I've always said that if I was in another industry, I'd be out of business a long, long time back. The traditional brick and mortar business people I know have to be ruthless. They negotiate like they'll run out of money tomorrow and never leave cash on the table. And they can't understand why I won't haggle or force my employees to work longer hours.
The tech industry is heavily insulated from what passes for 'normal practice' in most businesses.