Better before cheaper, Revenue before cost

Management is all about making difficult tradeoffs. Exceptional companies approach these tradeoffs with two simple rules in mind:

1. Better before cheaper: Companies re moire likely to succeed in long run it they complete on quality or performance than on price
2. Revenue before cost: Companies have more to gain in the long run from driving up revenue (for e.g. by charging higher prices or appealing to more customers) than by driving down costs

[From Economist, July 13th 2013 Edition]