Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald's Mass Market Paperback – April 15, 1992

I found it to be an interesting story. Ray Croc was a selfish S-O-B who took advantage of the Brothers, to great success, and yet if he hadn't there wouldn't likely be a McDonald's today. Or maybe one in San Bernadino. It is a fantastic story (and I think mostly true)

Ray Kroc was a piano player and a paper-cup sales men in the 1930s and 1940s. In the mid 1950s, he started the McDonald's Corporation. Although he was in his early 50s when he founded McDonald's, he often replied to people commenting on his overnight success in saying: "I was just like showbusiness personalities who work away quietly at their craft for years, and then, suddenly, they get the right break and make it big. I was an overnight success all right, but thirty years is a long, long night."Ray Kroc saw the value of a lean operation when he was selling milk shake mixer to the McDonald brothers hamburger store. It was the first McDonald's and he offered them the idea of franchising their store. Since all they wanted was to retire, the gave the right to franchise McDonald's store to Ray Kroc and he would charge the franchisee 1.9% of sales of which 0.4% would go to the McDonalds brothers. This sparked the true beginning of the McDonald's corporation.Growing the McDonald's Corporation into an international fast food chain wasn't an easy journey. What is striking about Kroc is the amount of credit he gives to his team and employees. The focus of the organization's success is credited to the people running it as well as the franchisees - the store operators. One of the more memorable lines from the books is: "if he [the store operator] doesn't make money, I'm in a peck of trouble...but I'll be right out there helping him and doing all I can to make sure he makes money. As long as I do that, I'll do just fine." This is basically the McDonald's mantra in the mid 1960s and early 1970s.The most interesting aspect of McDonald's growth is their spirit of being pioneers. They always looked for ways to do things better and more efficiently. They also made sure that their suppliers prospered and grew with them. To accomplish this, they merged their aim to develop better ways to transport meat and potatoes, for example, with a promise to stick with the suppliers that helped them do just that. They made it clear - as a strategy - that they would never become their own suppliers. The company focused on what it does best, selling burgers and fries.Letting go of the control is probably the hardest thing Kroc ever did. Although he had a hand picked successor. He didn't completely let go. Rather, the transformation phase to the next generation and the generation thereafter happened slowly and gradually. Nevertheless, Kroc never left the organization. He always had a role in developing new products and menu items and designing new stores.I gave it four stars for being too brief in discussing major story points of the creation of McDonald's.

I watched the movie about Ray Kroc but this takes you deeper into his life and his mission to be successful.

The story of the dynamic personalities that built an empire, as told by one of the greatest storytellers of all time...Ray Kroc!The book fills in, and clarifies, all the missing blanks the movie "the Founder" leaves out.Reading this book, you realize that it took a team of visionaries to build this multinational company. Not just Kroc and his team, but a cast of thousands... from executives to suppliers...participated in the building of an international icon.McDonald's dominance was never baked in, it was through years of gathering the right people, and a lot of risk taking that Mr Kroc was able to sell the concept of winning to the world!This book is a must read for anyone looking for personal motivation in a sales career, or any fan of McDonald's.If you aren't a McDonald's fan, this book is likely to make you one! I never viewed McDonald's as the scrappy underdog until I heard the story from Ray Kroc's viewpoint.I never understood that McDonald's actually upped the game by adding standards and consistancy that had been nonexistent in American drive in restaurants. McDonald's was the new, higher standard in a sea of low quality... Something we now take for granted.Everything about McDonald's is meticulously planned and researched, from the fiber in Ronald's wig, to the noise the straw makes when you poke it through the plastic lid.McDonald's is a fascinating history on it's own, and an interesting case study of a successful business empire.Grinding it out is a page turner, I finished it in a 4 hour sitting.

Ray Kroc gives an engaging account of his life, including significant insight behind the founding of McDonalds. Kroc is willing to detail both his successes and his mistakes, which allows the reader to truly feel like an 'insider'. The book is filled with interesting snippets of advice based on these successes or failures that Kroc backs up with anecdotes. He's a great story teller, and he uses that talent to expound his life philosophy of working hard and getting things done at almost any cost (in his view determination is the most important quality for any successful person to possess).Kroc seems like a man that in real life folks probably either love or hate - but i think most readers interested in business and even some just interested in good life stories will like this book. He's willing to be audacious and politically incorrect which is definitely entertaining.The book's biggest flaw is that it leaves the reader (or me at least) wanting more insight behind the success and rapid growth of McDonalds in the late 50s and early 60s. It seems like Kroc is really struggling in the mid-late 50s financially with the business and then a few pages later it's the mid 60s and McDonalds is taking in hundreds of millions. This is one of the central reasons many pick up the book probably - so it is a major flaw. Also, Kroc touches enough on his personal life to make it interesting, but then restrains himself from making it a tell-all, which again leaves the reader wanting more. For example, he hardly mentions his relationship with his daughter or how her death affected his business life.Overall, this is a worthwhile, inspiring read, filled with great anecdotes and some good advice. It's amazing what Kroc accomplished, starting McDonalds and risking all at the late age of 52 (late for the '50s - starting a company today at 52 is not such a big deal). As the back of the book states - Ray Kroc is someone you will never forget - but unfortunately we're stuck with only 210 pages. He took the other 100 or so with him to the grave.

I bought this book after watching the film, The Founder, recently. I thought the film was brilliant and wanted to know more about Ray Kroc the man. In the film it would be easy to conclude that Kroc was a devious piece of work in his final dealings with the McDonalds brothers and so wanted to hear (read) his version. I not only found the book a very interesting read and real page-turner (it is a nice size book, just over 200 pages and easy to carry) I completely changed my mind about the man himself. I would recommend watching the film before reading the book because the other way round may not be so surprising . A great insight not only into how a fast-food chain, that we all take for granted, came into existence but also about the man who is responsible for it's global success.

I was lead to this book after watching the inspiring Hollywood movie "The Founder"It is the story of rags to riches.The story of a smart salesman - who took risks and worked hard to create his own luck.Contrary to the movie, Ray was a successful milkshake salesman before he went to McDonald - he was success at everything he did, and there was no reason for him to move to a highly risky venture of setting up a burger franchise - he was earning well. But he saw the potential and did everything to make it happen. He worked two jobs while setting up McDonalds in his local area.Note that other people saw what the McDonald brothers were doing but failed to replicate their success.This is an entertaining read - a page turner - that will inspire you - to work hard and take risks in business or your job. A must read

.....of the genesis of a commercial organisation that now has spread it's 'fast food' tentacles to just about every corner of the world, and is now arguably the most well known retail brand name ever known.The founder of McDonald's Ray Kroc (helped by Robert Anderson) recounts his visit in 1954 to San Bernardino near San Diego to call upon the McDonald Brothers who owned a small 200 feet square food outlet. He was visiting them hopeful of selling them one or more of the milk shake machines he was hawking wherever he saw an opportunity but what he found was at the age of 52, an idea that he instantly thought would be a great business opportunity if 'rolled out' by way of company owned branches or franchises across the States.....low cost quality hamburgers (in those days selling for fifteen cents) with well sourced and cooked fries, a milk shake, and little else. He tried to persuade the Brothers to go into business together with the intention of expanding the business but were only interested if Ray Kroc was solely responsible for the opening of all new outlets as they were quite happy with their lifestyles and didn't want the additional aggravation. A contract was drawn up and at the age of 52 with diabetes and incipient arthritis he found himself embarking upon a business for which he had little experience.The outcome of this entrepreneurial 'gamble' is well known and just about everybody is aware of the phenomenal success of the McDonald business but this book in a very 'folksie' narrative fills in the way the McDonald very simple and straightforward philosophy was evolved, and implemented across the whole business of fast food retailing from ingredient sourcing, preparation, staff attitudes, interior design, imaging, marketing and advertising.Whilst this book was completed in 1977, just 7 years before Mr Kroc died aged 82, and only obviously deals with the company's progress until that time, it certainly very comprehensively 'paints the picture' and explains the whole ethos by which the company based and still bases it's success.A truly inspirational book that would be of great interest and benefit to the casual reader, a McDonald's aficionado, or any established or intending entrepreneur already in or wanting to be in the fast food business.

Grinding It Out accounts the rise of McDonald and although the book was written in 1977 the author discusses many essential management principles which are still relevant in a business operation.This book is written in an easy to read manner making it approachable for pretty much anyone a bit like McDonald's. However it is important to take the information from this book with a pinch of salt because it is an autobiography so the author is likely to be biased in certain aspects. Nevertheless anyone interested in management should definitely read this book as it makes you realise why certain companies succeed and others fail!

this book reminds you that our life is a chain of events that leads us to a successful moment as long as we keep trying and never lose the hope in our dreams, at age 53 Ray starts all over again in the pursuit of happiness.