Don't throw up your hands or abandon your values when you run into political difficulties. Stop, get a sense of the political terrain, and experiment with some ways to move cautiously forward.

Humanism has many meanings, but what attracts me about it is that it encourages men and women to take a broad view of situations and to think about them from on-the-ground perspectives rather than through theoretical and conceptual lenses.

I think that, in general, when you want to make a case, It important to be as clear and honest and persuasive as you can be about stating the opposite case, rather than attacking strawmen.

Pay real attention to your basic human instincts when you face gray area decisions, but also try to have a clear sense of when you have done all you can reasonably do.

To overcome cultural resistance I think it's important to start with strong analysis, so you're sure that you're right about what needs changing or fighting. And then you have to articulate the best case you can and start working patiently to build support and to mobilize allies.

Don't assume that your personal moral compass, however admirable it may be, will always give you the right answer to complicated questions that require in-depth analysis.

Communication can't always follow the top-down model. With the fluidity of information in business today, leaders need to be masterful listeners they need to be able to receive as well as send.