The trouble is that all-encompassing though information technology may be, it will always convey facts and numbers ... what it does not convey is perception, belief and motivation.

People are unlikely to know that they need a product which does not exist and the basis of market research in new and innovative products is limited in this regard.

The task of industry is continuously, year on year, to make more and better things, using less of the world's resources.

How do you know you have won? When the energy is coming the other way and when your people are visibly growing individually and as a group.

Everyone thinks I'm a smart arse who can solve any bloody problem. I'm not. I'm just a very old businessman and a very experienced businessman who made every mistake in the book and can recognise one when I see one.

It horrifies me that ethics is only an optional extra at Harvard Business School.

The only companies that innovate are those who believe that innovation is vital for their future.