It's pretty clear that [customers] know what their budgets are now, and what they want to spend it on.

In all the difficult decisions that I made through the course of running Loudcloud and Opsware, I never once felt brave. In fact, I often felt scared to death. I never lost those feelings, but after much practice, I learned to ignore them. That learning process might also be called the courage development process.

Nothing motivates a great employee more than a mission that's so important that it supersedes everyone's personal ambition.

Volatility and length, that's the value on an option. 10 years on a startup stock, that's a big valuable thing.

The important thing about mobile is, everybody has a computer in their pocket. The implications of so many people connected to the Internet all the time from the standpoint of education is incredible.

In my experience as CEO, I found that the most important decisions tested my courage far more than my intelligence.

The right thing to do is to thank them for their work, let people know that they're moving on, and ... you don't really have to explain all their personal details. It's more important to leave them with their dignity... and let them go on to live another day. Remember, what you say at that meeting, that's their reputation.