“Don’t reject something just because it seems strange. It’s comfort that will kill you in the end.”

“We are out of munitions, We will have to depend on theoretical physics. (Spoken in the heat of battle by Sammuil Petrovitch in Theories of Flight”

“What they might lack in intelligence, they make up for with sheer quantities of high explosive.”

“People like us, we think differently, don't we? We are different. We do all the things that others do. But when it comes down to it, we don't need anyone else. We're happy doing what we do and having obligation interferes with that. And sometimes I think we don't even need ourselves. What's most important is to find out whether we're right or not.”

“It’s true the people we meet shape us. But the people we don’t meet shape us also, often more because we have imagined them so vividly.There are people we yearn for but never seem to meet.”

“There are only two ways to influence human behavior: you can manipulate it or you can inspire it.Very few people or companies can clearly articulate WHY they do WHAT they do. By WHY I mean your purpose, cause or belief - WHY does your company exist? WHY do you get out of bed every morning? And WHY should anyone care?People don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it.We are drawn to leaders and organizations that are good at communicating what they believe. Their ability to make us feel like we belong, to make us feel special, safe and not alone is part of what gives them the ability to inspire us.For values or guiding principles to be truly effective they have to be verbs. It’s not “integrity,” it’s “always do the right thing.” It’s not “innovation,” it’s “look at the problem from a different angle.” Articulating our values as verbs gives us a clear idea - we have a clear idea of how to act in any situation.Happy employees ensure happy customers. And happy customers ensure happy shareholders—in that order.Leading is not the same as being the leader. Being the leader means you hold the highest rank, either by earning it, good fortune or navigating internal politics. Leading, however, means that others willingly follow you—not because they have to, not because they are paid to, but because they want to.You don’t hire for skills, you hire for attitude. You can always teach skills.Great companies don’t hire skilled people and motivate them, they hire already motivated people and inspire them. People are either motivated or they are not. Unless you give motivated people something to believe in, something bigger than their job to work toward, they will motivate themselves to find a new job and you’ll be stuck with whoever’s left.Trust is maintained when values and beliefs are actively managed. If companies do not actively work to keep clarity, discipline and consistency in balance, then trust starts to break down.All organizations start with WHY, but only the great ones keep their WHY clear year after year.”

“It’s never going to be very mainstream. One reason is that poetry requires concentration, both on the part of the writer and the reader. But it’s kind of unkillable, poetry. It’s our most ancient artform and I think it’s more relevant today than ever, because it’s one person saying what they really believe.”