Greatness
exploring the foundations of quality and the currents that fight against mediocrity
sari and
Greatness
Taste requires originality. It invokes an aspirational authenticity. Writer George Saunders calls this “achieving the iconic space,” and it’s what he’s after when he meets his creative writing students. “They arrive already wonderful. What we try to do over the next three years is help them achieve what I call their “iconic space” — the place from... See more
Brie Wolfson • Notes on “Taste”
Rick Rubin on turning Metallica around
It’s always better to think and work backwards from great than it is to work forward from good
If Apple was a democracy (aka customers don’t know what they want. or greatness requires a certain degree of dictatorship)
All these books, there is the decision you can make to compromise on the quality of your product or take a shortcut or do something you would never dare do it. I just read the biography of the guy that started In-N-Out. Compared to his contemporaries, the McDonald's and Carl's Junior and all this explosion of fast food that was happening at that... See more
Patrick O'Shaughnessy • Passion & Pain
- “The techniques that we use, they’re not a big secret. It’s just about making an effort and repeating the same thing every day.”
- Jiro repeats the same routine every day
- He even gets on the train from the same position
- He dislikes holidays and thinks they’re too long
- He wants to get back to work
- This routine is unthinkable for normal people
Jiro Ono: Simplicity Is The Ultimate Advantage | Founders Podcast with David Senra (#397) • Podcast Notes
Jiro dreams of sushi. Reminds me of “the mundanity of excellence”
Kurt, Dave and Chris:... See more
First let me apologize for taking a couple of days to put this outline together. When I spoke to Kurt I was in the middle of making a Fugazi album1, but I thought I would have a day or so between records to sort everything out. My schedule changed unexpectedly, and this is the first moment I've had to go through it all. Apology
Shaun Usher • I would like to be paid like a plumber
a great f*cking letter from Steve Albini to Nirvana.