Spend a lot of time talking to customers face to face. You'd be amazed how many companies don't listen to their customers.

The first EDSer to see a snake kills it. At GM, first thing you do is organize a committee on snakes. Then you bring in a consultant who knows a lot about snakes. Third thing you do is talk about it for a year.

If someone as blessed as I am is not willing to clean out the barn, who will?

In business, people are held accountable. In Washington, nobody is held accountable. In business, people are judged on results. In Washington, people are measured by their ability to get reelected.

I came from an environment where if you see a snake, you kill it. At General motors, if you see a snake, the first thing you do is to hire a consultant on snakes.

If we decide to take this level of business creating ability nationwide, we'll all be plucking chickens for a living.

Revitalizing General Motors is like teaching an elephant to tap dance. You find the sensitive spot and start poking.