“CEO’s pick up the newspapers by the door, Founders wipe the counters”

I read a quote recently

“CEO’s pick up the newspapers by the door, Founders wipe the counters”

It’s a lazy weekend at home and time for a DVD and some quiet time on the couch.

I’ve picked out – The Founder - the story of Ray Kroc – the man responsible for McDonalds – or so I thought….

I strongly recommend you watch the movie (Spoiler alert!) .

The movie follows the journey of Ray from Milkshake mixer salesman to CEO and owner of one of the most successful franchise juggernauts the modern business world has seen.

Ray had a vision and what he saw was beyond the 15c hamburger. He saw an opportunity.

Just like Steve Jobs of Apple didn’t invent the technology for the iPod, Ray didn’t invent hamburgers or fast food restaurants. He saw a system and marketed it.

Just like Steve made the tech of the iPod accessible and downright sexy, Ray took the McDonald’s system and marketed it to the world.

The film covers off the story of the McDonald brothers and Ray’s journey from 1 store and 15c burgers to world domination. The most poignant part for me was Ray’s ability to never lose sight of the business he was in - he wasn’t in the business of 15c burgers – he was in the Real Estate business.

The character was at times portrayed as quite unlikable - cut throat and downright disagreeable. You could not, however dismiss his perseverance, courage and blind faith. He saw an opportunity and he took it.

Another key take away (pardon the pun) was the way Ray surrounded himself with Lieutenants - sage and trusted advisors yet he never stopped acting as a Founder. Until his death at age 77 – he was still wiping the counters.

For me it makes me think about our businesses and the lessons we can learn about being the sort of Founder we want to be and how to structure our working lives to be able to grasp the opportunities as we see them. It also reinforces that not every decision we will make in business will make us the ‘cool kid’ or the most popular.

Ray's story makes me want to always remember the business I am in and be swayed to believe what others may think this business to be.

For me, in the end, it is about having a vision and seeing that come to life.