A leader is not an administrator who loves to run others, but someone who carries water for his people so that they can get on with their jobs.

A good manager doesn't try to eliminate conflict; he tries to keep it from wasting the energies of his people. If you're the boss and your people fight you openly when they think that you are wrong - that's healthy.

A good leader needs to have a compass in his head and a bar of steel in his heart.

If people are coming to work excited. . . if they're making mistakes freely and fearlessly. . . if they're having fun. . . if they're concentrating on doing things rather than preparing reports and going to meetings-then somewhere you have leaders.

Managers must have the discipline not to keep pulling up the flowers to see if their roots are healthy.

Don't hire a master to paint you a masterpiece and then assign a roomful of schoolboy artists to look over his shoulder and make suggestions.

Make every decision as if you owned the company.