In a change effort, culture comes last, not first.

The central issue is never strategy, structure, culture, or systems. The core of the matter is always about changing the behavior of people.

Effective leaders help others to understand the necessity of change and to accept a common vision of the desired outcome.

The rate of change is not going to slow down anytime soon. If anything, competition in most industries will probably speed up even more in the next few decades.

Leadership defines what the future should look like, aligns people with that vision, and inspires them to make it happen despite the obstacles.

Leaders establish the vision for the future and set the strategy for getting there.

Without credible communication, and a lot of it, the hearts and minds of others are never captured.

A higher rate of urgency does not imply ever-present panic, anxiety, or fear. It means a state in which complacency is virtually absent.

We learn best - and change - from hearing stories that strike a chord within us.

Changing behavior is less a matter of giving people analysis to influence their thoughts than helping them to see a truth to influence their feelings.

Anyone in a large organization who thinks major change is impossible should probably get out.

Nothing worth anything has ever proven itself to be easy. I should think you 'd have discovered this by now.

Friendship is earned by those who accepted each other for what they are and for what they have. Trust and respect flows in each other to make it lasting.

You can never give complete authority and overall power to anyone until trust can be proven.

Every sentence stands on its own. Whether that's fair or not, that's kind of the way it is.

God's the seamstress that tailor-fitted my pain.

If your songs connect with the fans and they pump their fists in the air and go "Yeah!!" that's when a song really works. That's the electric church of it. The glory hallelujah of it.

Take a stand. Be known for your courage and confidence.

I usually don't know how to fight hard for roles. I've certainly sent a passionate letter or two... which always leads nowhere.

Microcredit has shown how you can reach out to people that conventional banking cannot. It has demonstrated that it's a doable proposition.

It is all very well to talk about being the captain of your soul. It is hard, and only a few heroes, saints, and geniuses have been the captains of their souls for any extended period of their lives.