All companies have a culture, some companies have discipline, but few companies have a culture of discipline. When you have disciplined people, you don't need hierarchy. When you have disciplined thought, you don't need bureaucracy. When you have disciplined action, you don' t need excessive controls. When you combine a culture of discipline with an ethic of entrepreneurship, you get the magical alchemy of great performance.

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.

The signature of mediocrity is chronic inconsistency.

The only way to remain great is to keep on applying the fundamental principles that made you great.

Those who build and perpetuate mediocrity...are motivated more by the fear of being left behind.

Start a 'Stop Doing' list. I'll leave it as an existential dilemma on whether to put that task on your To Do list

Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness, it turns out, is largely a matter of conscious choice, and discipline.