistant so that they would be able to work together, she denied him the request. So, instead of keeping the money themselves he had to hire another person to assist him with the business.
The other thing that confuses me is how much he cared about his customers he was selling plastic cups to by always trying to keep them happy, however, not one moment did I feel he felt remorse for coning people into buying land in Florida that could not be used for anything.
If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?
1. Is there anything in your daughter's childhood that you look back on now and regret missing out on?
2. Is there a business venture that you have pursued or would've like to pursue and see grow into the empire that McDonald's became?
For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?
He believed that hard work was important for a person to be able to enjoy the finer things in life. Hard work was putting your all and taking a chance. I do believe that as well, however, Ray Kroc seemed to have worked so much that I didn’t really think he actually enjoyed life as much he could have. I do believe in working hard but I also believe that you have to be able to enjoy the money you make. Take care of yourself and your family while you have a chance.
Being that this is the first time I read something into the history of McDonald's, what surprised me was how exactly McDonald's got started. I didn’t know previously that two brothers started the small company and then Ray came into the picture with the plans to franchise the business. I was also surprised by how cheap things were and how much money people made a week. I've heard of things being cheap back in the days but actually reading what Ray Kroc got paid weekly just put things in perspective.
What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?
What I really liked about Ray was that he took on all sort of opportunities when he was younger. There really wasn’t anything that he seemed to turn down. He seemed to use each opportunity as the next stepping stone to the next. He also didn’t allow for failures to hold him back.
What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?
So, his first wife Ethel would "complain" that he was never home and he wrote in his book that looking back he "guesses" it was unfair. If you are guessing something then you really don’t mean it. I didn’t like that because he decided to leave his family to be with someone and then he decides there are more important things out there but still keep them around. Not only that but he also had a daughter with the woman and since he was never home I take it he also missed out on a lot of family-related events. He essentially put work above all.
I also didn’t like that he was in the business of selling land to older folks that were underwater. Knowing that there was really nothing they could do with that land. To me, at that point, he just seemed like a con artist.
Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?
Ray encountered failure after failure starting from a young age. He would start a business venture and when it wouldn’t work out he would just move on. I think he just used everything he learned to better his next hustle.
What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited?
Ray was strong-willed and ambitious because he would not allow his failures to define him nor keep him from trying more business ventures. He showed a lot of determination to turn any business venture into a successful one. He was also, a hard worker. He would commute between his two businesses and he would pick up trash that he found around his first McDonalds.
Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.
I was confused as to why his wife would not want to go into business with him. She was upset that he didn’t spend much time at home but then when he was starting out his new business and asked her to be his assistant so that they would be able to work together, she denied him the request. So, instead of keeping the money themselves he had to hire another person to assist him with the business.
The other thing that confuses me is how much he cared about his customers he was selling plastic cups to by always trying to keep them happy, however, not one moment did I feel he felt remorse for coning people into buying land in Florida that could not be used for anything.
If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?
1. Is there anything in your daughter's childhood that you look back on now and regret missing out on?
2. Is there a business venture that you have pursued or would've like to pursue and see grow into the empire that McDonald's became?
For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?
He believed that hard work was important for a person to be able to enjoy the finer things in life. Hard work was putting your all and taking a chance. I do believe that as well, however, Ray Kroc seemed to have worked so much that I didn’t really think he actually enjoyed life as much he could have. I do believe in working hard but I also believe that you have to be able to enjoy the money you make. Take care of yourself and your family while you have a chance.
Eliana -
ReplyDeleteI did not read this book and therefore found your analysis of it interesting. I dont know much about the founder of McDonalds, but I was aware that he used real estate to develop the McDonalds franchise. After reading your post, I feel I got a good understanding of Ray Kroc and feel the same way as you. To me, there is nothing more important in life than family and to be there for them. No matter how successful you get, it is important to enjoy your successes with those that you love.
Eliana,
ReplyDeleteIve seen videos about the upbringing of McDonalds and I thought it was very interesting, so it was cool to learn more hearing what you have to say about the book. I found it interesting that it started as a small company, I know every business starts small but i always saw McDonalds as a huge corporation. I admired that mindset that Ray had, If it didn't work learn from it and move on. I think this mindset is huge when talking about entrepreneurs, it is important to not get on yourself, but to learn from failure. This mindset and way of life stood out to me as the primary reason Ray was so successful with his business ventures.