I'm about as far from being a flag-waver - you won't find any American flag pins in my drawer - as someone can be.

Ready, fire, aim. Do it! Make it happen! Action counts. No one ever sat their way to success.

Power lies in the details, and the tenacious pursuit of such hidden levers can pay off enormously. While you don't want to get a reputation as a prissy worrywart, worrying about the details in private is important. You may think you are the world's greatest speaker, but if the auditorium's sound system is singing static - well, forget it.

What you decide not to do is probably more important that what you decide to do.

Quite simply, no matter how hard you try, no matter how "open" you are, you'll end up surrounded by "yes people." It's hard not to believe people who are repeating your own ideas. Resist the temptation.

We are no doubt in the Great Age of the Brand.

The new idea either finds a champion or it dies. No ordinary involvement with a new idea provides the energy required to cope with the indifference and resistance that change provokes.