Why Hang Out in the Cafe When You Could Be Standing in Line?
From the sluggish checkout procedures in Paris grocery stores, you'd never know that a French company, Carrefour, is the most efficient, productive supermarket chain in the world. You might guess, however, that most of its success has occurred outside France. (By way of background, see this NYT column I wrote on Bill Lewis's terrific book The Power of Productivity and download this Lewis article.)