The fewer data needed, the better the information. And an overload of information, that is, anything much beyond what is truly needed, leads to information blackout. It does not enrich, but impoverishes.

A person can perform only from strength. One cannot build performance on weakness, let alone on something one cannot do at all.

It takes far less energy to move from first-rate performance to excellence than it does to move from incompetence to mediocrity.

Checking the results of a decision against its expectations shows executives what their strengths are, where they need to improve, and where they lack knowledge or information.

The critical question is not "How can I achieve?" but "What can I contribute?"

There is no reason to believe that the people who staff the managerial and professional positions in our service institutions are any less qualified, any less competent or honest, or any less hard-working than the men who manage businesses. Conversely, there is no reason to believe that business managers, put in control of service institutions, would do better than the 'bureaucrats'. Indeed, we know that they immediately become bureaucrats themselves.

The most serious mistakes are not being made as a result of wrong answers. The true dangerous thing is asking the wrong question.