1) Select fewer columns, and use a well tuned covering index

2) Select fewer rows, and use a well tuned (covering) index

3) Make sure that table has a clustered index, and rebuild the index

4) Defrag the storage at the OS level and the SAN level

5) Tune the fillfactor of the clustered index to make sure the table takes up as few pages as possible when this query is likely to run

6) Revisit the business requirement

7) Buy a new set of disks, short-stroke them, and use them solely for this table

8) Buy a new set of flash SSD's and put this table on them

9) Buy more RAM so this table is likely to stay in the buffers

10) Buy a new set of DRAM or SRAM SSD's and put this table on them

11) Buy a faster machine, faster IO, faster network, faster storage, faster everything.