Somewhere like Russia or China, decision-makers have far fewer constraints on acting than in more open systems.

What you don't do is just say, "I've got all the ideas and all the knowledge, and listen to me."

The death of deference seems to be general at the moment, so everybody has to earn their reputation and trust all over again. You don't just get it by virtue of being a professor or a politician or anybody else.

To be effective at selling ideas, at being a lobbyist, influencing other people, you have to be very sure of yourself.

I have to be sure of myself - in a conditional way, always being open to the possibility that I'm wrong.

There are always pressures on decision-makers other than just what is right or what is wrong.

There's no point in just hankering for the big trade unions of the 1950s or '60s.