At IBM everybody sells! Every employee has been trained to think that the customer comes first - everybody from the CEO, to the people in finance, to the receptionists, to those who work in manufacturing.

Good people need room to develop. They have to find their own voice . . . each IBMer is a businessperson working within the framework of the company structure.

First, there is the law. It must be obeyed. But the law is the minimum. You must act ethically.

. . . top management should spend 40 to 50 percent of its time educating and motivating its people . . .

You can't talk about leadership without talking about responsibility and accountability...you can't separate the two. A leader must delegate responsibility and provide the freedom to make decisions, and then be held accountable for the results.

Don't make misrepresentations to anyone you deal with. If you believe the other person may have misunderstood you, correct any misunderstanding you find exists. Honesty is integral to ethical behavior, and trustworthiness is essential for good, lasting relationships.

There are countless ways of achieving greatness, but any road to achieving one's maximum potential must be built on a bedrock of respect for the individual, a commitment to excellence, and a rejection of mediocrity.