13A -- Reading Reflection No. 1

1) You read about an entrepreneur: Grinding It Out by Ray Kroc

• What surprised you the most?
• What surprised me the most was the overwhelmingly positive attitude Kroc had.  He seemed nearly unphased by quite significant pitfalls and crooked businessmen.  No doubt he would get mad, but then he could kick them down like he was breaching a door.
• What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?
• I admired his tenacious attitude.  Nothing could stop him.  When he encountered huge problems, he simply found someone who he knew could help and they worked out a solution.  Fast.
• What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?
• While his wife did abandon him in a sense, he also abandoned his family.  It seemed that he treated his family more like a business, too.  When something better came along, he lept for it.  The drawn-out situation of asking Joni, who later became his third wife, to marry him, knowing she had a husband who also worked for Kroc was pretty disturbing.  While he was still no doubt a successful businessman, I didn't care for this aspect of his personality.
• Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?
• It was absolutely incredible reading about the details of each roadblock they crashed through. Kroc seemed utterly brilliant and often saw such issues far ahead of time.  But no matter the timing, he seemed to know exactly who to ask for help when he needed it and dang if they didn't figure out a brilliant solution in the knick of time.

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

Kroc definitely had a knack for seeing potential in individuals.  He was also brilliant at leveraging different opportunities and selling people an idea.  The core competency I most admired was his ability to exhibit such foresight.  He often saw a big solution or money-maker well in advance but he would pitch it to other companies to get them on board.  He got so much pleasure out of seeing the free market work and pulling multiple firms in so that they could grow together.  I thought that pairing of his choice in associates and money-making genius incredible.

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

According to the book, Kroc had quite the temper from start to finish. It seems incredible to me that he could chew out so many people, showing such little patience, and not lose too many key employees.  No doubt he had high standards surely he didn't have to pitch a fit everytime someone made a suggestion he didn't particularly care for. Sometimes he flipped out on folks who had a good idea that he later conceded to.

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

Q1) What is your biggest regret? I would like to know what, in his mind, was the biggest mistake or regrettable experience he had because there were so many hard times. I think it'd be interesting to know which one he cared for the least.

Q2)  Did you ever make amends with your daughter?  She was mentioned only a couple times throughout the book and the last time she was mentioned, it did not seem like their relationship was doing very well.  I would also like to know if losing his daughter was worth keeping McDonald's.

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

I think Kroc relished in hard work; it was his ideal environment because it seemed to compliment his personality so well. I definitely enjoy hard work because often it leaves me with the greatest sense of accomplishment and purpose.  As a farmer and rancher, I'd be in the wrong business if I didn't love hard work.  However, I intend to run my life in a different order than Kroc did. He explicitly stated in the book that he switched the order to McDonald's, family, God.  I don't mean that self-righteously, I just wouldn't want it that way.  My faith is incredibly important to me. Family is also huge to me and I don't think I could bear letting them go for money or success.  While no doubt sacrifices have to be made at certain times, I intend to consult my wife before risking everything we own and attempt to maintain balance.