My parents worked enormously hard to put four children through college. We didn't have a lot of money.

If life was so easy that you could just go buy success, there would be a lot more successful companies in the world. Successful enterprises are built from the ground up.

The last thing IBM needs right now is a vision.

In the end an organization is nothing more than the collective capacity of its people to create value.

People don't do what you expect but what you inspect.

You don't get points for predicting rain. You get points for building arks.

Watch the turtle. He only moves forward by sticking his neck out.

The rewards system is a powerful driver of behavior and therefore culture.

When I arrived at IBM, there were 'Team' signs all around. I asked, 'How do people get paid?' They told me, 'We pay people based on individual performance.

It is not about bits, bytes and protocols, but profits, losses and margins.

We built this company from the customer back, not from the company out.

What I truly believe, I will achieve.

Come what may, all bad fortune is to be conquered by endurance.

A secret talent or hobby Hmm I weirdly collect shot glasses.

I think if you can take care of yourself, and then maybe try to take care of someone else, that's sort of how you're supposed to live.

I don't like that I'm my own commodity, that I am what I sell.

There are two sins of men that are bred in the bone and that continually come out in the flesh. One is self-dependence and the other is self-exultation.

One finds oneself saying: 'I know the right question, but ... this is not exactly the right time to ask it.'

It's what I do well - I write about things that make people uncomfortable. That's probably the only thing I do better than my peers.

I like to let things breathe.

When you close the door of your mind to negative thoughts, the door of opportunity opens to you.