In a truly great company profits and cash flow become like blood and water to a healthy body: They are absolutely essential for life but they are not the very point of life

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

Creative leadership impact increases in your 50's. When I turn 50 I want to say, "Nice start!"

If you have more than three priorities then you don't have any.

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

The best CEOs in our research display tremendous ambition for their company combined with the stoic will to do whatever it takes, no matter how brutal (within the bounds of the company's core values), to make the company great. Yet at the same time they display a remarkable humility about themselves, ascribing much of their own success to luck, discipline and preparation rather than personal genius.

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