In managing a business, it is a must to understand your competitive advantage, and to focus on it.  For many businesses, it means a razor sharp focus on efficiency and cutting costs.  In tech industry, especially for companies focusing on the leading edge, it is on making breakthrough products.

This is a great article on a developer who understands that his edge comes in attracting, and spending to keep only the very best.

Recruiting the Top 1 Percent - Joel Spolsky - Fog Creek Software - Internship

At my company, Fog Creek Software, I want to hire the top 1 percent, too.

In our field, the top 1 percent of the work force can easily be 10 times as productive as the average developer. The best developers invent new products, figure out shortcuts that save months of work, and, when there are no shortcuts, plow through coding tasks like a monster truck at a tea party.