Competition has never been more threatening than it is now. Innovative thinkers challenge the status quo in their organizations. They are often viewed as "troublemakers." They threaten the defenders of the status quo. So competition within an organization can also be brutal. The most effective leaders overcome "the ideology of comfort and the tyranny of custom" by being change agents themselves. They encourage and reward innovative thinking. I have observed that people only resist changes imposed on them by other people.

Corporate men and women, once divided by striking differences in opportunity for career growth, have come to share career chaos.

Leadership is one of the most enduring, universal human responsibilities.

Change is like putting lipstick on a bulldog. The bulldog's appearance hasn't improved, but now it's really angry.

Sometimes you lose - perhaps because you play against the very best, or because surprises happen - but if there is organizational confidence, you bounce back from losses and convert them to successes.

Confidence isn't optimism or pessimism, and it's not a character attribute. It's the expectation of a positive outcome.

In the most innovative companies there is a significantly higher volume of thank yous than in companies of low innovation.