Fresh from Ecuador
I took this photograph at the Chelsea Flower Market where I went on an early morning shopping tour with my class from the New York Botanical Garden. The picture shows roses that were grown in Ecuador and had been taken from cargo at JFK Airport within the past two hours. The Flower Market opens at about 3:30 a.m. and closes at noon, so you have to get there very early for a good selection. I always associate the floriculture industry with entrepreneurship. One of my favorite business books, Ploughing the Sea, examines, among other topics, how a country like the Netherlands, with its cold, rainy climate could dominate the flower industry. It did so by investing in horticultural technologies and superior logistics for flower distribution. I had the occasion to tour the Dutch flower market as the cut flowers were delivered directly from the Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. It was an impressive operation and a reminder that we cannot successfully compete by offering commodity products at the lowest prices. And, of course, in addition to teaching an important lesson in entrepreneurship, the roses are beautiful.