Lesson #4: Use Failure As A Catalyst for Success
Lesson #4: Use Failure As A Catalyst for Success
During his time as an ambulance driver for the Red Cross towards the end of World War I, Kroc met a fellow young and ambitious entrepreneur by the name of Walt Disney. When Kroc first began selling McDonald’s franchises around the country, he remembered Disney and sent him a letter in 1954. Disneyland was still under construction at the time, but anticipation about its prospects was great, and Kroc sensed an opportunity.
“Dear Walt,” he began. “I feel somewhat presumptuous addressing you in this way. Yet I am sure you would not want me to address you any other way…I have very recently taken over the national franchise of the McDonald’s system. I would like to inquire if there may be an opportunity for a McDonald’s in your Disneyland Development.”
An agreement with Disney would have been a significant boon to Kroc’s growing business but, for whatever reasons, Kroc never received a reply from his old army pal. Kroc could have become disheartened and lost faith in his goals. Instead, Kroc chose to remain undeterred and continued approaching other franchisors across the country. Crisscrossing the U.S., Kroc carried on planting McDonald’s restaurants wherever he could. Yes, he was turned down by what would have been one of his biggest franchisors to date, but Kroc didn’t let that stand in his way.
Kroc’s failures weren’t just limited to his early on in his career. Even after McDonald’s had become a global empire and one of the most successful giants in the fast food industry, Kroc continued to come face to face with brick walls. The entrepreneur that he is, Kroc’s desire to take risks and innovate didn’t decrease with the success that he had already achieved. Instead, he continued to try new things in order to take his company to even greater heights. From upscale hamburger restaurants to German-tavern restaurants to pie shops and even other theme parks, Kroc’s endeavours were often met with dismal results.
What kept Kroc going even throughout the most disappointing of failures? How did he bounce back from the twists of fate that could have just as easily ended his career? With his keen sense of future trends, Kroc had a strong belief in himself and his vision. And, he wasn’t doing it for the money: “If you work just for money, you'll never make it, but if you love what you're doing and you always put the customer first, success will be yours,” said Kroc. “All money means to me is a pride in accomplishment.”
Lesson 4 Use Failure As A Catalyst for Success
Like this article? Share it with your friends
“Luck is a dividend of sweat,” said Kroc. “The more you sweat, the luckier you get.” Despite all his hard work, Kroc was not always a lucky man. From his early days in starting up McDonald’s to even after the chain was a well-established global presence, Kroc experienced his fair share of failures. He was not immune to disappointment; what set Kroc apart from his competitors, however, was how he learned from his failures and bounced back.
During his time as an ambulance driver for the Red Cross towards the end of World War I, Kroc met a fellow young and ambitious entrepreneur by the name of Walt Disney. When Kroc first began selling McDonald’s franchises around the country, he remembered Disney and sent him a letter in 1954. Disneyland was still under construction at the time, but anticipation about its prospects was great, and Kroc sensed an opportunity.
“Dear Walt,” he began. “I feel somewhat presumptuous addressing you in this way. Yet I am sure you would not want me to address you any other way…I have very recently taken over the national franchise of the McDonald’s system. I would like to inquire if there may be an opportunity for a McDonald’s in your Disneyland Development.”
An agreement with Disney would have been a significant boon to Kroc’s growing business but, for whatever reasons, Kroc never received a reply from his old army pal. Kroc could have become disheartened and lost faith in his goals. Instead, Kroc chose to remain undeterred and continued approaching other franchisors across the country. Crisscrossing the U.S., Kroc carried on planting McDonald’s restaurants wherever he could. Yes, he was turned down by what would have been one of his biggest franchisors to date, but Kroc didn’t let that stand in his way.
Kroc’s failures weren’t just limited to his early on in his career. Even after McDonald’s had become a global empire and one of the most successful giants in the fast food industry, Kroc continued to come face to face with brick walls. The entrepreneur that he is, Kroc’s desire to take risks and innovate didn’t decrease with the success that he had already achieved. Instead, he continued to try new things in order to take his company to even greater heights. From upscale hamburger restaurants to German-tavern restaurants to pie shops and even other theme parks, Kroc’s endeavours were often met with dismal results.
What kept Kroc going even throughout the most disappointing of failures? How did he bounce back from the twists of fate that could have just as easily ended his career? With his keen sense of future trends, Kroc had a strong belief in himself and his vision. And, he wasn’t doing it for the money: “If you work just for money, you'll never make it, but if you love what you're doing and you always put the customer first, success will be yours,” said Kroc. “All money means to me is a pride in accomplishment.”
Lesson 4 Use Failure As A Catalyst for Success
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 | |
 |
No article feedback found. |
| |
Leave Your Feedback |
 | |
| |||
Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
|||
Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
|||
Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
|||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
|
 | ||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 | ||
 |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
 |
 |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
 |
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"
Click Here To Learn More |
|
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
 |
 Succeeding In A Down Economy New Sales Leadership Paradigm Best Cover Letter Exit Interview Document 3 Deadly Traps |
|
 | ||
 |
Email The Reporters
Press Release Builder | |
 |
Top 50 SEO Posts - 2007
Top SEO Posts of the Year | |
| ||
 | ||||
| ||||
|
| ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
|
|
|
