I wrote this letter to Fast Company re: their September "Courage" issue and thought you all might get a kick out of it.

Dear Fast Company,

As I read through the September issue of Fast Company I was shocked by the picture of courage I found there. Well, not so much by the picture there, but by the part that was missing- that of the small business. The likes of Google, Tyco, and ImClone were all there. The boardroom, the army, the 9.11 commission- all there. What of the wiping of the counter, the sweeping of the sidewalk, the stocking of the shelves, or the making of the double short cappuccino? Not to mention, the juggling of the operating capital, the calling of the creditors, and the checking of the lost shipment on the cell phone on the way to the store to get more milk. This is the courage shown by an army of mom and pop businesses every day and I would propose the bulk of business courage is of this kind. It would seem that "How Smart People Work" is to work for big corporations and that is where all the business courage goes down as well. I love FC and learn from every issue, but to adapt a Dr. Seuss quotation, "Courage is courage, no matter how small."

Andrew M. Whaley
Chief Espresso Evangelist
Coffeeboy
Ventura, CA
coffeeboy@coffeeboy.net