作者強調的是在華氏211度(約攝氏99.444度)時，水就滾了，但是要到212度（約攝氏100度）時，水才會開，而滾開的水就會冒出蒸汽，而有了蒸汽就可以驅動一部火車。

作者強調只有一度之差，就決定成功和失敗，而一度的所獲得的成就和獎賞就有如天壤之別。
書中還引用一些格言，例如：

．Inches make the champion.

~Vince Lombardi, Hall of Fame football coach
．Many of life’s failures are men who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.

~Thomas Edison, American inventor
．Courage is fear holding on a minute longer.

~George S. Patton, American soldier & general
．Triumph often is nearest when defeat seems inescapable.

~B.C Forbes, Founder & publisher of Forbes Magazine
．The drops of rain make a hole in the stone not by violence, but by oft falling.

~Lucretinus, Roman philosopher
．It’s the final steps of a journey that create an arrival.Never s. One always ss as soon as something is about to happen.

~Peter Brook, British theatre & film director
．Some men give up their designs when they have almost reached the goal.

~Polybius, Greek statement & historian
．You give 100 percent in the first half of the game, and if that isn’t enough, in the second half you give what’s left.

~Yogi Berra, Hall of Fame baseball player and manager.
．You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.

~Margaret Thatcher, British Prime Minister

中文有“差之毫厘，失之千里”同樣的意義，意思即要不斷堅持、努力，不要因一時失敗而氣餒，成功往往一步之遠。而這一步所造成的結果就會產生顯著差別。@

摘編自 《管理拾穗部落格http://blog.udn.com/ansercomtw》 安瑟管理Arthur 提供