I don't read many business books. I read good fiction. Business is about people, so my favorite business books are anything by Dickens.

'In Search of Excellence' - even the title - is a reminder that business isn't dry, dreary, boring, or by the numbers. Life at work can be cool - and work that's cool isn't confined to Tiger Woods, Yo-Yo Ma, or Tom Hanks. It's available to all of us and any of us.

Rewards should go to teams as a whole.

Leaders understand the ultimate power of relationships.

Winners must learn to relish change with the same enthusiasm and energy that we have resisted it in the past.

Leadership is about tapping the wellsprings of human motivation - and about fundamental relations with one's fellows.

We found that the most exciting environments, that treated people very well, are also tough as nails. There is no bureaucratic mumbo-jumbo... excellent companies provide two things simultaneously: tough environments and very supportive environments.