Quotes from Robert I. Sutton

Ignorance, mediocrity, and mistakes run rampant when organizations fail to link the right people to the right information at the right time. This

Einstein said, "A person who has never made a mistake never tried anything new.

smart talk trap."17 This a syndrome where companies hire, reward, and promote people for sounding smart rather than making sure that smart things are done.

Vu ja de means seeing old things that are inside and outside the company in new ways.

They borrowed a motto from the U.S. Army: "Amateurs discuss strategy; professionals discuss logistics"—in other words, the nuances of getting things done.

If you can't bring yourself to encourage employees to lie down on the job, at least give them plenty of breaks. The ordinary fatigue most of us feel during the workday makes us grouchier—and dumber—as the hours go by.

organizations that spread and sustain excellence are infused with a "relentless restlessness"—that often uncomfortable urge for constant innovation, driven by the nagging feeling that things are never quite good enough.

I use job interviews for two things. First, to recruit people. Second, to get some help with my work. I give job candidates problems I can't

Be wary when people tell you that they don't produce a lot, but when they do, it will be "brilliant." Remember that innovation is largely a function of productivity.

The possible answers were: 1 = de-energizing; 2 = no effect/neutral; or 3 = energizing. The colleagues in their team or business were then listed, and each was rated by every coworker. Rob and his fellow researchers were stunned by how strongly this "energy" question predicted performance evaluations and promotions, and whether people stayed with or left an organization.

Interviews are useful for other things besides screening candidates. For

T]he best bosses master the fine art of emotional detachment. They learn to forgive people who lash out at them... and they learn to forgive themselves, too.

crucial decisions that shape how scaling unfolds. One of these universal decisions is whether and when to take a more "Catholic" or a more "Buddhist" path.

Bosses of the most productive work groups confronted problems directly and quickly...And quickly move on to more crucial chores.

Wise people "have the courage to act on their beliefs and convictions at the same time that they have the humility to realize that they might be wrong, and must be prepared to change their beliefs and actions when better information comes along.

D]oing management work requires dozens -sometimes hundreds - of brief and fragmented tasks each day.

If you want to make good decisions as the day wears on, watch for signs of fatigue. Even seemingly trivial levels damage performance. Build in ways for yourself and others to take breaks, whether it's getting a bite to eat or taking a few minutes to stretch your legs.

Focus on "pulling the plug" on failed ideas more quickly, not on reducing your failure rate.

Great bosses avoid burdening their people. They invent, borrow, and implement ways to reduce the mental and emotional load they heap on followers.

These tests imply an even more fundamental lesson that runs through this book: the difference between how a person treats the powerless versus the powerful is as good a measure of human character as I know.

Be repetitive and concrete. The things you say over and over have the most impact if they specify what to do and when to do it.

In short, if you are a boss, ask yourself: 'Who have I anointed as stars?' Think of your workplace more broadly and ask, 'Do we anoint people who bolster or bring down others' performance and humanity?

To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk. —Thomas Edison

all great technologies are blends of other technologies.