Grinding It Out: The Making Of McDonald's

Unlike most people who write about themselves and their businesses, Ray Kroc was pretty candid about the problems he had, the people who gave him a hard time, the mistakes he made, and his personal life. That makes this book very valuable to those who want to understand what entrepreneurship is all about.

As an adjunct to reading this book, I suggest that you also visit the McDonald's museum near O'Hare airport in Ray Kroc's first store. There are notes there about all of the problems that he had to solve over the years, many of which are described in the book.

Ray Kroc did not invent the original McDonald's concept, but what he franchised and eventually bought from the McDonald brothers was not yet a real business system. For example, when he first tried to duplicate the french fries that were so famous in San Bernardino, California, his french fries turned to mush. It turned out that the storage methods used by the McDonald brothers aged and dehydrated the potatoes a bit so that they could fry up nicely. Kroc had to invest in finding a process for doing that outside of the near-desert climate of San Bernardino.

The McDonald's system that we see today is the creation of Kroc's attention to detail, appreciation for consumer value, ability to solve problems, taking calculated risks that he could not afford to lose, and attracting talented people into the system. The book gives you a great sense of what that was like. Anyone starting an e-business today will be going through many of the same trials and tribulations.

The book is filled with wonderful stories about McDonald's and the people of McDonald's.

I have a special fondness for the subject since I grew up about a mile from the first McDonald's in San Bernardino, and have been eating their hamburgers now for over 50 years. It is truly awe-inspiring to me to see what has been accomplished from such humble beginnings.

Clearly, this book is a stallbuster for you in business. Kroc was 52 when he became interested in McDonald's. He had no special skills in restaurants. (The closest he came was in selling Lily cups and milk shake machines to restaurants, lunch counters, and drive-ins.) He had relatively little money to invest compared to the size of the opportunity. He ran into many obstacles that could have broken most businesses. Yet he just put his head down, and kept moving forward on the most important things. You can learn a lot from his determination.

Good luck with using this example to create a new set of practices for business that exceed what anyone has ever accomplished before!

Hear it from a real entrepreneur!   December 8, 2006
Neel Roberts (Vulcan, Alberta, Canada)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Are you a business person or thinking or starting one? This one is a must. Learn how Ray Kroc went from a 52 year old milkshake salesman to one of the most famous restaurant icons in the world. "Grinding it Out" tells it the way it was, when Kroc was nearly broke several times, in the early days when franchising was not a well respected idea to a prized business idea when done right. Not only was his estate worth over $1,000,000,000 when he pasted away in 1984, but his idea of perfect replication paid off with the public. Kroc shares both his failures and successes and the title is very appropriate!


Read this instead of all of the other books about McDonald's   November 18, 2003
A. Reza Ruyan (Bahrain)
11 out of 16 found this review helpful

When it comes to business literature there are three kinds of writers:

1. Those who did it and write about it: business owners and entrepreneurs
2. Those who read about it: journalists, business books writers, and historians
3. Thos who think about it: professors, researchers, and think tanks

Every single of has their own merit and contribution to the world of business history, but for me it is very important as a business professional to learn from the people who did it. What were they thinking? What where they feels? Why?

The other two kinds of writers can tall you what they did and how but they can never tell you why?

Which is why I recommend reading books like "Grinding It Out".

Even though most people might think that McDonald's was brought to the world by a family baring that name, it was Ray Kroc who found them in California and brought it to the billions of people worldwide.

In this book you make many discoveries as to the reason for McDonald's success. Why did they become number one in their category? What was Ray Kroc thinking and why he chose the path he walked.

I highly recommend this book instead of all of the other books about McDonald's because you the inside prospective from the person who did it all, but perhaps most importantly you get to know why!!!!


Ray Kroc Lights the Way   September 24, 2004
Boyd Rice (denver, co.)
4 out of 6 found this review helpful

Ray Kroc was more than just a successful entrepeneur, he was a man with a vision. In Grinding It Out, that vision is clearly evident. If you want to succeed in virtually any field, read this book & pay attention to his approach & attitude. This is more than a business biography, it's a "how to" book.


Great for entrepreneurs   October 21, 2007
William Dang (Australia)
This is a great book for all entrepreneurs who are starting out and a good reminder for established ones. The title fits the book very well since it does show that Ray did make a lot of gambles to make it all work out and he started out an average middle income citizen like everybody else. Lessons like:
- Sweating it out
- Constantly trying new things
- Learning from mistakes

Very good lessons in business and life.

Although the first few chapters on his biography do not have much to do about business.