You read a book from beginning to end. You run a business the opposite way. You start with the end, and then you do everything you must to reach it.

Ninety-nine percent of all surprises in business are negative.

Managers in all too many American companies do not achieve the desired results because nobody makes them do it.

When I come upon a man who has a gleaming, empty, clear desktop, I am dealing with a fellow who is so far removed from the realities of his business that someone else is running it for him.

Facts from paper are not the same as facts from people. The reliability of the people giving you the facts is as important as the facts themselves.

Uncertainty will always be part of the taking charge process.

Management manages by making decisions and by seeing that those decisions are implemented.