Bernard Marcus, the cofounder of Home Depot, describes how productively paranoid Sam Walton was at Walmart, and how most complacent CEOs act: But if you ask Sam how’s business, he’s never satisfied. He says, “Bernie, things are really lousy. Our lines are too long at the cash registers. Our people aren’t being helpful enough. I don’t know what we’re gonna do to get them motivated.” Then you ask some of these CEOs from other retail organizations who you know are on the verge of out of business, and they brag and tell you how great everything is.33
Someone who seeks greatness and is never satisfied.
