The chief strategist of an organization has to be the leader - the CEO.

The company without a strategy is willing to try anything.

There's a fundamental distinction between strategy and operational effectiveness.

The ability to change constantly and effectively is made easier by high-level continuity.

Sound strategy starts with having the right goal.

Strategy is about making choices, trade-offs; it's about deliberately choosing to be different.

If all you're trying to do is essentially the same thing as your rivals, then it's unlikely that you'll be very successful.

The chief strategist of an organization has to be the leader - the CEO.

A strategy delineates a territory in which a company seeks to be unique.

Finally, strategy must have continuity. It can't be constantly reinvented.

The underlying principles of strategy are enduring, regardless of technology or the pace of change.

So companies have to be very schizophrenic. On one hand, they have to maintain continuity of strategy. But they also have to be good at continuously improving.

Change brings opportunities. On the other hand, change can be confusing.

Companies operating in urban communities have a tremendous ripple effect.

The best CEOs I know are teachers, and at the core of what they teach is strategy.

The essence of strategy is that you must set limits on what you're trying to accomplish.

Strategy 101 is about choices: You can't be all things to all people.

Billions are wasted on ineffective philanthropy. Philanthropy is decades behind business in applying rigorous thinking to the use of money.

The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do.

If your goal is anything but profitability - if it's to be big, or to grow fast, or to become a technology leader - you'll hit problems.

The thing is, continuity of strategic direction and continuous improvement in how you do things are absolutely consistent with each other. In fact, they're mutually reinforcing.

Innovation is the central issue in economic prosperity.

Companies understand that if their employees are sick, it's really expensive. So despite the rhetoric I hear, thank God employers are still in the health-care system.

I teach in the medical school, the School of Public Health, the Kennedy School of Government, and the Business School. And it's the best perch... because most of my work crosses boundaries.

I'm really puzzled by why people in societies find it difficult to work collaboratively together with other people in societies.

In America, the problems of poverty and low income, particularly for minorities, are disproportionately focused in the inner cities. Shining a spotlight on the businesses growing in these communities is proof that any community has the potential for entrepreneurship.

Unfortunately, I'm an engineer. I'm always thinking about, what's the task and how do I get it done? And some of my tasks are pretty broad, and pretty fuzzy, and pretty funky, but that's the way I think.

You can't have a healthy society unless you have healthy companies that are making a profit, that are employing people and that are growing.

Competitive strategy is about being different. It means deliberately choosing a different set of activities to deliver a unique mix of value.

The thing is continuity of strategic direction and continuous improvement in how you do things are absolutely consistent with each other. In fact theyre mutually reinforcing.

Good leaders need a positive agenda not just an agenda of dealing with crisis.

Good leaders need a positive agenda, not just an agenda of dealing with crisis.

I'm glad I'm not Brezhnev. Being the Russian leader in the Kremlin. You never know if someone's tape recording what you say.

Reason and judgment are the qualities of a leader.

The most important quality in a leader is that of being acknowledged as such. All leaders whose fitness is questioned are clearly lacking in force.

Show me a poorly uniformed troop and I'll show you a poorly uniformed leader.

I was a gang leader. Although, it was a gang for defensive purposes. It was not a gang to sell drugs.

But let's be clear. We're talking about a country where there's no opposition. As leader he can ignore Parliament and - sorry that's Tony Blair isn't it? Um, so he doesn't even have to ask the country before he goes to war - sorry that's still Tony Blair.

I am not the kind of leader who pontificates about what should be done - I don't operate on scenarios, and I am not a prophet.

Tony Blair has turned his back on the principles he claimed he believed in before he stood shoulder-to-shoulder with George W. Bush. He was an entirely different kind of leader.

Somebody has to take responsibility for being a leader.

Obama likes to quote great men but will never be a great man himself. I can't stand it when our leader goes around apologizing for who we are.

The 'transition' involves the transfer of power from one president to another. In recent times, the incoming President has designated a Director of the Transition, a team leader, to oversee and administer the orderly transfer of power.

Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.

Today America lost a great elder statesman, a committed public servant, and leader of the Senate. And today I lost a treasured friend. Ted Kennedy was an iconic, larger than life United States senator whose influence cannot be overstated. Many have come before, and many will come after, but Ted Kennedy's name will always be remembered as someone who lived and breathed the United States Senate and the work completed within its chamber.

The fountain of youth with the youthful young musician is one meaning, and the fountain of youth with the youthful energy of the leader is another meaning.

When you have a clearly open homosexual scout leader, the scouts are going to talk about it. And they're not there to learn about that. They're there to learn about what it means to be loyal and trustworthy and thrifty.

I think it's good to have competition. Now we have a third country that can launch astronauts, so it's good for all of us. It makes us a little bit more competitive and wanting to be the leader.

People, like sheep, tend to follow a leader - occasionally in the right direction.