Quotes from John W. Gardner

Art gropes it stalks like a hunter lost in the woods listening to itself and to everything around it unsure of itself waiting to pounce.

Leaders come in many forms, with many styles and diverse qualities. There are quiet leaders and leaders one can hear in the next county. Some find strength in eloquence, some in judgment, some in courage.

Political extremism involves two prime ingredients: an excessively simple diagnosis of the world's ills, and a conviction that there are identifiable villains back of it all.

I am entirely certain that twenty years from now we will look back at education as it is practiced in most schools today and wonder that we could have tolerated anything so primitive.

John Milton called his school Christ College 'a stony-hearted stepmother'. The ultimate goal of the educational system is to shift to the individual the burden of pursuing his education.

Whoever I am, or whatever I am doing, some kind of excellence is within my reach.

All excellence involves discipline and tenacity of purpose.

Some people have greatness thrust upon them. Very few have excellence thrust upon them.

We cannot have islands of excellence in a sea of slovenly indifference to standards.

One generalization that is supported both by research and experience is that effective two-way communication is essential to proper functioning of the leader-follower relationship.

We pay a heavy price for our fear of failure.

Creativity requires the freedom to consider unthinkable alternatives, to doubt the worth of cherished practices.

If you don't give your kid freedom to make choices with money, including stupid choices, he'll make plenty when he gets to college.