A point he merely skimmed was that Ford <i>did</i> seek out the best talent (and presumably fired people if they turned out not to be the best).<p>Paying people very high wages (he says) <i>retains</i> the best talent, which turns out to be a really good investment.<p>The businesses he mentions that overpay mediocre engineers presumably aren't good at finding the best talent, <i>nor at firing talent that turns out not to be good</i>.<p>At least, that's how I read it.