1) You read about an entrepreneur:
After reading the tale of McDonald's, I can say I really wanted some of those french fries and what surprised me was how much I did not like the story. I'm not sure what I expected, but I at least expected it to make me feel like time flew by.
I wouldn't say I admire anything about Ray Kroc, but I do admit his dedication to his work was impressive. He worked long hours and put his all into improving what he had built. He took risks often. That is respectable.
I could go on for days about this quality I didn't like, but I will summarize it: He is no family man and had no shame in his lack of involvement with his wife and daughter.
Ray Kroc faced failure and he would make sure he got to the answer. Like when he couldn't figure out why his fries didn't taste as good as the McDonald's brothers', he called them, then the potato producers, until he finally got to the conclusion the potatoes must be "aged" and have the air go over them. Those potatoes probably got more of Kroc's attention than his daughter did that day.
2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited?
Kroc was dedicated to his work. He strove for perfection. From the way he described himself, he had a knack for picking the right people for the job. He probably isn't the most reliable source, but he was successful so there should be at least some truth to it.
3) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.
I was confused by the whole franchising description. I understand what a franchise is, but the part where he started talking about his milkshake spinners and other things...I got confused. I'm bad with names, but when there are a bunch of generic names easily found on keychains and mugs, it gets even worse.
4) If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?
I would probably ask him why McDonald's was successful. I'd ask this to get a summary of the book - or at least the part that I cared about.
Then I would ask him if his wife and daughter were bothersome and if that's why he used work as an escape from them. Men love to complain about their wives - so maybe he felt justified to put her through so much stress.
5) For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?
His definition of "hard work" is working constantly and doing as much work as possible. It would be okay to neglect healthy sleeping habits and family time as long as it is in the name of working to create something that will pay off.
I do not share the opinion. From the sounds of it, his wife hates him and his daughter married someone else - and it doesn't seem like she wants involvement with her father. When Ray Kroc dies - shocker - the money doesn't go to his grave. It goes to his wife. She ends up with 3 billion dollars. What to do with 3 billion? She gives it away to charities. She doesn't need all that money so most of it is donated to charities in need. In my opinion, working a ton in order to get rich is not worth it if it requires you to miss out on important family moments, causing him to miss his daughter's birthday parties and graduations. Ending up with 3 billion dollars is unnecessary and I support it going to charities rather than pampering the Kroc family for generations. If you can't take the money with you when you die, then there is no point in having a great amount of money.
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