Almost all quality improvement comes via simplification of design, manufacturing... layout, processes, and procedures.

The simple act of paying positive attention to people has a great deal to do with productivity.

Business is about people. It's about passion. It's about bold ideas, bold small ideas or bold large ideas.

Regardless of age, regardless of position, regardless of the business we happen to be in, all of us need to understand the importance of branding. We are CEOs of our own companies: Me, Inc. To be in business today, our most important job is to be head marketer for the brand called You.

Communication is everyone's panacea for everything.

'In Search of Excellence' - even the title - is a reminder that business isn't dry, dreary, boring, or by the numbers. Life at work can be cool - and work that's cool isn't confined to Tiger Woods, Yo-Yo Ma, or Tom Hanks. It's available to all of us and any of us.

Stop being conned by the old mantra that says, 'Leaders are cool, managers are dweebs.' Instead, follow the Peters Principle: Leaders are cool. Managers are cool too!

For the blue-collar worker, the driving force behind change was factory automation using programmable machine tools. For the office worker, it's office automation using computer technology: enterprise-resource-planning systems, groupware, intranets, extranets, expert systems, the Web, and e-commerce.

If a window of opportunity appears, don't pull down the shade.

Management is about arranging and telling. Leadership is about nurturing and enhancing.

Community organizing is all about building grassroots support. It's about identifying the people around you with whom you can create a common, passionate cause. And it's about ignoring the conventional wisdom of company politics and instead playing the game by very different rules.

Everyone has a chance to learn, improve, and build up their skills.

Design is so critical it should be on the agenda of every meeting in every single department.