What surprised you the most?
- The thing that surprised me the most about Ray and his journey was how late in life he actually did the thing that made him famous. It was not until he was even 52 that he booked his ticket to meet the Mcdonald brothers to even check out their store.
What about the entrepreneur do I most admire?
- I most admire the way Ray Kroc was good with his customers when he was selling the paper cups. He was willing to work with them and give them the best deal. They trusted him and he trusted them and I really thought that was great for someone who is a salesperson. I really liked how he just took care of them.
What about the entrepreneur do I admire the least?
- Honestly, I don't like how he was worried more about himself than his family. It is no wonder he ended up divorced because he was constantly working and thinking about how to further his career instead of thinking about his family. Granted he thought this would be the best move for everyone but he did not think of the effects it would have on his wife and family.
- Yes, Kroc did encounter lots of adversity and failure. He continued to persevere however and did not let any of those things stop him from taking control and finding the next big thing.
- I would say the best competency thatn Ray Kroc had going for him was his charisma and salesmanship. Not only could he sell products such as paper cups and hamburgers, but he sold himself to companies so they would hire and work with him!!
Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.
- The thing that confused me the most about the book was how Ray would talk about how he and Ethel were estranged and distanced but never really did anything about it. He didn't try to make it right or help in any way and to me that's wrong.
If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?
- I would ask how did it feel to completely beat out the competition? and Do you regret anything about your journey? Because businessmen have to make hard decisions that don't always seem moral to me and looking back I want to know if he would change anything he said or did.
For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?
- Ray Kroc definitely had a high view of hard work. He worked hard his whole life and never let anyone tell him no or get in his way. If they discouraged him he would just steamroll right through them and wish they hadn't. While I share his sentient I would go about it differently because to me you don't want to burn any bridges because you never know when you'll need to cross back and get some help.
Hello Rebeca,
ReplyDeleteI also read the book about Ray Kroc. I agree with your perception about his interaction with customers while he was selling paper cups. His customer skills that he learned while perfecting his craft selling paper cups really gave him the vision to tie opportunities together and figure out a way that both parties could succeed in a joint venture. It was really inspiring.
Hi Rebeca!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your reflections of Grinding It Out by Ray Kroc. I didn’t read this book so hearing your thoughts on it was a great insight into the book. I think the part that I enjoyed most of this post were the question you’d ask Ray Kroc if you had the opportunity. I thought these were very telling of your thoughts on the book as a whole and things that struck you from it. Great job!