Children build self-esteem by doing things that are hard and learning what works.

If you want to make better theory, you've got to use the best that's available and look through the lens of another discipline to see if you can uncover more anomalies. By looking at the phenomena of failure from the perspective of sales, marketing, finance, general management, and the equity markets, I was able to see things that Rebecca [Henderson] hadn't.

Disruption is, at its core, a really powerful idea, but everyone hijacks the idea to do whatever they want now.

Innovation simply isn't as unpredictable as many people think. There isn't a cookbook yet, but we're getting there.

An innovation will get traction only if it helps people get something that they're already doing in their lives done better.

You can talk all you want about having a clear purpose and strategy for your life, but ultimately this means nothing if you are not investing the resources you have in a way that is consistent with your strategy. In the end, a strategy is nothing but good intentions unless it's effectively implemented.

If I know what to spec, and I can measure it, and there are no unpredictable interdependencies between what you do and what I must do in response, then an economist would say that is sufficient information for a market to emerge between you and me.