1. I concur completely with another reviewer, Paul Dsouza, whose review is below.
2. I do have a few other comments to add.
a. The book answered my question how Ray Kroc got started (he needed to support himself since he was 52 when he franchised McDonalds and was not living with his parents) with very little money in a business that now requires hundreds of thousands of dollars to start.
b. Ray Kroc made a number of mistakes. For one, his master agreement with the McDonald Brothers was so much in their favor that he constantly violated the agreement. Another mistake the book points out is that at the beginning he franchised some stores in California and could not effectively monitor these restaurants from his Chicago, Illinois area small business office.
c. Ray Kroc should never have have been the franchising agent for the McDonalds. He should have started a chain with a different name and used the McDonald Brothers as paid consultants. The McDonald brother's operations in California was just a local affair and the good will from their business to the Chicago area was zero. Why pay royalties when all he needed was their expertise! After a short while, Ray Kroc had more expertise in the fast food business than the McDonald brothers, but he was locked into their franchise agreement, which cost him $2.7 million in cash to buy out.
d. The book points out Ray Kroc's idiosyncrasies, some of which were politically incorrect, and many of which would be illegal today. One is not hiring women at the restaurants because he did not want the restaurants to be hang outs for teenagers.
e. Ray Kroc, as others in his time and now, changed the way food is prepared for restaurant chains. Now food is prepared by the suppliers; it is factory prepared food. That keeps costs down and makes for uniformity. There is a technology or science to preparing food. Ray Kroc was a big part of that movement.
f. Ray Kroc's personality is interesting. He was fair and honest with his franchisees and suppliers. He was well intentioned. He was not driven primarily by money as he was in building a business. He took the long view and basically gave away the franchises at the beginning. But like many managers who own their own businesses, he had a temper and acted inappropriately. By that I mean he fired people right and left for small or excusable reasons. His secretary, knowing better, failed to execute his firing orders to give Ray Kroc time to cool off.
g. The book is a fast read and very educational. I enjoyed reading it and recommend it highly. It was a drive down memory lane for me. Of course, it also shows how entrepreneurs succeed through drive, skill, and some luck.
3. Paul Dsouza's review:
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The most interesting part is the actual history of the evolution of McDonald's- the company, the brand, the system. While many people can find fault with the fast food culture of the world and point a finger at McDonald's, one cannot ignore the incredible story that describes the creation of an entire culture. In fact, this book is a must-read for anyone who believes that great companies are created, not by great ideas, but disciplined execution, processes/systems and attention to detail. It taught me a lot about the workings of this giant even though I am not sure I would want to eat there anymore, particularly after reading "Fast Food Nation"!
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W. Robinson
If you are interested in franchising this is a must read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 8, 2014
