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.

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

The essence of profound insight is simplicity.

Genuine confidence is what launches you out of bed in the morning, and through your day with a spring in your step.

If I'm going really, really fast, I can do a page of finished text a day, on average.

Consider the idea that charisma can be as much a liability as an asset. Your strength of personality can sow the seeds of problems, when people filter the brutal facts from you.

Those who build great companies understand that the ultimate throttle on growth for any great company is not markets, or technology, or competition, or products. It is one thing above all others: the ability to get and keep enough of the right people.