Creativity requires the freedom to consider 'unthinkable' alternatives, to doubt the worth of cherished practices. Every organization, every society is under the spell of assumptions so familiar that they are never questioned, least of all by those most intimately involved.
John W. GardnerWhat leaders have to remember is that somewhere under the somnolent surface is the creature that builds civilizations, the dreamer of dreams, the risk taker. And remembering that, the leader must reach down to the springs that never dry up, the ever-fresh springs of the human spirit.
John W. GardnerMastery is not something that strikes in an instant, like a thunderbolt, but a gathering power that moves steadily through time, like weather.
John W. GardnerThe best kept secret in America today is that people would rather work hard for something they believe in than live a life of aimless diversion.
John W. GardnerSome people may have greatness thrust upon them. Very few have excellence thrust upon them. They achieve it. They do not achieve it unwittingly, by “doin' what comes naturally”; and they don't stumble into it in the course of amusing themselves. All excellence involves discipline and tenacity of purpose.
John W. Gardner