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Comparison, a great teacher once told me, is the cardinal sin of modern life. It traps us in a game that we can't win. Once we define ourselves in terms of others, we lose the freedom to shape our own lives.

James C. Collins

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James C. Collins
Age: 66
Born: 1958
Born: January 25
Author
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I see the Baldrige process as a powerful set of mechanisms for disciplined people engaged in disciplined thought and taking disciplined action to create great organizations that produce exceptional results.
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Just because a company falls doesn't invalidate what we can learn by studying that company when it was at its historical best.
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The greatest leaders build organizations that, in the end, don't need them.
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The x factor of a great leader is humility combined with will.
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Profit is like oxygen, food, water, and blood for the body they are not the point of life, but without them, there is no life.
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If you have a charismatic cause you don't need to be a charismatic leader.
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The secret to a successful retirement is to find your retirement sweet spot. The sweet spot is where your passions, what you do best, and what people will pay you to do overlap.
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True leadership has people who follow when they have the freedom not to.
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It is more important to know who you are than where you are going, for where you are going will change as the world around you changes.
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In a truly great company profits and cash flow become like blood and water to a healthy body: They are absolutely essential for life but they are not the very point of life
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Genuine confidence is what launches you out of bed in the morning, and through your day with a spring in your step.
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There is a sense of exhilaration that comes from facing head-on the hard truths and saying, We will never give up. We will never capitulate. It might take a long time, but we will find a way to prevail.
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