Quantity vs Quality: The shit vs gold metaphor

Much has been said about this. There is even an old proverb that says: “Quality is better than quantity”.

Let’s think about that for a minute. Let’s take the Microsoft Vs. Apple scenario. It is known that Bill Gates stole the whole “windows” idea from Macintosh’s operative system. At that time, Gates was working with Steve Jobs and took the “graphic interface” idea from Job’s computers. When Jobs found out that Gates was stealing from him, they had a fight and the last words Jobs said were:  “We’re better than you. We have better products”. Well… guess what? Microsoft beat the shit out of apple, and ten years later, when Apple was about to go bankrupt, Jobs had to ask Gates for help and money… And now, Microsoft owns about 10% of Apple… In these ten years, Windows sold extremely well. No one can deny that windows’ first versions were shit… (and, in a way, it still is). But this little fact did not matter at all. On the other hand, Macintosh was an excellent product… but it didn’t sell well. Why? That’s simple… Because it was thrice as expensive. This is the first thing to take in consideration. GOOD STUFF IS EXPENSIVE.

So, in the end, Microsoft won. It was cheaper, and thus more affordable by the vast majority of the people. 

Now, let’s imagine we have two factories: One of them makes shit, while the other makes gold. Let’s say that one pound of shit costs 1 dollar, while 1 pound of gold costs 100 dollars.

We put both products in the market, and one million people buy one pound of shit. (I know, I know it’s shit… but it’s cheap, so, who cares? We’re just trying to make profit, aren’t we?) On the other hand, just one thousand people buy one pound of gold. In the end, the shit factory makes one million dollars, while the gold factory makes one hundred thousand. No one can argue that gold is better than shit, but then, why does shit sell better? Easy to answer:  Because it targets a larger number of less educated and less resourceful people. So, in the end, it doesn’t matter the quality of your product, what matters is the quantity of people you target. This is a valid concept for ANY industry.

Moreover, if you’re going to get less profit, it makes gold worthless making. Let’s think about this: In order to get a sell-able pound of gold, you have first to extract it from a mine, you have to melt it, you have to purify it, and so on. To make shit, it’s way easier. You just need to go to the toilet, and defecate. That’s it. So, why bother to make gold, if shit is easier to make and more profitable?

Now, let’s add another variable to the equation: The worker. Let’s say you’re not the owner of the factories (the one who makes profit), but the guy who makes shit or gold. And, let’s also say, that the gold maker earns the same salary as the shit maker (Owners didn't like to share their cakes, didn't you know?). Since we have agreed on the fact that shit is easier to make, let me ask you this: Which factory would you like to work for? If you ask me, I choose shit every day of the week and twice on Sundays. Why would I want to work at the gold factory, making a product that only elitists’ jerks will buy, that takes twice the effort to make? Forget it! I just want my money, I don’t give a shit if the product I’m making shines or smells, I just want my paycheck at the end of the day, having invested the less possible effort.

Having said that, it is my final conclusion that shit pays more than gold. Quantity beats quality. There’s a simple fact that even the most educated people could never ignore: In this world (and this economy) there are (and there will always be) more shit buyers than gold buyers. Period! If you want to be a successful business man, target the shit buyers and forget about the fucking quality. That’s what Bill Gates did… and it paid off. He’s the richest man on earth.