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Grinding Out Success: How Kroc Made McDonald’s A Golden Triumph
Article Overview: “We provide food that customers love, day after day after day,” said Kroc. “People just want more of it.”
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Free Download - Picture of Ray Kroc By Ray Kroc |
Grinding Out Success: How Kroc Made McDonald’s A Golden Triumph
“We provide food that customers love, day after day after day,” said Kroc. “People just want more of it.”
In unjustified simplicity, Kroc attempted to describe what made his business the global empire it is today. Indeed, it was not as simple as just providing tasty hamburgers and fries. Kroc was an ambitious entrepreneur who embarked on a strategic plan of expansion that would cover nearly every continent. Kroc not only created an immensely successful company, he also built a global brand and revolutionized the American cultural landscape. How did he do it?
He Had Focus: Of one of his very first franchisees, Kroc said, “Sometimes Ed MacLuckie would have forgotten to turn the sign on when dusk began to fall, and that made me furious. Or maybe the lot would have some litter on it that Ed said he hadn't had time to pick up. Those little things didn't seem to bother some people, but they were gross affronts to me. I'd get screaming mad.” Kroc demonstrated the success that comes from applying sophisticated business practices to even the most banal of practices.
He Built An A-Team: Kroc knew that many of the jobs he was hiring for were not the most glamorous. Indeed, it would be easy for a McDonald’s janitor to become disgruntled. But, from the janitors to the franchisees, Kroc did his best to ensure that he created an environment that encouraged innovation, equality and openness.
He Took Risks: “Creativity is a highfalutin word for the work I have to do between now and Tuesday,” said Kroc. When Kroc entered the fast food industry, he did so at a time when it was fashionable to either dine out or eat in. But, Kroc sensed that Americans wanted a change. From concept design to implementation, everything about Kroc’s goal was risky. Unafraid, Kroc charged full-speed ahead, gambling and, as a result winning big.
He Recovered From Failure: To look back on Kroc’s legacy it seems difficult to imagine a time when Kroc had to struggle to achieve his dreams. At the pace with which Golden Arches sprung up around the world, the success of McDonald’s almost seems as if it was inevitable. But, like many of his peers, Kroc indeed had a hard time getting his business idea off the ground. He accepted his losses and defeats but bounced back to win bigger than he could ever imagine.
He Marketed Wisely: From focusing on the local context of his restaurants to fostering an image of a fun and friendly atmosphere with the likes of Ronald McDonald, Kroc proved to be a marketing genius. Through making community contributions, Kroc also established a corporate tradition of creating a positive presence in society.
“The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves,” Kroc once said. By setting the highest of standards for himself and ceaselessly pursuing his dreams, Kroc would go down in history as one of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs.
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Drones work at franchises
- [quote="RussellWebb":1no28ggu]I think franchising is for the conforming mindset. I understand Ray Kroc of Mcdonalds was quite ruthless with franchisees about adhering to his system. And many of the good franchise systems are based on his principles.
Conform, conform, conform.... it's just not in my dictionary.[/quote:1no28ggu]
Hi Russell,
Have you ever worked for any franchises in the past? And if so, did you find your experience to be a good or unpleasant one?
As I've mentioned numerous times before in the forums, I used to work for McDonalds during my undergrad. And while I respected their "military like" operation, I really didn't like being asked to recite store policies (e.g. to list the proper way to assemble a customer's order) on my evaluations.
I don't think there's anything wrong with working for someone else, but I [u:1no28ggu]HATE[/u:1no28ggu] the idea of being nothing more than a non-thinking [u:1no28ggu]replaceable drone[/u:1no28ggu]. We're all human beings, so why do franchises treat their employees like "worker bees" (i.e. work them till they quit or die or at least wish for their own deaths)?
A good screening process for new hires
- Another good screening method is the one McDonalds uses for its new employees. Applicants are subjected to two interviews (i.e. the first one by an assistant manager and the second by the store manager) and they have a "Crew Trainer" work with them for his/her first 3 shifts, each one being only 3 hours in duration. And at the end of the training period, an evaluation is done on the new hire and if he/she passes, there's a 6 month probation period before he/she is considered an "official" employee with full benefits (e.g. granted an employee card that allows them to get 50% off their meals at any McDonalds store location). And during the probation period, new hires are evaluated multiple times by various senior staff members (to ensure there's no biased performance reviews).
McDonald's rebranding
- I've just been doing a bit of research into McDonalds - not for any business reasons - but over at Wikipedia it says that:
In 2006, McDonald's introduced its "Forever Young" brand by redesigning all of their restaurants, the first major redesign since the 1970s.[5][6]
The new design will include the traditional McDonald's yellow and red colors, but the red will be muted to terra cotta, the yellow will turn golden for a more "sunny" look, and olive and sage green will be added. To warm up their look, the restaurants will have less plastic and more brick and wood, with modern hanging lights to produce a softer glow. Contemporary art or framed photographs will hang on the walls.
The exterior will have golden awnings and a "swish brow" instead of the traditional double-slanted mansard roof.
The new restaurants will feature areas:
The "linger" zone will offer armchairs, sofas, and Wi-Fi connections.
The "grab and go" zone will feature tall counters with bar stools for customers who eat alone; Plasma TVs will offer them news and weather reports.
The "flexible" zone will be targeted toward families and will have booths featuring fabric cushions with colorful patterns and flexible seating.
Different music will be targeted to each zone.
Now I admit I haven't been to a McDonalds in a long time - I usually go to KFC, but their are two photos of the "old" and the "new" McDonalds frontages, and I've gotta tell ya, the old, white-fronted building looks a lot nicer than the new, "terra cotta" fronted building.
I might nip into a local McDonalds tomorrow, see if I like the interior changes....
Ray Kroc was 52 When He Started!
- Wow - thanks Evan! I didn't realize Ray Kroc was already 52 when he STARTED McDonald's - it's a great story to help us all realize that if we put our minds to it we can grow our businesses quickly no matter how old we are!
Julie.
Re: HI EVERYONE
- HI All,
I'm back too.. Was on a hiatus creating an online product. Made myself accountable for that by getting customers to pay for it first while I created it with them.
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