Corporations are economic entities, to be sure, but they are also social institutions that must justify their existence by their overall contribution to society.

Never set out to be the best. It's too low a standard. Set out to be good. Do Your best.

The real challenge in crafting strategy lies in detecting subtle discontinuities that may undermine a business in the future. And for that there is no technique, no program, just a sharp mind in touch with the situation.

You can teach all sorts of things that improve the practice of management with people who are managers. What you cannot do is teach management to somebody who is not a manager, the way you cannot teach surgery to somebody whose not a surgeon.

An unsuccessful manager blames failure on his obligations; the effective manager turns them to his own advantage. A speech is a chance to lobby...a visit to an important customer a chance to extract trade information.

No generalizing beyond the data, no theory. No theory, no insight. And if no insight, why do research.

Management and leadership are not separate spheres. The two skills work together in the larger realm of “communityship.