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Ray Kroc

Robert Anderson

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

by Ray Kroc (Author)

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Few entrepreneurs can claim to have actually changed the way we live, but Ray Kroc is one of them. His revolutions in food service automation, franchising, shared national training and advertising have earned him a place beside the men who founded not merely businesses but entire new industries.

But even more interesting than Ray Kroc the business legend is Ray Kroc the man. Not your typical self-made tycoon, Kroc was 52 when he met the McDonald brothers and opened his first franchise.

Now meet Ray Kroc, the man behind the business legend, in his own words. Irrepressible enthusiast, perceptive people-watcher, and born storyteller, he will fascinate and inspire you. You'll never forget Ray Kroc.

Print length

256 pages
Language

English
Publisher

St. Martin's Paperbacks
Publication date

April 15, 1992
Dimensions

4.33 x 0.66 x 6.85 inches
ISBN-10

0312929870
ISBN-13

978-0312929879
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Columbus discovered America, Jefferson invented it, and Ray Kroc Big Mac'd it.” ―Tom Robbins, Esquire magazine

“A marvelous, zesty read, filled with the optimism and enthusiasm of Ray Kroc.” ―West Coast Review of Books

“He was past fifty before he ever thought of getting into the fast food business. Within a decade he was a millionaire, and his odyssey is a classic success story!” ―Philadelphia Sunday Bulletin

About the Author

Ray Kroc (1902-1984) was a businessman, generally credited with building the McDonald's restaurant chain into one of the successful corporations in the world.

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ St. Martin's Paperbacks; Reissue edition (April 15, 1992)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0312929870
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0312929879
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 4.4 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.33 x 0.66 x 6.85 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #451,661 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #287 in Restaurant & Food Industry (Books)
- #714 in History of Technology
- #720 in Hospitality, Travel & Tourism (Books)

Customer Reviews:
1,046 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		72%
4 star		19%
3 star		6%
2 star		2%
1 star		1%

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Matthew S

The Movie Was Better

Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2020

Verified Purchase

Grinding It Out reminds me of those speeches actors give after they win an Oscar. You're hoping they say something inspiring but instead they just rattle off a list of names of people they want to thank. You can understand why they're doing it but it's not all that exciting. This book never really goes anywhere great, and it gets bogged down in technical subjects that just aren't that interesting - insurance, lawyers, McDonald's training facility, license fees, suppliers, real estate, etc. A full quarter of the book is about Kroc's careers prior to McDonald's which is quite boring.

The first chapter is by far the best, about when he met the McDonald's brothers in San Bernardino, California. It really gets you pumped to hear what you think will be a wonderful story. Unfortunately, it never really gets going again after that. It seems like he wants to give a pat on the back to every buddy he's ever had in the business. There are some good moments like when he talks about how the Filet-O-Fish or Big Mac was first conceived. But these are short anecdotes and most of the rest feels like fluff. He will wear you out with his self-congratulatory style never forgetting to tell you about how right he's always been. It gives you a strong feeling that Ray Kroc wasn't the greatest guy to be around. Honestly, if you are interested in the McDonald's story you should watch the film The Founder. If you are like me and watched the movie first, save yourself some time and skip this book.

9 people found this helpful

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JB Vick

Read after watching the movie

Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2017

Verified Purchase

After watching The Founder I had to read it. I did, I loved it and wished there was more but there isn't. Its a short book thats Ray Kroc's version of his life so its very sanitized. You see very little warts here.
In reality he jacked alot of people and supposedly made tons of enemies, much of it due to his alcoholism; but none of that is ever mentioned. Thats the bad part.
But the good is getting to peak into the mind of a bonafide visionary. A true business genius. If your interested in the mechanics of what makes you successful as a businessman you will really enjoy this book. I would have given it a 5 star if it just had a little more detail. Gets a little borong towards the end when he told his story and then had no gas left in the tank but all in all if you saw the movie you will really enjoy the book.

24 people found this helpful

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Bisaacs

Devoured in one day

Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2016

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I devoured this thing in a single day; it's easily written, in a folksy English - something that I found interesting as a small trip back to the '80s (though arguly to even before that as he grew up in the Great Depression).

I found this book immensely interesting for two main points: 1) to get an inside view of what McDonald's thinks of McDonald's - especially with the largely negative view I would say the public has for this food chain; and 2) given that it's an autobiography - to see the first hand account of one of our greater rags to riches stories and the man who really did create a new industry.

It's a fast paced story told marvelously - and I never found myself bored or skipping pages...until at least the very end when he went into detail regarding his time with the baseball team.

It will be interesting having read this, to compare against the story that will be told in the upcoming film 'The Founders', the John Lee Hancock film about the founding of McDonald's. I wish there was a more updated and more unbiased look into this story, as I'm sure that a book written 30 years after the fact (and by the founder no less) would be subject to some factual nuances.

But in the end, I found it quite inspiring to look into his life - to learn and understand how he really did have to 'grind it out' to even get to the point of understanding the future surrounding the McDonald's brothers' premise.

14 people found this helpful

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The Monkey's Pog

A uniquely American Story

Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2021

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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.

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Gunther Mejia

Una historia diferente

Reviewed in the United States on March 16, 2021

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Al principio no entendía porque hablaba de la venta de vasos y no de las hamburguesas pero luego me di cuenta de que fue una de las causas por las que llego tan lejos. Su carácter, su gana de luchar contra las adversidades, la capacidad de ver oportunidades de negocio donde nadie quería meterse y como contagiaba a la gente de su pasión.

El libro no tiene digramacion por lo que me llevo más tiempo completarlo, por lo demás me gusto recibir estas experiencias de su fundador.

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R. Carlton-gwilliam

villain or hero

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 21, 2018

Verified Purchase

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.

8 people found this helpful

Z

A story of how hard work and relentless prevails

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 8, 2018

Verified Purchase

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

2 people found this helpful

Mr RA

McBook!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 6, 2017

Verified Purchase

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!

4 people found this helpful

DOPPLEGANGER

PAINTS A PICTURE.......

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 8, 2012

Verified Purchase

.....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.

2 people found this helpful

Holmsey from Yorkshire

Great business book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 9, 2011

Verified Purchase

The book is very old- it was finished in the early 80s and Ray Kroc is long since dead, but it is a great book.

It tells the story of how a middle aged salesman spotted a great product invented by two slightly unambitious characters and then set about world domination.

Due to the time in which it was written, it has a few comments which would now be seen as sexist (for example he employed a man as a secretary so he could also send him out as a salesperson), there is a lot to be learnt from this book.

However, like many books by successful businessmen one thing stands out as the key ingredient to make success- and that is hard work and dedication above all else, or as Ray liked to say; "Grinding it out".

4 people found this helpful

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