Men I love and the tenuous link to talent acquisition... Ray Kroc

I’m sitting at home in my office.  

Often, to create some noise, I listen to the radio, a podcast or have a film in the background.  Typically it’s a film I know, so the dialogue is important rather than me avidly watching it and getting nothing done.

The Founder is on right now.  

And for those who haven’t seen it, it’s about McDonald’s with a focus on Ray Kroc.  In the resurrection of “Men I love and the tenuous link to talent acquisition” I present Ray Kroc.  

I’m not sure I love him, not like the others I’ve written about,  but as a man in his 50s like me, he started a business.   Kroc’s journey, filled with persistence, vision, and a touch of ruthlessness, mirrors so much of what we face in talent acquisition and recruitment today.

Spoiler alert, Ray Kroc wasn’t the founder of McDonald’s, as many believe. The McDonald brothers, Richard and Maurice, originally started the business, running a small, efficient operation. It was Kroc, a travelling milkshake mixer salesman, who saw something special in their business model, took that small operation, and turned it into a global empire. 

That’s the thing about Kroc, he wasn’t just a man who sold burgers. He was a recruiter at heart, whether he realised it or not.

How can we, as recruiters or talent acquisition professionals, channel our inner Ray Kroc to transform the businesses we work for, the candidates we speak to, and the opportunities we create? 

Here are a few thoughts.

Vision: Seeing Potential Others Might Overlook

When Kroc first walked into the McDonald brothers' restaurant, it wasn’t a glamorous operation. It was a small drive-in joint in San Bernardino, California. Yet, Kroc saw beyond the simple setup. He recognised the efficiency of the process, the potential scalability, and the sheer brilliance of their assembly-line approach to food preparation. 

Surely, that’s where the magic lies in recruitment too. The ability to spot talent where others may not.

Sometimes, the best hires aren’t the ones with the flashy CVs or the perfect LinkedIn profiles. They’re the ones who have untapped potential, the candidates who might not check every box but have the raw ingredients to become something great. 

As recruiters, our role is to see beyond the surface, to look past the obvious, and to recognise those candidates who, with the right environment and opportunity, can grow into something far more valuable than their CV suggests.

Think about it: how many times have you seen a candidate and thought, "They don’t have all the experience, but there’s something there?” 

That’s your Ray Kroc moment. 

That’s the instinct telling you this person could be the key to unlocking something bigger. 

Don’t ignore it.

Persistence

Kroc wasn’t an overnight success. By the time he stumbled upon McDonald’s, he was well into his fifties, having spent years grinding as a travelling salesman. His story isn’t one of instant glory but of dogged persistence. He had failures, he had setbacks, but he never gave up.

Recruitment is no different. 

Doing what we do, especially in an agency environment, isn’t for the faint-hearted.   Growing a business in this space is the same.

We deal with rejection daily, candidates turning down offers, clients changing their minds, and the perfect hire getting poached at the last minute.  But the key, just like Kroc, is persistence. The ability to keep pushing and focus on the long-term goal even when the immediate result feels like a setback.

Kroc faced constant hurdles, from convincing the McDonald brothers to let him franchise their concept to eventually buying them out. 

He was relentless. 

And in recruitment, that same relentlessness often makes the difference between a good recruiter and a great one. When things don’t go your way, ask yourself: What would Ray Kroc do? Then, keep pushing.

Thinking Big from the Start

One of Kroc’s greatest strengths surely was his ability to think big. 

While the McDonald brothers were content running a handful of restaurants, Kroc had a vision for something far grander. He didn’t just want a successful chain of restaurants; he wanted a global empire.

In recruitment, we need to think about scalability too. And certainly what my business does.

It’s not just about filling one role, it’s about understanding the broader needs of the business and how we can support its growth on a larger scale. 

Are you simply hiring to fill a vacancy, or are you thinking about how that hire will contribute to the company's long-term goals? Are you looking for candidates who can grow with the business, or are you just plugging gaps?

The best recruiters don’t just think about the now, they think about the future. They understand how one hire can lead to a domino effect, creating opportunities for growth, innovation, and success. 

Adaptability

Kroc didn’t invent fast food, but he revolutionised it. 

He was constantly evolving, whether it was introducing new menu items, expanding into new territories, or embracing technology in the form of drive-thru windows. Kroc understood that staying stagnant was the death of any business.

In recruitment, adaptability is equally important. The landscape is always changing—new technologies, shifting candidate expectations, and economic fluctuations. If we’re not evolving, we’re falling behind. It’s not enough to rely on old methods or to assume that what worked last year will work today. Just as Kroc was always looking for ways to innovate, we need to be constantly evaluating our processes, tools, and strategies to stay ahead.

Whether it’s adopting new AI-driven sourcing tools or finding creative ways to engage passive candidates, adaptability is key. 

My love of Ray Kroc

In many ways, Ray Kroc was the ultimate recruiter, he sold a vision. 

He wasn’t afraid to take risks, to push boundaries, and to pursue his dreams relentlessly. And as recruiters, we can learn a lot from his story. Whether it’s spotting hidden potential, being persistent in the face of setbacks, thinking about scalability, or adapting to the ever-changing landscape, there’s a bit of Ray Kroc in all of us.

About

Whilst 2023 was a tough business year for Martin, his team and his business, 2024 looks brighter.

With an engaged community of over 30,000 talent acquisition professionals, Martin is ready to re-engage with TA leaders globally, supporting their TA operating model - whatever it looks like. From a single employee to now creating an enterprise-capable Talent Acquisition consultancy, Martin’s fast-growing firm, immersive, has already made a dent in the space.

2024 will see more thought leadership around talent acquisition, AI and doing more with less to support TA leaders to develop effective hiring models globally.