Becoming Trader Joe

What Hacker News says

1. dlcarrierJun 2026
   After having seen movies like UHF and Anchor Man, I was at an outdoor event covered by the local news, and saw one of the cameramen having some trouble lugging his equipment over the terrain, when several employees from other TV stations helped him with it. The contrast from those movies surprised me, despite having grown up with a friend who's parents' were in the broadcast industry, and having met several of their co-workers that were all very kind.

   We tend to think everyone competing dislikes each other, but in reality many fields have a small pool of experienced works, so they only have a few companies to choose between. Combine that with the modern HR strategy of prioritizing promoting from outside the company, and add on California not recognizing non-compete agreements, and you end up with a pool of workers that have mostly been co-workers with each other, at some point in the past. The higher up you get, the smaller the pool, so you end up with a lot of overlap.

   My favorite nearby shopping center has a Trader Joe's and a Grocer Outlet, with the former being founded by Joe Coulombe and the latter growing significantly with him on their board. (See his book: Becoming Trader Joe) He had a lot of influence on both, with both still having a noticeably similar obsession with cheap wine and a short time of availability for any given item, but they're both different enough to warrant being in the same shopping center, and are both worth visiting.

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2. slyallOct 2022
   Top 2 so far:

      * Washington: A life by Ron Chernow
      * The Second World Wars: How the First Global Conflict Was Fought and Won by Victor Davis Hanson
   

   The Washington book is a very detailed by clear overview of his life. Easy to follow (even for complex situations) and very week written.

   The WW2 book is amazing. Compares the countries fighting in around 20 different areas (technology, leadership, geography, aircraft) and says who is better and why.

   Also very good:

      * FDR by Jean Edward Smith
      * Master of the Senate by Robert A. Caro
      * The Penguin History of New Zealand by Michael King
      * The years of Lyndon Johnson 2 – Means of Ascent by Robert Caro
      * Blood, Sweat & Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road by Kyle Buchanan
      * Becoming Trader Joe: How I Did Business My Way and Still Beat the Big Guys by Joe Coulombe
      * How Innovation Works: And Why It Flourishes in Freedom by Matt Ridley
      * Yeager: An Autobiography by Chuck Yeager
      * The years of Lyndon Johnson: The Path to Power by Robert Caro
      * The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson
      * Termination Shock by Neal Stephenson
      * An Economist walks into a Brothel: And Other Unexpected Places to Understand Risk by Allison Schrager
      * The Devil’s Candy: The Bonfire of the Vanities Goes to Hollywood by Julie Salamon
      * Sam Walton: Made in America by Sam Walton

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3. TheRealDevonMcCJan 2022
   I read a review of the book "Becoming Trader Joe" by Joe Coulombe who founded the Trader Joe's supermarket chain. One of the very smart things he did was understand how expensive turnover is, so he oriented the company around keeping his employees motivated to stay.
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