Be candid with everyone.

In the end, your integrity is all you've got.

Take the middle 70 percent and tell them what they need to do to get into the top 20 percent.

I was never the smartest guy in the room. From the first person I hired, I was never the smartest guy in the room. And that's a big deal. And if you're going to be a leader - if you're a leader and you're the smartest guy in the world - in the room, you've got real problems.

Managers often hold on to resisters because of a specific skill set or because they've been around for a long time. Don't.

The value decade is upon us. If you can't sell a top-quality product at the world's lowest price, you're going to be out of the game.

You can't behave in a calm, rational manner. You've got to be out there on the lunatic fringe.