I just think we should look at this as a chess match," he said, "between the world's greatest chess player and Garry Kasparov.

If life was so easy that you could just go buy success, there would be a lot more successful companies in the world. Successful enterprises are built from the ground up.

The last thing IBM needs right now is a vision.

In the end an organization is nothing more than the collective capacity of its people to create value.

People don't do what you expect but what you inspect.

You don't get points for predicting rain. You get points for building arks.

Watch the turtle. He only moves forward by sticking his neck out.

The rewards system is a powerful driver of behavior and therefore culture.

When I arrived at IBM, there were 'Team' signs all around. I asked, 'How do people get paid?' They told me, 'We pay people based on individual performance.

It is not about bits, bytes and protocols, but profits, losses and margins.

We built this company from the customer back, not from the company out.

My best works are for me. Not for the world.

For us military men, it is impossible to forget.

Most people buy not because they believe, but because the sales person believes.

It is monstrous that the feet should direct the head.

We tend to think of the Faustian man, the one who fabricates, manipulates, seduces and ends up destroying. But the new image will be man the creator, the artist, the player.

Many people think the Cards at the end of the wire will cross the finish line first.

Who hath not served can not command.

I wanted to have the adoration of John Lennon but have the anonymity of Ringo Starr. I didn't want to be a frontman; I just wanted to be back there and still be a rock and roll star at the same time.

If I'm going to burn, it might as well be bright.

Victory and defeat are each of the same price.