Good ideas are not adopted automatically. They must be driven into practice with courageous impatience.

The man in charge must concern himself with details. If he does not consider them important, neither will his subordinates.

Success teaches us nothing; only failure teaches.

Human experience shows that people, not organizations or management systems, get things done

It is a human inclination to hope things will work out, despite evidence or doubt to the contrary. A successful manager must resist this temptation.

Any one detail, followed through to its source, will usually reveal the general state of readiness of the whole organization.

More than ambition, more than ability, it is rules that limit contribution; rules are the lowest common denominator of human behavior. They are a substitute for rational thought.

When the men in Russia foul up, they are dismisses, sometimes losing their necks. But we protect those who fail and press them to the government bosom.

Trying to make things work in government is sometimes like trying to sew a button on a custard pie.

All new ideas begin in a non-conforming mind that questions some tenet of the conventional wisdom.

Half-truths are like half a brick - they can be thrown farther.

The closer you come to knowing that you alone create the world of your experience, the more vital it becomes for you to discover just who is doing the creating.

I persuaded him to throw the dirk away and it was as easy as persuading a child to give up some bright fresh new way of killing itself.

Writers often torture themselves trying to get the words right. Sometimes you must lower your expectations and just finish it.

A warrior walks alone in the dark.

Allow people to walk all over your carpet, not all over you.

Your past may not be perfect, but it was perfect for your purpose.

Your either in or out. There's no in between.

When you're over the hill, that's when you pick up speed.

Actors who say they don't watch TV are stupid. I was raised by TV! And it's how I research for auditions.

Taste is improved by cultivation.