How To Do Everything Better

From day one, we've been encouraged to do everything better. Our parents taught us to walk instead of crawl. Our teachers showed us that, yes, we really were smarter than we ever believed. And haven't movies, books and songs inspired us to shove aside the status quo and dream-and dream big?

Some didn't heed the call. Some are still living in their parents' basements. But you're different. You went after what you wanted. You did everything better, and that will always be your plan of attack. Good for you.

But almost every day, you lose some of your edge, something that's easy to do in the confusion of e-mail, pagers, memos, political correctness, cash flow analysis and W-2 forms. You lose your edge, and you don't do everything better-and before long, it starts to show in your businesses.

That's why we're here. We're going to show you how to do everything better. Everything. After reading this, you'll be smarter, better looking, and you'll be able to program your VCR.

Well, maybe you already realize we're overpromising. (See, you're smarter already.) Still, the next several pages may serve as a wake-up call that you can do everything better. And if you can't-we'll show you how to fake it.

This article was originally published in the February 1999 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: How To Do Everything Better.