13A

1) You read about an entrepreneur:

·      What surprised you the most?

·      What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?

·      What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?

·      Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?

-     I read the biography Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald's by Ray Kroc and Robert Anderson. Ray Kroc was the man that helped transform McDonalds from a small family run business into a billion-dollar franchise. I think one of the most surprising things I learned about Kroc was that he didn’t have any higher education training and furthermore he never completed high school. He preferred to learn on the job through experience. I most admired Kroc’s determination to succeed no matter what endeavor he pursued. He was always striving for excellence. This also contributes to a bit of what I least admire and that is his personal relationships. He seemed to dispose of whomever he was close with if they were no longer useful to him. Kroc encountered much adversity and failure. The beginning stages of most of his endeavors were almost always shot down by outside investors. To overcome these challenges, he ended up throwing most of his life savings into the beginning phases of his businesses so others could see how well they were doing and eventually contribute. 

2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited? 

-      One of Kroc’s most valuable competencies was the ability to read people, both investors and customers. He was a salesman at heart because that is what he had done in the early stages of his life and these previous skills of networking really payed off for him in the long run. Perfection also seemed to play a major role in his success. He would refuse anything less than excellence which is part of the major draw in customers to McDonald’s. 

3) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

-      Kroc’s self-confidence was a bit confusing to me. Even early in life he writes as though he was never really fearful of not becoming a success. I guess I just cannot relate to this mentality. 

4) If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?

-      The first question I would ask is if he regrets dedicating most of his life to McDonald’s and not to his family. The reason being is that many successful people I have talked with state that towards the end of their lives they wish they had spent more time doing leisurely activities. The second question I would ask is if the franchising of McDonald’s had failed would he have kept playing his hand in the entrepreneurial game or would he have bowed out and returned to being a salesman. I would ask this because though he faced many failures he never really lost it all and I would just like to know if losing it all would change his mentality. 

5) For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?

-       His entire life motto was that of hard work and determination. “Press on: Nothing in the world can take place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with no talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.” (Kroc 188). I am fully onboard with his opinion that these two attributes are of the utmost importance. I was taught in the military the value of hard work and it has really changed the way I approach work and life in general. 

·     Citation: Kroc, Ray, and Robert Anderson. Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald's. St. Martin's Press, 1992.