The signature of mediocrity is chronic inconsistency.

It took Einstein ten years of groping through the fog to get the theory of special relativity, and he was a bright guy.

Be rigorous about your HR decisions. There is a difference between rigorous and ruthless.

Smart people instinctively understand the dangers of entrusting our future to self-serving leaders who use our institutions, whether in the corporate or social sectors, to advance their own interests.

We learned that a former prisoner of war had more to teach us about what it takes to find a path to greatness than most books on corporate strategy.

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

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.