The discipline of personal mastery...starts with clarifying the things that really matter to us (and) living our lives in the service of our highest aspirations.

In the Machine Age, the company itself became a machine - a machine for making money.

In a sluggish system, aggressiveness produces instability. Either be patient or make the system more responsive.

Teams, not individuals, are the fundamental learning unit in modern organizations. This is where the "rubber stamp meets the road"; unless teams can learn, the organization cannot learn.

When executives lead as teachers, stewards, and designers, they fill roles that are much more subtle and long-term than those of power-wielding hierarchical leaders.

Dividing an elephant in half does not produce two small elephants.

The most effective people are those who can "hold" their vision while remaining committed to seeing current reality clearly