Quotes

“Strategy is what you choose not to do.”— Harvard President Drew Gilpin Faust, with an assist from Michael Porter

In late December, I’ll be rolling out a new book. This one argues that much of what we think we know about human motivation just ain’t so — and then shows how you can use the surprising new science of motivation to transform your life. (For a a tantalizing sneak preview, check out this video.)I’ll […]

“In 2008, more silicon was consumed globally making solar panels than microchips.”— Tom Friedman, NYT (9/16/09) (HT: Charles Fishman)

“In all the briefing papers prepared for the famous Clinton Little Rock [economic] summit in late 1992, the word Internet never appeared.”— Daniel Gross, Newsweek(HT: Steve Case)

“An economy that is more entrepreneurial, less managerial, would be less subject to the kind of distortions that occur when corporate managers’ compensation is tied to the short-term profit of distant shareholders. For most entrepreneurs, profit is at once a more capacious and a more concrete thing than this. It is a calculation in which […]

“In periods of economic turmoil, people are hungry and work cheap, and entrenched companies often concentrate on in-house cost-cutting instead of exploring new markets, which can explode with the next turn of the business cycle.”— Wired, “Back to the Garage” 

“I have always subscribed to the expression: ‘Thank God it’s Friday’ because to me Friday means I can work for the next two days without interruptions.”— John Hope Franklin (1915-2009)

“We need kids who don’t just do what they’re told but who are self-directed.”— Ken Kay, P21, quoted in USA Today

“My name is Arne. It’s not Mr. Secretary. Please just call me Arne.”— U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, speaking to DOE employees in a line that the NYT says “drew a standing ovation.”

“The right brain seems to be creating a surplus at the very moment the left brain sees its executive pays cut.”— CNET, “Will TED 2009 heal the Davos depression?”