Walter Isaacson Quotes

Most innovation comes from people working together, collaborating in teams.

We're all swimming in this digital revolution that we live in.

I think that notion of being a seeker, somebody who never felt totally fulfilled, but was always passionate about the search, that comes from the background, probably.

Most of the collaborations of technology were done by teams...Collaboration is key to creativity

I think it's very important to have a sense of balance in covering the war, but you don't have to be morally neutral about terrorism.

Innovation requires articulation.

Was he smart? No, not exceptionally. Instead, he was a genius.

You and I love understanding American Revolution, but let's also understand the digital revolution, because that makes us more comfortable with our technology.

A theme of digital success is keeping it simple.

Good telling of human stories is the best way to keep the Internet and World Wide Web from becoming a waste vastland.

The best and most innovative products don't always win...(it's an) aesthetic flaw in how the universe worked

I think that's exactly what Silicon Valley was all about in those days. Let's do a startup in our parents' garage and try to create a business.

Sometimes, to relieve stress, he would soak his feet in the toilet, a practice that was not as soothing for his collegues.

In the age of the internet when everybody's a pundit, we're still gonna need somebody there to go talk to the colonels, to be on the ground in Baghdad and stuff and that's very expensive.

And if you don't have your ears open, you're not going to be able to figure out what you should be doing.

By the end of his career, he [Steve Jobs] has proven that he can do the impossible, and he has gathered probably the most loyal team of eight players of any business in America.

I think that Benjamin Franklin felt very strongly in foreign policy in this world, that you needed to at least show some humility, especially when you were strong.

if you can't keep him interested, that's your fault.

Sculley found Jobs as memorable as his machine. " He seemed more a showman than a businessman. Every move seemed calculated, as if it was rehearsed, to create an occasion of the moment.

Form follows emotion

One of Job's great strengths was knowing how to focus. " Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do, " he said. " That's true for companies, and it's true for products.

Customers don't know what they want until we've shown them.

Not since the original Mac had a clarity of product vision so propelled a company into the future. " If anybody was ever wondering why Apple is on the earth, I would hold up this as a good example

Steve's sales pitch on the NeXT operating system was dazzling, " according to Amelio. " He praised the virtues and strengths as though he were describing a performance of Oliver as Macbeth.

As Friedland had done and as Jobs would learn to do, he was able to turn charm into a cunning force, to cajole and intimidate and distort reality with the power of his personality

He wished to please everybody, " Franklin later said of Keith, "and having little to give, he gave expectations.

Just because you can't act EVERYWHERE doesn't mean you don't act ANYWHERE. – Madeleine Albright

As much as Henry Kissinger wanted to attribute historical movement to impersonal forces, he too conceded to "the difference personalities make".

Henry Luce to his Time magazine writers: "Tell the history of our time through the people who make it.

Kissinger would probably be outraged even if he reread his own memoirs, on the grounds that they are not favorable enough.

There should be an honored place in history for statesmen whose ideas turned out to be right.

Einstein's was a beautiful mix of confidence and awe.

You can't have a sustainable US economy without a great education system. Teach students to do the job right. You don't have an innovative economy unless you have a great education.