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Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald's

Ray Kroc,

Robert Anderson

4.05 · Rating details · 3,995 ratings · 300 reviews

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 ...more

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Mass Market Paperback, 256 pages

Published April 15th 1992 by St. Martin's Press (first published 1977)

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Jun 13, 2016 Andrew rated it really liked it · review of another edition

When Ray Kroc wrote this book back in 1977, he was optimistic about the growth of McDonald's' breakfast. And suggested they might even one day serve pizza (LOVED IT!).

So this is obviously a little dated. That and references to housewives.

But it's a fascinating business story. This guy didn't kick off McDonald's until he was 52. Which makes me feel a lot better about my career. Before that he was a Depression-era salesman and piano player who epitomized that American gung-ho hard work ethic. He's ...more

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Jan 30, 2015 Jason Navallo rated it it was amazing

I re-read this book after watching the movie. What an inspiring story about persistence! Ray Kroc was truly a great American entrepreneur. My only regret is that I did not get a chance to interview him for one of my books!

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May 05, 2016 David Rosage rated it it was amazing

This was an amazing read. It simply amazes me that he started MCDonalds at age 52 and in 25 years had over 4000 stores and 3 billion in sales. Favorite quote: "PRESS On: Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent" - Ray Kroc

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Mar 29, 2020 Rottgrl88 rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction, movie-tv-adaptations

Two brothers, Maurice and Richard McDonald, founded and started the very first McDonald's in San Bernardino, CA in the year 1940 as a drive in. It was the traditional carhop system for their time. But after a few years and with their experience know-how, the brothers wanted to expand and grow even more. In 1953, they updated their look with a total renovation to grow with the times. The brothers during this time invented a new production method to their ever growing business which they called ...more

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Dec 01, 2017 Ashley Glovasky rated it liked it

In a nutshell: Ray Kroc is an asshole, but he gave us McDonalds, so theres that...

Recommendation: Its always interesting to know how a big company came to be, so if the topic interests you, Id say this is worth a read.

I wanted to read this after I watched The Founder... I didnt learn that many new things other than more about Ray Kroc as a person and it made me hate him even more.

People have marveled at the fact that I didnt start McDonalds until I was fifty-two years old, and then I became a
In a nutshell: Ray Kroc is an asshole, but he gave us McDonald’s, so there’s that...

Recommendation: It’s always interesting to know how a big company came to be, so if the topic interests you, I’d say this is worth a read.

I wanted to read this after I watched The Founder... I didn’t learn that many new things other than more about Ray Kroc as a person and it made me hate him even more.

“People have marveled at the fact that I didn’t start McDonald’s until I was fifty-two years old, and then I became a success overnight. But I was just like a lot of show business personalities who work away quietly at their craft for years, and then, suddenly, they get the right break and make it big. I was an overnight success all right, but thirty years is a long, long night.”

Ray Kroc was always a hard worker but couldn’t seem to make ends meet. He was a milkshake-mixer salesman by day and an amateur piano-player at night. One day, he is confused when a customer purchases multiple mixers at once and decides he needs to travel to the location to see what’s going on. He arrives at the McDonald brothers’ burger stand in San Bernardino, California and is blown away by the operation, from the efficiency and “take-away” service style to the taste of the food. He has to be a part of it and urges the brothers to the franchise. Eventually, Kroc swindles his way into taking over the entire organization and the McDonald’s brothers are bought out and led to close their original store. Through his life, Kroc had 3 wives, leaving one each time he met someone more attractive and agreeable to him, happily took away the McDonald brothers’ legacy and is now credited as the creator, and let his success get to his head with his arrogance.

Even though this book gets three stars, I judged it based on the interesting subject matter. But I docked points for Kroc just being an awful human being.

So, this is a cool story because it tells you how the fast food nation came to be and how McDonald’s basically started the entire movement. But it wasn’t Ray Kroc’s idea. He stole it from the McDonald’s brothers. Or... I don’t know if steal is the right word. It’s just all super shady. Basically while selling milkshake mixers he found the McDonald’s brothers and was blown away by the efficiency and quality of food during the era of car hops. He somehow got the brothers to agree to franchise McDonald’s, even though they were really reluctant at first. After selling off a bunch of franchises and making a lot of changes, Ray Kroc bought the brothers out and opened one of his restaurants right across from the brothers’ original restaurant and thus drove them out of business, THEIR dream.

Also, Ray Kroc was sexist. Let’s get that straight. All the executives he chose were men. He explicitly explains that he only wanted to sell franchises to men and then their wives took over the administrative duties. And he talks about his own bookkeeper and how great she was but he uses language to suggest that she’s beneath him and that as much as he apparently respects her, he judges her work based on her gender. Like how she went above and beyond her line of duty and this was incredible given the fact she was a woman. As if most women aren’t capable of going above and beyond with their work and don’t have the same mental capacity. Ridiculous. AND he had 3 wives. On it’s own, that seems fine. But he left his wives when he met another more attractive woman and married her instead. His second marriage happened because he couldn’t get with this other married woman he wanted, and then when the married woman came back years later and said she was ready to leave her current husband, he divorced his current wife. What a dirty scumbag.

It’s also pretty clear that Kroc was arrogant. The book is filled with his judgments of other people and how awesome he thinks he is in comparisons. Not to mention he fills the books with quotes from other people and McDonald’s executives who have told him how awesome he is. They don’t add much context. He basically just adds them in the middle of a chapter when he needs to inflate his already huge ego.

I know this all seems like me complaining about the book, yet I still gave it three stars. But this book is supposed to be a book about McDonald’s and Ray Kroc’s life. And it succeeds in that... which is why I still gave it three stars. ...more

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Apr 17, 2011 Tiffani rated it really liked it

This was a great book about the effect of hard work and a determined attitude. I admire Ray Kroc for remaining 'green' in his thinking and seizing a business opportunity at 52.

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Aug 13, 2019 João Peliteiro Coutinho rated it it was amazing

After watching The Founder I was intrigued with the story behind McDonalds and decided to buy this book, which tells with much more detail how Ray Kroc found out this little restaurant in the middle of the desert and in just a matter of years managed to build an empire with the same hamburger model. Moreover, it describes the early career days of him, since when he was a piano player and afterwards a best seller of paper cups.

I love the starting from the bottom stories and this one really ...more

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Aug 03, 2012 Amy! rated it liked it

I'm not really sure how this book ended up in my to-read pile, but it was short and so I grabbed it for a recent plane trip.

I was surprised to find that it was a rather engaging read. Finished (even this 2nd edition) long before McDonalds became the anti-health and corporate manipulation punching bag that it is today, I found it was rather charming to think of McDs as a tiny little operation with a small menu selling 15 cent hamburgers. I kind of wish I had been able to try their fries back ...more

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Mar 08, 2017 Mikedariano rated it it was ok

It could have been that because this book was written 30 years ago (1977), but the style was not what I expected. Kroc has a co-author, yet the text isn't crisp.

There are some good lessons here but the largest is the rewards and consequences of ego. Kroc built out the most successful fast food franchise ever. He created a large charity, owned the San Diego Padres, rubbed elbows with so-and-sos and more. The ability to think 'I can do this' requires some amount of optimism, ambition, and ego.
...more

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Jul 06, 2018 Sumit Gouthaman rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: business, management

I did not know about Ray Kroc's story until I watched "The Founder (2016)". Initially I debated whether it was worth reading this book, having watched the movie already.

Turns out it was a great decision. This book adds another dimension to the McDonald's story that the movie does not do complete justice too. It is very interesting to read and understand Ray Kroc's internal though process as he made decisions that seems ridiculous at the time.

There a lot of things to learn from Ray Kroc's story, ...more

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Apr 09, 2016 Mike Adeleke rated it it was amazing

In recent times, it seems that those who rise to success are always bright, young, and precocious. They hit on an idea and in a relatively short amount of time rode their prowess and an economic wave to success. This was not Ray Kroc founder of the modern McDonalds. Ray Kroc was a journeyman of sales moving from one product to another. When he met the McDonalds brothers and looked to expand their brand he was 52 years old! But as the book states, he simply made it a habit to grind it out. This ...more

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Feb 08, 2019 Arthur Sperry rated it really liked it

The way McDonalds came to be is studied by many people in business, and is well known, but this book adds some interesting facts and info to the story from the perspective of the man who made it a business and food empire. The book is full of a lot of interesting observations on human behavior. I still personally think having decent morning coffee is crucial to their success! Lol.

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May 16, 2018 Ludovic rated it did not like it

Shelves: biography

Can't finished it. Boring as hell...

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Feb 25, 2018 Leslie Goddard rated it really liked it

I was surprised how engaging I found this short, entertaining biography. Surprised because (a) the basic story is now so well-known -- how Kroc took a good basic premise from the McDonald brothers and built it into a food juggernaut. There's no real question what the end will be -- massive financial success and a big push towards upending of the traditional American way of eating.

Surprised also because, (b) McDonald's today represents so much that is questionable about the American diet. It's I was surprised how engaging I found this short, entertaining biography. Surprised because (a) the basic story is now so well-known -- how Kroc took a good basic premise from the McDonald brothers and built it into a food juggernaut. There's no real question what the end will be -- massive financial success and a big push towards upending of the traditional American way of eating.

Surprised also because, (b) McDonald's today represents so much that is questionable about the American diet. It's hard to remember that in the 1950s a meal from the McDonald brothers restaurant was made from fresh beef, potatoes that were scrubbed, soaked, peeled, cut and cooked in-house, and milkshakes made from actual ice cream and milk. I would love to travel back in time to taste a 1954 meal from the San Bernadino restaurant and compare it with a modern McDonald's hamburger, fries and shake.

The rah-rah explanations he gives for his success (dream big, insist on quality, value, and cleanliness, be willing to take big risks) were fairly predictable. I can see why they'd be inspiring, but they seem rather typical and unsurprising.

What impressed me much more was Kroc's ability to tell a good story -- storytelling was clearly fundamental to his success both as a salesman and as a fast food entrepreneur. The story of how he discovered potatoes had to be 'cured' to get the wonderful taste was genuinely fascinating. And I also was impressed by his honesty, especially about his (clearly powerful) temper. For all the stories about his helping to clean McDonald's parking lots, you also hear about his chewing the head off those who disagree with him.

For me, McDonald's has come to represent such a different thing than it did in the 1970s when this book came out. Kroc himself has come to be seen, in the wake of The Founder, as a far more problematic figure, whether that's true or not (his story about why he opened a McDonald's across the street from the McDonald brothers' later restaurant "the Big D" and drove them out of business is very, very different from what The Founder suggests).

I tend to think of McDonald's as providing cheap, nutritionally deficient food served by adults who work several low-paying part-time jobs to make ends meet. It's useful to remember how different it was in the 1950s/1960s/1970s. Back then, it was much easier to see McDonalds in terms of its positive impact -- things like clean restaurants, predictable food, great value, employment opportunities for teenagers and young adults.

Maybe the great value of this book is that it's a reminder that it's too easy and too simplistic to see McDonald's as either "good" or "bad" for Americans. ...more

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May 08, 2017 Joshua rated it it was amazing

The title says it all. Ray Kroc was 52, had diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and suffered from a gallbladder surgery all while starting McDonald's. Ray was an average American who simply worked at his goals until he attained them. His story is very similar to Sam Walton's 'Made In America' and they both had similar approaches to how they ran their businesses. Ray was simply a brilliant salesman, promoter and story teller. The fact that he was able to identify a winning formula for a franchise and ...more

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Sep 01, 2019 Dillon rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: owned, business

Another incredible story about the building of an American empire. I enjoyed this nearly as much as I enjoyed "Sam Walton: Made in America". This was an incredible book and an incredible journey to go on. Very glad I hadn't watched the movie yet, but now I will definitely have to check this one out.

If you want to be inspired to take risks, push yourself to always stay "green and growing", then this book here will help light that fire. If you're looking to become an entrepreneur in the future or ...more

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Jun 01, 2018 Jorge Carvalho rated it liked it

Shelves: biography, business

Fascinating corporate success story and fascinating man!
Who doesn't dream to be able to launch a second career after his 50's and build a billion USD corporation? Ray Kroc shows we should at least give it a try, life allowing you so.
Not the very best literary style, but who cares? Plenty of good ideas on how and what to do if you want to launch your startup after your first quarter of a century professional career.
I personally value the corporation and the principles that entail its management, ...more

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May 27, 2018 Eleonora Pogorelova rated it it was amazing

One of the first business books I read. It's an amazing success story about the person, who managed to set a goal and achieve it

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Mar 06, 2020 Alex rated it liked it

Written in the 1970s whilst Ray Kroc was still alive - so very outdated. 1/3 of the book covers the interesting history of one of the most influential and disruptive (franchising and supply chain) companies of all time, 1/3 of valuable business lessons from Ray Kroc's unlikely rise and 1/3 of unbearably relentless self promotions.

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Jul 02, 2019 Jingwei Shi rated it really liked it

Shelves: brands

This is an entertaining book about the rise of McDonald's from Ray Kroc's perspective. The only drawback is the lack of McDonald business details.

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Sep 05, 2018 Max rated it liked it

I enjoyed the documentary more!

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Jul 27, 2019 Piotr P rated it it was amazing

Easy to read autobiography of an exceptional entrepreneur. Although I dont ethically agree with deeds of McDonalds, I can understand it was started in different time period.
One of the memorable parts of the book is the fact that its not important if someone steals our business processes, they still cant read our minds and they dont necessarily follow go forward principle, which states that nothing in the world cant beat persistence: not talent, not genius, not education. ...more

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Sep 03, 2017 Jennifer Tanzi rated it it was amazing

Great book - couldn't put it down. Ray Kroc was a genius!

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Nov 05, 2019 Alex Drysdale rated it it was amazing

My favorite book in recent years.

Great look into the life and mindset of the person who created one of the most famous and successful companies in history.

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Apr 07, 2018 Hadessephy rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: memoirs, food, 2018

Glad a read this. It was good hear Krocs version of what happened with the McDonald's brothers. The movie was definitely slanted towards them being taken advantage of and run over. That may have been what actually happened but it was nice to hear the other side. You could tell by some of the things Kroc said that he is definitely from a different era then me. All and all he worked hard to make Mcdonalds what it is today, god bless him!! Mmmmm!

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Nov 11, 2017 Walt rated it really liked it

Shelves: biographical

Written in 1977, and updated/reissued recently because of the release of the movie 'The Founder' in 2016, this was a good insight into Ray Kroc's business thinking as he took the concept developed by Mac and Dick McDonald and expanded it into America's first fast food restaurant. (I hesitated about calling McD a 'restaurant')
His insistence on cleanliness was a constant theme throughout the decades when he dictated what the McD chain had to do to comply with his corporate rules.

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Sep 30, 2017 Jane Erickson rated it liked it

Its pretty unbelievable that when most people were nearing retirement age, Ray Kroc created the most successful restaurant franchise in history. Starting with a small restaurant in San Bernardino in 1954, to an international operation with over 4,000 sites in 1976, this book shows the rapid growth of McDonalds told by the man at its helm.

Throughout the biography, you get to know Ray Kroc as a driven, demanding entrepreneur who was grounded in the companys operations, while being strategic in its ...more

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Jun 04, 2017 Abhishek Rai added it

A paean to self. But, then what else you do, when you hit the goldmine. What else you do, when you invent a whole new world of fast food. What else you do, when you make millions addicted to flour, fat, salt and some meat thrown in. What else you do, when you get lucky at an age, when others stop looking for luck.
An inspiration to those who haven't yet become lucky yet. An inspiration to those, who think that IQ matters, and they don't have it. An inspiration to those who are finding it hard to ...more

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Jul 04, 2015 Doug Pfeffer rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This was kind of fun. McDonalds is super easy to shit on all the time, but during the 60s it was a really new concept in massive commercial franchising.

The guy that started it as a big enterprise, Ray Krok, was in his 50s when he got going. That's interesting. So the book starts with a bunch of strange stuff from the early part of the century. Weird milkshake machine manufacturing scams, the thrilling rise of the paper cut industry, etc. PAPER CUPS USED TO BE CUTTING EDGE.

Then it gets into a ...more

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Aug 28, 2016 Ietrio rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: bio

A salesman without scruples woke up one day to discover life is short. He was old already when he started. He has the money now. But not the status. He is just the salesman from when he started only with much more money in the bank. So paper cups, milk shake makers, burger joints, now he is ready to sell himself as great. The frog turning into an amazing prince without anyone noticing. I smell lies, omissions and maybe some fact twisting.

So this is a remarkable sales pitch: venerate me. Reading ...more

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About Ray Kroc

Ray Kroc

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Raymond Albert Kroc, popularly known as Ray Kroc, was an American businessman, who brought about a revolution in the fast food industry, making McDonalds the biggest fast food chain in the world.

Once referred to by Harvard Business School as the service sectors equivalent of Henry Ford, Kroc but had a modest beginning. Initially, he sold various items such as paper cups, milkshake mixers before ...more