Successful leadership is not about being tough or soft, sensitive or assertive, but about a set of attributes. First and foremost is character

Failing organizations are usually over-managed and under-led.

The most dangerous leadership myth is that leaders are born.

The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it.

Leaders learn by leading, and they learn bestby leading in the face of obstacles. As weather shapes mountains, problems shape leaders.

You are your own raw material. When you know what you consist of and what you want to make of it, then you can invent yourself.

Find the appropriate balance of competing claims by various groups of stakeholders. All claims deserve consideration but some claims are more important than others.

Leaders are people who do the right thing; managers are people who do things right.

Leaders must earn the trust of their teams, their organizations, and their stakeholders before attempting to engage their support.

Becoming a leader is synonymous with becoming yourself. It is precisely that simple, and it is also that difficult.

Trust is the emotional glue that binds followers and leaders together.

You are not broken. You are not a problem to be solved. Solving your “problem”, whatever you perceive your problem or problems to be, is not the key to happiness.

Life is an enduring faith.

Everything comes if a man will only wait.

Be a practical dreamer backed by action.

Chess is neither a science nor an art. It is what human nature most delights in--a fight.

I feel I grew up in a different century than I live in. I think most of them are changes for the good.

There is not a more unhappy being than a superannuated idol.

You don't want to trash what you've done; that's your history.

The faster we go, the slower we need to be.

Difficulty is the nurse of greatness.