Quotes from Michael Porter

Being an American doesn't mean that you're guaranteed a high wage. You have to be productive, and we have to create a very low-cost, efficient place to do business, and we've let all that slip in America.

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

Health care historically has been a very siloed field that's organized around medical specialties - urology, cardiac surgery, and so forth - and around the supply of these specialty services. The patient is the ping-pong ball that moves from service to service.

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

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

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

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.

Innovation is the central issue in economic prosperity.

If a strategy meets a goal: It's working. If a strategy meets a target: It's a success.

A target should go with every goal. A target is the value that defines success.

Millennials are more aware of society's many challenges than previous generations and less willing to accept maximizing shareholder value as a sufficient goal for their work. They are looking for a broader social purpose and want to work somewhere that has such a purpose.

The company without a strategy is willing to try anything.

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.

In a period of economic downturn, the overwhelming instinct is to pare back, cut costs, and lay off. If you do that, do so with your strategy in mind. The worst mistake is to cut across the board. Instead, reconnect and recommit to a clear strategy that will distinguish yourself from others.

The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do.

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

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

Ultimately, health care fails the most basic test. It's not organized around the needs of the patient.

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

I think that, too many times, business has been seen as acting in its narrow self-interest rather than, essentially, contributing more broadly to society. I think a lot of that is unintentional; I don't think that many managers are deliberately trying to be unethical or are not trying to be sensitive to social needs.

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.

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.

As minorities and other immigrant groups become more important to our economy, the inner city is a crucible that gives us an early look at phenomena that are going to be spreading more broadly in the economy over time.

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