"I am not a gambler at casinos.
But I gamble in business all the time.
Every store is a gamble.
I dislike losing more than I like winning"
"The Gap Formula for Success is as easy as 1-2-3:
luck, common sense, and a small ego"
STEP I: LUCK
1) What vision?" he asks. "Five things needed to happen for me to even open my first store. If one of those five things didn't occur, there may never have been a Gap.
STEP 2: COMMON SENSE-PART I
2) I think common sense is a big part of success in business. You can be brilliant in some respects, but if you don't make the right decisions, you'll fail. I had a real estate and construction background, so I knew how to build our stores, and I had a go~~d sense of good locations, as well as a fair amount of business experience.
COMMON SENSE-PART II
3) I decided that I wanted to be different than anybody else in order to have a competitive advantage.
COMMON SENSE-PART III
4) But eventually the company began designing its own lines and contracting direcdy for the manufacturing.
STEP 3: CHECK YOUR EGO AT THE DOOR
5) I think people's egos are a big problem in running a business. I haven't let my own ego get in the way.
6) You've got to respect the othcr person's ideas as well.
7) They think that because they've gone to business school that they're better and smarter than the people who are already in place.
8) But I think that common sense is something you don't get in business school. Common sense is important. Before you start yelling about how things need to be changed, you have to understand the culture. Don't arrive and think you know everything.
