If you think of a truly global brand, with reach and commonality throughout the world, then the fast-food merchant MacDonalds has to be near, if not at the top, of the list. The Franchise started out like any other burger and fries outlet. However, its owners, Richard and Maurice McDonald, had a new idea. They would streamline the operations with just a few items and speed up the delivery of the food. Quality would not dip, but quantity would increase 10-fold. They sold the system to other outlets and began to expand and buy a few more restaurants. It might then have been a time to employ a Cheltenham Business Coach like www.randall-payne.co.uk/services/business-advisory/business-coaching to help develop their offering further. Instead, they asked Ray Kroc, a travelling Milkshake maker salesman, to help them develop the business.
Films about how a business develops are few and far between, but when they are as interesting as the tale of the Mcdonald’s brand, then it’s worth telling. The Founder is a film from 2016 that dramatised it. The film centres around Kroc and his taking over of the MacDonald’s business and his development of it into the international force it is today.
Kroc has spent years observing failing restaurants. He can see where they are going wrong, but no one listens to him. He spots that one particular operation is ordering a large amount of Milkshake machines. Unlike the others, they seem to be doing well.
Their restaurant is fun, friendly and successful. After a tour and dinner with the Brothers, he asks them why they haven’t franchised the operation. The brothers say they have tried, but they met with little success. Kroc ops to take this role on with the contract that states the Brothers retain control.
The film shows how Kroc maneuvers and plots his way, in a Macheviian way, to take control of the business from the brothers. With financial advice, Kroc learns that the real money is in the real estate of the franchises. He uses this loophole to open restaurants that the brothers don’t approve of and makes changes to the menu. He created a company to deal with the franchises and then changed it to the Mcdonald’s corporation. He then takes over the company with a handshake deal from the brothers, which he then goes back on.