Ray Kroc – Grinding it Out

In a nutshell (256 pages), this is the story of Ray Kroc’s journey from poor and aspiring to fast-food industry dominating and pioneering. Kroc does a fantastic job of chronicling his roots, his rise and how he created a fast-food icon. The story he tells is not always so flattering and comes off very human and very honest.

What I got out of it

This was a very easy read, much like a novel. It’s about as detailed of a business case study as anyone could hope for without any charts or graphs. It’s also refreshing to see a story of someone who worked hard his whole life and kept an open mind to then be willing to go all in on an idea he envisioned, even when others couldn’t see it.

What was difficult

As with every auto-biography there is a lot of excuse making and a lot of self-aggrandizing. While Kroc is not nearly as bad as some others, there is not a very big chance that you read his story and come away thinking very highly of Kroc as an individual. While he was a huge success in business, there was a cost to his success and it’s not always so nice to read about. That said, he is honest and no one is perfect.

Recommendation

I don’t recommend this for anyone just looking for a good read. It’s really more appropriate for someone who wants to learn about business from someone who has seen their share of success and failures. While it’s great for that, it’ not the kind of book that someone who doesn’t like biographies or non-fiction will enjoy.