Chapter 2, The Salesman Summary and Analysis

Ray Kroc becomes a business legend several decades after he gets into McDonald's, often likened to Rockefeller and Carnegie but the legend obscures the man. Kroc is a salesman more than anything and many forget about his skills. Kroc sells many things, and is eager to find something to sell that will make him rich. He has never run a restaurant or made a hamburger when he gets into McDonald's but learns the business as well as anyone.

Kroc watchs market trends and while he makes suggestions, they are not always well-received. He even suggests the carry-out food idea to Walgreen's, but they do not take him up on it. The author then gives other examples of Kroc's failure to sell his ideas. Yet he never gives up, ultimately getting into the milk-shake mixer machine business. He...