Every great group is an island... but an island with a bridge to the mainland.

The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why.

Unlike top management at Enron, exemplary leaders reward dissent. They encourage it. They understand that, whatever momentary discomfort they experience as a result of being told they might be wrong, it is more than offset by the fact that the information will help them make better decisions.

A leader is someone whose actions have the most profound consequences on other people's lives, for better or worse, sometime forever and ever.

Every one of the geezers who continues to play a leadership role has one quality of overriding importance: neotony. The dictionary definition is that neotony, a zoological term, involves "the retention of youthful qualities throughout old age." It is more than merely retaining a youthful appearance, although that is often part of it. Neotony is the retention of all those wonderful qualities that we associate with youth: curiosity, playfulness, eagerness, fearlessness, warmth, energy.

If I were to give off-the-cuff advice to anyone trying to institute change, I would say, "How clear is the metaphor?"

The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it.