I trust people, and I respect their areas of responsibility.

I think in most companies you're surrounded by the past. You may have a Web site or archives or a lobby that sort of shows off your work of the past. The future is not as tangible.

I'm the eldest of six kids, and I think that may have some significance. I think there's some correlation between maybe being the eldest and wanting to blaze a trail. I think that probably helps in some way.

I have to trust people. There's no system of controls that can replace trust, so I need to reinforce that trust, and part of reinforcing trust is making sure that people feel accountability, and with accountability comes some degree of autonomy. You don't have one without the other.

My parents both left school at 14, but my parents are incredibly smart, successful, thoughtful people. So one of the lessons I learned from my parents is that the fancy degree is just a foot in the door, and there are a lot of very smart people out there who don't necessarily have the fancy degrees. And given the opportunity, they can do amazing things.

I think that's just one type of leadership, which is the type I have: the need to find a new way and take responsibility for other people.

I really appreciate it when people say "no" to me. I want people to understand that I'm totally supportive of what it is they're trying to do as long as we're all on the same team.