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.

Don't be interesting - be interested.

Throw leaders into an extreme environment, and it will separate the stark differences between greatness and mediocrity.

The critical question is not whether you'll have luck, but what you do with the luck that you get.

A great company will have many once-in-a-liftetime opportunities.

If we only have great companies, we will merely have a prosperous society, not a great one. Economic growth and power are the means, not the definition, of a great nation.

Level 5 leaders channel their ego needs away from themselves and into the larger goal of building a great company. It's not that Level 5 leaders have no ego or self-interest. Indeed, they are incredibly ambitious-but their ambition is first and foremost for the institution, not themselves.