What lessons can we learn from Raymond Kroc?

KROC BELIEVED THAT HIS INTEGRITY SHOULD BE UNWAVERING, AND THAT YOUR PRINCIPLES SHOULD STAY GROUNDED REGARDLESS OF YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES. RIGHT THROUGHOUT HIS CAREER, HE STOOD BY IT

1. Have a big vision

While the Mcdonald brothers only saw a small restaurant business, Kroc had much bigger plans in his mind. He had a great vision for what Mcdonald’s could become. He first visualized eight of these restaurants churning out burgers and making a steady stream of cash immediately and gradually increased them to 7500.

2. Go to work “on” the business

When Kroc secured the franchising rights to the Mcdonalds, he didn’t roll up his sleeves to run the business. He instead began analysing every operational function of the original Mcdonald’s from purchasing to the cooking and cleaning. Without changing the essence of the concept, he made refinements and proceeded to develop a comprehensive set of standards and procedures, essentially a system for running a hamburger stand “the Mcdonald’s way”.

3. Create opportunities

Kroc knew how to create opportunities for himself. He didn’t press or inspire the Mcdonald brothers to develop their business. They didn’t want to take risks and meet greater demands and were content with what they had. But Kroc didn’t. He knew he could make Mcdonald’s the biggest and best in the country.

4. Love what you do

“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,” Kroc once said. Business should be about what you can provide for your customers and how passionate you are about that.

5. Be a calculated risk taker

In Kroc’s mind, not taking any risks deprives you of the opportunity of being successful. Kroc took a small business model and began down a long expansion plan with a calculated risk. He knew the fast-food industry was still very young and there was a wide market available for expansion. Through perseverance and his willingness to take risks, he came out on top as one of the most successful entrepreneurs.

6. Know your business thoroughly

Kroc knew that the primary business focus was to sell hamburger franchises. But he also understood that the real estate and its location was the most significant factor in the success of each franchise. Basically, the person that bought the franchise was also paying for buying the land under the franchise for Kroc’s organisation.

7. Be relentless

Kroc understood that transforming Mcdonalds into what he had in mind would take a great deal of patience and effort. He had to be a relentless businessman. That is why when the Mcdonald’s brothers initially refused to sell the Big M to him, Kroc opened a Mcdonalds right across the street, until finally they caved and the historic deal was finalized.

8. Shoot for perfection

Kroc did everything he could to ensure that his customers received quality service every time they came to a Mcdonald’s restaurant, no matter where the restaurant was located. As Mcdonald’s continued to grow, he needed to develop a system that would ensure every single customer received the exact same quality food and service. To solve this problem, Kroc expanded upon Mcdonald’s assembly line set up. He set up standards for how the food was made and also how it was cooked, what the serving sizes were and how Mcdonalds packaging and icons would appear.

9. Develop teamwork

“None of us is as good as all of us,” he once said and in order for him to expand his small one-unit restaurant across the USA and then overseas, he needed the help of loyal and dedicated employees. Kroc insisted Mcdonald’s workers be treated respectfully in every location, setting up rules for fair treatment and respect for all employees and also ensuring his workers had a comfortable and fair environment to work in.

10. Always stay grounded

Kroc believed that his integrity should be unwavering, and that your principles should stay grounded regardless of your circumstances. Right throughout his career, he stood by it. (Lionel Wijesiri is a retired company director with over 30 years’ experience in senior business management. Presently he is a freelance journalist and could be contacted on lawije@gmail.com)