In our business, the windows of opportunity open and close with dazzling rapidity...I constantly have to remind people to seize the moment.

I am convinced that most companies don't maximize their barter possibilities. Instead of aggressively reducing costs by trading their services with those of their suppliers, they seem content to pay top dollar for everything.

Round numbers beg to be negotiated, usually by counteroffer round numbers. Odd numbers sound harder, firmer, less negotiable.

Anger can be an effective negotiating tool, but only as a calculated act, never as a reaction.

If Thomas Edison had gone to business school, we would all be reading by larger candles.

The mental game of business is understanding this Paradox: the better you think you are doing, the greater should be your cause for concern: the more self-satisfied you are with your accomplishments, your past achievements, your 'right moves', the less you should be.

Commit yourself to quality from day one ... it's better to do nothing at all than to do something badly.