Level 5 leaders are fanatically driven, infected with an incurable need to produce sustained results. They are resolved to do whatever it takes to make the company great, no matter how big or hard the decisions.

Just because a company falls doesn't invalidate what we can learn by studying that company when it was at its historical best.

In an ironic twist, I now see Good to Great not as a sequel to Built to Last, but more of a prequel. Good to Great is about how to turn a good organization into one that produces sustained great results. Built to Last is about how you take a company with great results and turn it into an enduring great company of iconic stature.

Indeed, the real question is not, "Why greatness?" but "What work makes you feel compelled to try to create greatness?" if you have to ask the question, "Why should we try to make it great? Isn't success enough?" then you're probably int he wrong line of work.

If you have a charismatic cause you don't need to be a charismatic leader.

The signature of mediocrity is not an unwillingness to change. The signature of mediocrity is inconsistency.

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