The Pursuit Of Excellence For A Product Nobody Sees
"Our founding was all part of a carefully-constructed, marketing plan: I
needed something to finance my racing." (Stefan Laessig, Partner) They say
the true mark of a person's character is what they do when nobody¹s looking.
The same could be said of someone who makes a product nobody sees; a
"non-sexy hard part". A product most people don't even think about until the
one they have breaks.
There are a lot of ways to make products like this. A lot of places to skimp
and shave just a little. And then there's the All Balls way. It's not that
building such things to an "adequate" standard would be bad. They're all
around us. Adequate products are much easier - and a ton cheaper - to
produce. Lots of companies do it.
But if you knew these three and their staff, spent a day with them, listened
to how they talk to each other, saw the respect, got your head wrapped
around their work ethic, you'd doubt that the thought of "adequate" bearings
could exist in their heads. When they talk about what they do, there's a
commitment you don't see in everybody's eyes. They think they do it best
because they don't think anybody else works it harder to make it better.
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