McDonald’s the Ray Kroc Story

A Unique Philosophy

Ray Kroc wanted to build a restaurant system that would be famous for food of consistently high quality and uniform methods of preparation. He wanted to serve burgers, buns, fries and beverages that tasted just the same in Alaska as they did in Alabama. To achieve this, he chose a unique path: persuading both franchisees and suppliers to buy into his vision, working not for McDonald’s, but for themselves, together with McDonald’s. He promoted the slogan, “In business for yourself, but not by yourself.” His philosophy was based on the simple principle of a 3-legged stool: one leg was McDonald’s, the second, the franchisees, and the third, McDonald’s suppliers. The stool was only as strong as the 3 legs.

Rewarding Innovation

Ray Kroc believed in the entrepreneurial spirit, and rewarded his franchisees for individual creativity. Many of McDonald’s most famous menu items—like the Big Mac, Filet-O-Fish and the Egg McMuffin — were created by franchisees. At the same time, the McDonald’s operating system insisted franchisees follow the core McDonald’s principles of quality, service, cleanliness and value.