Arbitrary benchmarks cheat kids out of a fulfilling education.

Exactly 5,126 attempts to make the first bagless vacuum cleaner were failures-some catastrophic disappointments, some minor defects. It took 15 years. Prototype 5,127 was the success ... Failure is painful, but it spurs on improvement like nothing else.

Far too few designers put any thought into usability, ending up with a great product that's completely inaccessible.

Emerging markets are hugely important.

The key to success is failure… Success is made of 99 percent failure.

Cordless vacuums are designed for quick jobs, but you need enough power to do the job; you don't want the power waning over time.

If you can't be unconventional, be obtuse. Be deliberately obtuse, because there are 5 billion people out there thinking in train tracks, and thinking what they have been taught to think.