Quotes About Strategy

Driving up the value of the advertising is a big commitment for Microsoft.

Creating value isn't enough - you also need to capture some of the value you create.

If guys try to make a bigger company for the sake of size, they don't create value in most cases.

There's a conventional wisdom that says that strategic thinking is much more important than relationship building, which doesn't seem to be nearly as highly valued as it should be, based on what some of the leaders that I've spoken with have said to me.

CIA has been treated with enormous respect and our expertise is valued for what we bring to the table.

Of course, lawyers are always making money either way—up, down, and especially around.

Opportunism has suffered the emasculation of being converted into a principle;

from our point of view, genital sores, diarrhea, and coughing are "symptoms of disease." From a germ's point of view, they're clever evolutionary strategies to broadcast the germ. That's why it's in the germ's interests to "make us sick." But why should a germ evolve the apparently self-defeating strategy of killing its host?

Todas las historias militares que glorifican a los grandes generales simplifican en exceso la prosaica verdad: los vencedores de las guerras del pasado no fueron siempre los ejércitos que disponían de los mejores generales y las mejores armas, sino que a menudo fueron simplemente aquellos que portaban los gérmenes más desagradables para transmitirlos a sus enemigos.

For most important things, though, success actually requires avoiding many separate possible causes of failure. The

We tend to seek easy, single-factor explanations of success. For most important things, though, success actually requires avoiding many separate possible causes of failure.

averaged over many cases, leadership does tend to affect economic growth.

The devious manipulation of sheep, otherwise known as politics.

Working without a plan may seem scary. But blindly following a plan that has no relationship with reality is even scarier.

Unless you are a fortune-teller, long-term business planning is a fantasy

Behind Closed Doors 1, a fantastic book about management from Esther Derby and Johanna Rothman.

That's why one of my favorite investing rules is "If the market is open, your wallet should be closed." You should never act on an investing idea the same day you get it; the next day, your mood and situation will have changed, and the facts may look different to you. Sleeping on it is one of the simplest and best ways to make sure your decision is not just a momentary whim.

Cats aren't really friendly, they're just cozying up to the dominant life-form as a hedge against extinction.

Pretend to be mad and talk a lot. Then — and this is the important bit — do nothing at all until you absolutely have to and then make sure everyone dies.

plans are all well and good in the Summer, but in the Winter it's wise to simply have an objective.' 'I thought we were meant to make a plan and stick to it?' 'Events move fast,' he said, 'and you need on-the-hoof flexibility to ensure the plan doesn't get in the way of the goal.' It actually seemed like quite good advice.

The best plans are always the simplest.

He shook his head, looked around carefully and then lowered his voice. "Pretend to be mad and talk a lot. Then—and this is the important bit—do nothing at all until you absolutely have to and then make sure everyone dies." "Thanks

It was a brilliant move on my part—if you didn't count the almost-certain-death aspect of the plan.

cats aren't really friendly; they're just cozying up to the dominant life form as a hedge against extinction.