My half-baked reading of history is that we continue to go through these waves of entrepreneurial explosion followed by merger mania and consolidation. Out of that come big sluggish companies that eventually collapse under the weight of what they've created, and are killed off by the next wave of entrepreneurs.

A passive approach to professional growth will leave you by the wayside.

Advantage comes not from the spectacular or the technical. Advantage comes from a persistent seeking of the mundane edge.

Management is about arranging and telling. Leadership is about nurturing and enhancing.

The difference between great and average is, mostly, having the imagination and zeal to re-create yourself daily.

The manager, in today's world, doesn't get paid to be a steward of resources, a favored term not so many years ago. He or she gets paid for one and only one thing: to make things better (incrementally and dramatically), to change things, to act - today.

Celebrate what you want to see more of.