Articles
I write about books, business, habits, and ideas that age well — the kind of insights that compound over time.
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Latest Articles
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Dick’s Sporting Goods on Building a Good Company
“We need to build the concept that will kill Dick’s Sporting Goods.” — Ed Stack Industrial carpet manufacturer Ray Anderson faced an unexpected question in the mid-1990s. A customer asked what Interface was doing for the environment. He froze. The honest answer was nothing. Interface simply complied with environmental regulations. Then one book changed everything:…
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Adapt to Change in Business: The Hidden Advantage Behind Dick’s Sporting Goods
“Sometimes the most profitable decision on a spreadsheet is the worst decision for a business.” — Ed Stack In the mid-2010s, Dick’s Sporting Goods bought GameChanger, an app used by baseball and softball coaches for scorekeeping, live-streaming, and scheduling. Dick’s turned the app into a data engine disguised as a coaching tool. It gave the product…
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Relentless Improvement: Why Dick’s Sporting Goods Keeps Winning
“Do right for the company. Do right for society. You can’t prosper unless the community around you prospers.” — Ed Stack At the start of the 2000s, British Cycling barely mattered. Then British Cycling hired Dave Brailsford. In more than a century, Britain had produced no Tour de France winners and just one Olympic gold medal.…
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June Reading List: 2 Best Books I Read in June 2026
“Champions behave like champions before they’re champions; they have a winning standard of performance before they are winners.” — Bill Walsh Bill Walsh took over a miserable San Francisco 49ers team in the late 1970s. He immediately focused on small details like how the staff answered the phone, dressed, and carried themselves instead of obsessing over…
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How Great Entrepreneurs Focus on What Matters: Peter Thiel’s Best Business Strategy from Zero to One
Ample Hills Creamery began as a husband-and-wife ice cream shop in Brooklyn, serving some of the city’s best ice cream. It quickly attracted famous fans, including Bob Iger and Oprah Winfrey. Success brought opportunity. The founders chased nearly every opportunity that came their way. They stopped focusing on the thing that made the business special.…
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