I wanted the influence. In the end I wasn't very good at being a president. I looked out of the window and thought that the man cutting the lawn actually seemed to have more control over what he was doing.

Government is like an onion. To understand it, you have to peel through many different layers. Most outsiders never get beyond the first or second layer.

If you're the leader, you've got to give up your omniscient and omnipotent fantasies - that you know and must do everything. Learn how to abandon your ego to the talents of others.

People in great groups have blinders on. Their work is all they see. They value failures as learning opportunities. They are optimistic, not realistic, as they proceed from one challenge and crisis to the next.

If I had to reduce the responsibilities of a good follower to a single rule, it would be to speak truth to power.

Listening to the inner voice - trusting the inner voice - is one of the most important lessons of leadership.

I am reminded how hollow the label of leadership sometimes is and how heroic followership can be.