The stool was only as strong as the three legs that formed its foundation. 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 franchisees the second, McDonald’s suppliers and the third, McDonald’s employees. 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 wanted to serve burgers, fries and beverages that tasted just the same in Alaska as they did in Alabama. Ray Kroc wanted to build a restaurant system that would be famous for providing food of consistently high quality and uniform methods of preparation. By 1958, McDonald’s had sold its 100 millionth hamburger. In 1955, he founded McDonald’s System, Inc., a predecessor of the McDonald’s Corporation, and six years later bought the exclusive rights to the McDonald’s name and operating system. They were looking for a new franchising agent and Kroc saw an opportunity. The McDonald’s brothers produced a limited menu, concentrating on just a few items – burgers, fries and beverages – which allowed them to focus on quality and quick service. There he found a small but successful restaurant run by brothers Dick and Mac McDonald, and was stunned by the effectiveness of their operation. In 1954, he visited a restaurant in San Bernardino, California that had purchased several Multimixers. He then worked as a piano player, a paper cup salesman and a Multimixer salesman.

In 1917, 15-year-old Ray Kroc lied about his age to join the Red Cross as an ambulance driver, but the war ended before he completed his training. How do you create a restaurant business and become an overnight success at the age of 52? As Ray Kroc said, “I was an overnight success alright, but 30 years is a long, long night.”

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