"Innovation comes from people meeting up in the hallways or calling each other at 10:30 at night with a new idea, or because they realized something that shoots holes in how we’ve been thinking about a problem. It’s ad hoc meetings of six people called by someone who thinks he has figured out the coolest new thing ever and who wants to know what other people think of his idea. And it comes from saying no to 1,000 things to make sure we don’t get on the wrong track or try to do too much. We’re always thinking about new markets we could enter, but it’s only by saying no that you can concentrate on the things that are really important."

Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer as quoted in BusinessWeek Online (Oct. 12, 2004)

"A CEO creates value by focusing on the right things. The declaration of the company’s vision isn’t as important as the hard work and critical thinking about what really needs to be the purpose of the business."

James P. Hackett, President and CEO of Steelcase Inc. as quoted in Fast Company (June 2005)

"The most clever ideas don’t come from the leaders, but rather from the leaders listening and encouraging and kind of creating a discussion. Wander around…and try to find the new ideas."

Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google as quoted on InfoWorld.com (May 19, 2005)

"We take those funds that might otherwise be used to shout about our service, and put those funds instead into improving the service. That’s the philosophy we’ve taken from the beginning. If you do build a great experience, customers tell each other about that. Word of mouth is very powerful."

Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon.com as quoted in BusinessWeek Online (Aug. 2, 2004)

"The business paradigm of any company needs to change at least every five years, and probably these days, every three. What doesn’t change are the values, the brand, the message, the mission, and the customer relationship. But how you do what you do, and what you offer, needs to change."

Steve Murphy, President and CEO of Rodale Inc. as quoted in Fast Company (May 2005)

"If God made the universe and if God made us and if God made the world, it just makes sense to invite God into our lives and ask Him, ‘You made me–what should I be doing?’"

Moby as quoted in Relevant (May/June 2005)

"Nothing demotivates people like the equal treatment of unequals. When you hire a bozo and treat him the same as a rock star, it deflates the rock star."

Joe Kraus, Cofounder and CEO of Jotspot as quoted in Fast Company (April 2005)