Every organization has to prepare for the abandonment of everything it does.

The most serious mistakes are not being made as a result of wrong answers. The true dangerous thing is asking the wrong question.

Suppliers and especially manufacturers have market power because they have information about a product or a service that the customer does not and cannot have, and does not need if he can trust the brand. This explains the profitability of brands.

The new information technology... Internet and e-mail... have practically eliminated the physical costs of communications.

Most discussions of decision making assume that only senior executives make decisions or that only senior executives' decisions matter. This is a dangerous mistake.

Business purpose and business mission are so rarely given adequate thought is perhaps the most important cause of business frustration and failure.

As to the idea that advertising motivates people, remember the Edsel.

The real development I've seen of people in organizations, especially in big ones, comes from their being volunteers in a nonprofit organization - where you have responsibility, you see results, and you quickly learn what your values are. There is no better way to understand your strengths and discover where you belong than to volunteer in a nonprofit. That is probably the great opportunity for the social sector - and especially in its relationship to business.

The most critical case in a corporation, especially a big one, is when everything goes well, when you have accomplished your objectives. When the temptation is to work twice as hard instead of saying, "We have accomplished our objectives, we have to think again."