Grinding It Out

Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald’s is a 1977 memoir by Ray Kroc, the businessman behind the world-famous hamburger chain. Kroc discusses the story of his career, which wasn’t one of instant or linear success. Instead, Kroc worked most of his career as a typical salesman, first selling one product, then another. It wasn’t until late in his career, at the age of 52, that he met the McDonald’s brother and turned their small fast food operation into an international success. In the process, Kroc changed everything about the American restaurant industry. Harvard Business School has called him “the service sector’s equivalent to Henry Ford.”

Kroc started small, but his business sense was always strong. He sold simple paper cups because he saw a future in them; he believed America was moving towards disposable goods. He learned how to scope out his customer base and how to cater to them. Kroc discovered they preferred a straightforward pitch—and that the mark of a good salesman is knowing when to stop talking.

But life as a salesman wasn’t easy. Kroc routinely pulled 19-hour days between selling paper cups and playing piano on a nightly radio show. He had only a few hours of sleep as a respite, and Sundays were his only day off.



Kroc’s life changed when he discovered the Multimixer, a six-spindle milkshake machine that could whip up multiple shakes quickly. He saw it as a remarkable invention, and signed up to sell them immediately. He even tried to convince his paper cup company to start selling them as well, but the company declined. Kroc cut ties with the company to sell Multimixers on his own.

But then his paper cup company argued that since he was still an employee when he signed his contract with the Multimixer company, the contract belonged to them. They demanded 60% of his new business in exchange for some much-needed startup capital. It was a bad deal, but Kroc seemed to have no alternative. He accepted, but struggled to make a living on only 40% of his income.

Kroc refers to this part of his life as the first time he had to “grind it out.” He notes that without this adversity, he might not have possessed the perseverance to succeed later on, turning McDonald’s into a global franchise.



As Kroc is selling his Multimixers to dairy bars and soda counters, he begins to hear about a San Bernardino, California restaurant operated by the McDonald brothers. Intrigued, Kroc flies out to meet the owners. He is immediately impressed with the speed of service, and tells the brothers that he’s never come across another restaurant in the country that operates like theirs. He encourages the McDonald brothers to open a chain of restaurants, saying it would help them both: they’d have more business, and he’d sell more Multimixers.

The brothers agree to let Kroc handle opening more stores, and sign a contract with him. Kroc writes that although by that time he was a “battle-scarred veteran” of business with failing health, he believed his best years were still ahead.

Opening the second McDonald’s location wasn’t easy. Kroc struggled with quality control—at first, he couldn’t get the fries to taste right, even with the McDonald brothers’ “secret” techniques. Finally, Kroc contacts spud experts at the Potato and Onion Association and walks them step-by-step through his french fry process until they pinpoint what’s missing. A supplier later tells Kroc that he’s not really in the burger business—he’s in the french fry business, because McDonald’s fries are so much better than the competition.



As McDonald’s expands, most new locations are franchised, allowing small businessmen to thrive as they operate one or multiple locations. Kroc also notes that franchise owners ultimately helped expand the brand: menu offerings like the Filet-o-Fish, the Big Mac, and the Egg McMuffin all originated with franchises. And the owners benefit from the brand recognition and advertising on a national level: everyone knows McDonald’s.

Kroc’s success depended on keen business sense, stress management, and thrift: he was careful not to be extravagant with the company’s money, and he practiced techniques to manage stress when overwhelmed with the complications of running an ever-expanding company. His commitment to franchising stores helped scale the McDonald’s chain at a steady pace while encouraging entrepreneurship and ingenuity.

Grinding It Out aptly shows how Kroc built McDonald’s into what it is today, for better or worse. He demonstrates his head for business throughout the book, showing why he built the chain the way he did, and the challenges he faced along the way. The book demonstrates that it isn’t necessary to be a prodigy to become a success—it can happen at any age, given the right idea, time, and place. The book is routinely suggested as recommended reading for salespeople and wannabe entrepreneurs.