When you get right down to it, one of the most important tasks of a leader is to eliminate his people's excuse for failure.

Compromise is usually bad. It should be a last resort. If two departments or divisions have a problem they can't solve and it comes up to you, listen to both sides and then pick one or the other. This places solid accountability on the winner to make it work. Condition your people to avoid compromise.

If you don't do it excellently, don't do it at all. Because if it's not excellent, it won't be profitable or fun.

Getting there isn't half the fun - it's all the fun.

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.

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