True leadership has people who follow when they have the freedom not to.

It may seem odd to talk about something as soft and fuzzy as "passion" as an integral part of a strategic framework. But throughout the good-to-great companies, passion became a key part of the Hedgehog Concept.

Whether you prevail or fail depends more on what you do to yourself than on what the world does to you.

Good-to-great companies set their goals and strategies based on understanding; comparison companies set their goals and strategies based on bravado.

To have a Welch-caliber C.E.O. is impressive.To have a century of Welch-Caliber C.E.O.'s all grown from the inside - well, that is one key reason why G.E. is a visionary company.

Bad decisions made with good intentions, are still bad decisions.

You need self-control in an out-of-control world.