Success is a lousy teacher!

Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose. And it's an unreliable guide to the future.
Ref : Bill Gates, 'The road ahead'

Wealth, Unhappiness and the Right goal

"People who are very high in extrinsic goals for wealth are more likely to attain that wealth, but they're still unhappy," Ryan told me.
Or as Deci put it, "The typical notion is this: You value something. You attain it. Then you're better off as a function of it. But what we find is that there are certain things that if you value and if you attain them, you're worse off as a result of it, not better off."
Failing to understand this conundrum - that satisfaction depends not merely on having goals, but on having the right goals - can lead sensible people down self-destructive paths.

One of the reasons for anxiety and depression in the high attainers is that they're not having good relationships. They're busy making money and attending to themselves and that means that there's less room in their lives for love and attention and caring and empathy and the things that truly count, " Ryan added.

Ref : Daniel Pink, Drive - The surprising truth about what motivates us.

Build something great

"Get involved in something that you care so much about that you want to make it the greatest it can possibly be, not because of what you will get, but just because it can be done."

Ref: Good to Great, Jim Collins

Simple mantra of good-to-great companies

"The good-to-great companies at their best followed a simple mantra:
'Anything that does not fit with our Hedgehog Concept, we will not do. We will not launch unrelated businesses. We will not make unrelated acquisitions. We will not do unrelated joint ventures. If it doesn't fit, we don't do it. Period."

Ref : Good to great, Jim Collins

Common cause of failure

"One of the most common causes of failure is the habit of quitting when one is overtaken by temporary defeat. Every person is guilty of this mistake at one time or another."

Failure is a trickster with a keen sense of irony and cunning. It takes great delight in tripping one up when success is almost within reach.

Ref : "Think and Get Rich", Napolean Hill

Get more parts on the table

Challenging problems don't usually define their adjancent possible in such a clear, tangible way. Part of coming with a good idea is discovering what those spare parts are, and ensuring that you're not just recycling the same old ingredients.
The trick to having good ideas is not to sit around in glorious isolation and try to think big thoughts. The trick is to get more parts on the table.

Ref : "Where Good Ideas Come From", Steven Johnson

Giving the Credit!

A plaque that sat on Reagan's Oval office desk:
"There is no limit to what a man can do, or where he can go, if he doesn't mind who gets the credit."

Ref : "How to win friends and influcence people in the Digital Age"

What's Wrong with the World?

"For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure it will be measured to you"

Perhaps there is no more memorable example than the prolific British writer G. K. Chesterton's reply to an invitation by the Times to write an essay on the subject, "What's Wrong with the World?"
Chesterton's reply:

Dear Sirs,
    I am.

Reference: How to win friends and influence people in the digital age, pg12

The Toyota Way - genchi gembutsu

"In my Toyota interviews, when I asked what distinguishes the Toyota Way from other management approaches, the most common first response was genchi gembutsu - whether I was in manufacturing, product development, sales, distribution or public affairs. You cannot be sure you understand any part of any business problem unless you go and see for yourself firsthand. It is unacceptable to take anything for granted or to rely on the reports of others."

Ref: The Lean Startup

Do it right, first time, every time!

"Well, if you don't have time to do it right, what makes you think you'll have time to do it over?"

Reference : Seth Godin, "Purple Cow", pg 104

Not all customers are for sale!

"Differentiate your customers. Find the group that's most profitable. Find the group that's most likely to sneeze. Figure out how to develop/advertise/reward either group. Ignore the rest"

Seth Godin, "Purple Cow"

Seth Godin in Purple Cow

"Stop advertising and start innovating"
"...boring always leads to failure"

On Listening...

An excerpt by Ralph Roughton mentioned in 'The 8th Habit' book that I am currently reading.

"When I ask you to listen and you start giving advice, you have not done what I have asked.
When I ask you to listen to me and you begin to tell me why I shouldn't feel that way, you are trampling on my feelings.
When I ask you to listen and you feel you have to do something to solve my problem, you have failed me, strange as it may seem.

Listen! All I asked was that you listen; not talk or do -- just hear me... I can do for myself. I'm not helpless. Maybe discouraged and faltering, but not helpless."

Reference : Stephen Covey, Book: 'The 8th Habit', pg 193

Any time you think the problem is out there, that very thought is the problem!

"How easy it is for people to think and feel, "I'm a victim; I've tried everything; there's nothing more I can do; I'm stuck."
My response to their question usually shocks them a little. This is what I say:

"Any time you think the problem is out there, that very thought is the problem."

Reference : Stephen Covey, Book : 'The 8th Habit', pg 128.

Leadership defined

"Leadership is communicating to people their worth and potential so clearly that they come to see it in themselves."

Reference : Stephen Covey, Book : 'The 8th Habit', pg 98

Significant challenges

A quote by Albert Einstein taken from 'The 8th habit' that I am currently reading:

"The significant challenges we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them"

Reference: Stephen Covey, Book: 'The 8th Habit', pg 103

Freedom and power to choose our response

From the 'The 8th Habit' book which I am currently reading:

"Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space lies our freedom and power to choose our response. In those choices lie our growth and our happiness."

Reference : Stephen Covey, Book : 'The 8th Habit', Chp: 'Discover your voice', pg 42

A job pays you for the role rather than what you can do!

From a book which I recently finished reading:

"A job pays you for what the role/designation does rather than for what you can do, which is why the compensation it pays doesn't justify your capabilities. Owning a business sets you free to use the full potential of all your abilities and interests."

Reference : Kanth Miriyala, Book : 'Entrepreneur 5pm to 9am', Preface