Being Better

In any project you have to be better than the competition. The problem with the ULA was that we weren't better.

COLIN COWHERD
This morning I caught the opening monologue of my favorite ESPN sportscaster. He was talking about the Oregon football team rushing to the line of scrimmage, their sheer pace wearing out their opponents. They're a total machine. They've figured out how to be marginally but significantly better.

STARBUCKS
I stop in a lot of coffeeshops now that I have a netbook. Some of them, sorry to confess, are Starbucks. I've been observing how they operate. They're extremely efficient. They know how to hire quality, talented people with great attitudes. Some of their managers have amazing people skills. Everyone works terribly hard. I heard a manager in one of them complacently say, "I'm used to working twelve hour days." One of his workers corrected him: "Twelve hour days moving." Starbucks is predatory, sure. In some crucial ways they're also better.