“A manager is responsible for the application and performance of knowledge. ”

“We all have a vast number of areas in which we have no talent or skill and little chance of becoming even mediocre. In those areas a knowledge workers should not take on work, jobs and assignments. It takes far more energy to improve from incompetence to mediocrity than it takes to improve from first-rate performance to excellence.”

“A person can perform only from strength. One cannot build performance on weakness, let alone on something one cannot do at all.”

“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.”

“So much of what we call management consists in making it difficult for people to work.”

“Rank does not confer privilege or give power. It imposes responsibility.”

“To be sure, the fundamental task of management remains the same: to make people capable of joint performance through common goals, common values, the right structure, and the training and development they need to perform and to respond to change.”