Excellence is a better teacher than mediocrity. The lessons of the ordinary are everywhere. Truly profound and original insights are to be found only in studying the exemplary.

Understand the "Gretzky Factor": Cultivate an instinct, a "touch", call it what you will, that enables you to know both where the "puck" is now and where it will be soon.

The capacity for "uncontaminated wonder," ultimately, is what distinguishes the successful from the ordinary, the happily engaged players of whatever era from the chronically disappointed and malcontent. Therein lies a lesson for geeks, geezers, and the sea of people who fall in between.

What job is worth the enormous psychic cost of following a leader who values loyalty in the narrowest sense.

Effective leaders make a full commitment to be a learner, to keep increasing and nourishing their knowledge and wisdom.

Great groups deliver great results. And for everyone involved in a great group, great work is its own reward.

Understand the "Pygmalion Effect": Leaders should always expect the very best of those around them. They know that people can change and grow.