Chapter 1

An undeniable premise

Chapter 2: It’s Really Not That Complicated

Build better cars.  Imagine that

Chapter 3: So Good At The Basics That You’re Cutting Edge

Substance, not flash

A powerful lesson

“I love them!”

What they do particularly well

Inside the box

Chapter 4: Hamburgers:  A Cautionary Tale

Building business at Bill’s Burgers

“Amaze” and “delight.”

Moruga Scorpion Peppers

What if he made a better hamburger?

What do you think?

Chapter 5: Deciding What Matters Most

Defining the problem

Somebody’s got to buy

The main thing

Chapter 6: Different Answers.  All Of Them Right

Wide open choices

Joe Calloway

Benjamin Franklin Plumbing

Wine To Water

Pinnacle Financial Partners

Southwest Airlines

An advertising agency that I read about many years ago

Somebody at Citi Cards

What fits us best?

It’s worth doing wrong

Chapter 7: Relevance, Innovation, And Constant Improvement

A moving target

Lip service

Improve constantly and forever

Chapter 8: Culture, Focus, And More Focus:  Memphis Invest

A little company with powerful lessons

Get the fundamentals right

The Culture Book

A handful of numbers

Absolute intention and focus

Clarity about expectations

Meetings as opportunity

Relationships that wow

Chapter 9: Working In The Business

Thinking when you should be working

When It Is Time To Work In Your Business by Dr. Jeff Cornwall

Chapter 10: 3 is the magic number:  Smile Brands

These three things

Pick a lane

The G3 approach

The power of simplicity

The ultimate sophistication

So much less effort

Chapter 11: Winning And Losing Inside The Box

There aren’t any short cuts

Deliver on your promise every time

They’ve taken their eyes off the ball

If you win on the basics, you win it all

Barney’s vs. Nordstrom

It’s a sucker’s game

I’ll happily take the doughnut

Your “table stakes” aren’t working

Bells and whistles wear off

Glitz or profit?

Chapter 12: Random vs. Consistent

What a wonderful story!

That’s the trap

Regular, everyday customers

If you lose inside the box

Chapter 13: Simplicity And The Blue Tip Flame

You can move mountains

What you need is a force multiplier

Get your thinking clean enough

Blue tip flame

Chapter 14: The Trap:  Lets Do More

Better is better

Lost in trying to be the best

For Alabama football, it’s process

Treating patients like customers

When patients talk back

The patient’s list

Chapter 15: Clarity, Process, and Profit:  bytes of knowledge

How they did it

The first order of business

They are a business partner

They could be doing better

Defining their culture

The Monday Morning Boost

Plug the holes in the bucket

Workflow and time tracking

Get a checklist

Everything tracked through the system

Educating the employees and getting buy-in

How to run a business

The coffee shop generation

Chapter 16: What Matters Most To Your Team

Understanding employees matters, too

Understanding

Chapter 17: Culture Drives Results

That’s a shame

By accident or intentional?

Everything in alignment

Making culture mean something

You have to fire them

Who would stay?  Who would go?

True north

Chapter 18: How Brands Win

Consistently better at the basics

Amazon

Coca-Cola

FedEx

Apple

Target

Ford

Starbucks

Southwest Airlines

Nordstrom

It works

Chapter 19: How The Internet Is Killing Hype

Why you bought the chutney

Consumers aren't shy

They’re talking about you

Palm trees, azure blue skies and...cockroaches

“I would like to apologize.”

Do what you say you’ll do

Chapter 20: Leadership:  Grunder Landscaping Company

The kid was the best

The responsibility of leadership

Getting buy-in

Spiderman, doughnuts, thank you notes

You can’t just put these things on a piece of paper

Talk about it and live it all the time

He is true north

Chapter 21: When Everything Is Pursued, The Important Is Neglected

Too much pressure

Sister Bear’s nightmare

Executing in the game they are in

Purpose vs. panic

Chapter 22: The Rules You Can Break

“Fortunately, we don’t know any of them.”

Visions and missions are great.  And optional

One size does not fit all

Changing the world.  Maybe

“We make great carburetors.”

A purpose that took morale lower

You’re kidding, right?

It’s just supposed to be effective

Chapter 23: It’s 11:30

Taking action

The obstacle of not knowing

Take out the trash

Someone busier than you is running

It’s 11:30

Chapter 24: Ideas That Matter Most

Chapter 25: More Resources

More Resources