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I believe he is warning against the Coffee Shop fallacy. IE, you may like coffee, but if you think running a coffee shop is a good way to enjoy/experience coffee, you are unlikely to be in business long.

It also seems like he's saying that "code" as an aesthetic principle is a very small part of your business. Your code is a means to an end (for your users), and does/should not hold much of your attention as an intrinsic ideal.

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Excellent mention of the coffee shop fallacy. I think you nailed the point perfectly. Coffee making is only 5% of running a coffee shop. Dealing with customers (i.e. sales and marketing) is the majority of the work. People can get coffee anywhere; they go to your shop because of the perceived value of your product. Coffee (and code) becomes a commodity. While there is some really brilliant artisanal coffee (and code,) the general public doesn't usually know enough to tell the difference.

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