Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald's
“Ray Kroc's autobiography, I listened to on Audible and it was great.”
Why it is worth your time
Grinding It Out is Ray Kroc's 1977 autobiography, written with Robert Anderson. Kroc sold paper cups and then milkshake mixers for 3 decades before he visited the McDonald brothers' restaurant in San Bernardino in 1954, at age 52. He became their franchise agent, bought them out in 1961 for $2.7 million, and built the chain worldwide. The book covers the franchise system, the real estate model devised by Harry Sonneborn, and his rules on quality, service and cleanliness. Jason named it his favorite book of the year on the December 2021 episode and said he listened to it on Audible, which is how he reads most of his list. Kroc is a late-starting outsider of the sort he collects. It suits founders and franchise operators. The caveat is that it is Kroc's own account, written with Robert Anderson in 1977, so the business detail dates from the 1950s and 1960s.
