Good to Great

I don’t know where we should take this company, but I do know that if I start with the right people, ask them the right questions, and engage them in vigorous debate, we will find a way to make this company great.

"It is very important to grasp that Level 5 leadership is not just about humility and modesty. It is equally about ferocious resolve, an almost stoic determination to do whatever needs to be done to make the company great."

"If you begin with 'who,' rather than 'what,' you can more easily adapt to a changing world."

"Wells Fargo's approach was simple: You get the best people, you build them into the best managers in the industry, and you accept the fact that some of them will be recruited to become CEOs of other companies."

"The moment you feel the need to tightly manage someone, you've made a hiring mistake."

"A splendid example of insider-driven change comes from Charles R. 'Cork' Walgreen 3d, who transformed dowdy Walgreens into a company that outperformed the stock market by over fifteen times from the end of 1975 to January 1, 2000."

You must maintain unwavering faith that you can and will prevail in the end, regardless of the difficulties, AND at the same time have the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.

The good-to-great companies were able to strip away so much noise and clutter and just focus on the few things that would have the greatest impact.

Admiral Stockdale admonishing the optimists: 'We're not getting out by Christmas; deal with it!'

It's not about having strategy; it’s about having a simple, crystalline concept that guides your decisions.