Quote

Phones and soundtracks and Muzak and fountains replace genuine and unpredictable human contact with a seamless soundtrack from a bad movie and a cliche that makes us believe we must all be happy.

Margaret Heffernan

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Margaret Heffernan
Age: 69
Born: 1955
Born: June 16
Businessperson
Writer
Texas
United States
Believe
Contact
Fountains
Genuine
Movie
Seamless
Happy
Cliche
Makes
Replace
Human
Unpredictable
Humans
Fountain
Must
Phones

More quotes by Margaret Heffernan

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Certainty is no guarantor of correctness.
Margaret Heffernan
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You cannot fix a problem that you refuse to acknowledge.
Margaret Heffernan
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Everyone I know feels harassed by email which has invaded their waking and sleeping hours.
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The biggest catastrophes that we've witnessed rarely come from information that is secret or hidden. It comes from information that is freely available and out there, but that we are willfully blind to.
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On overnight flights, I have trained myself to get to sleep almost instantly after takeoff. I always listen to the same audiobook on my iPod so my brain knows, regardless of time zone, that that voice means it's time for bed.
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Most people have their best ideas when they take their minds away from problems they're trying to solve.
Margaret Heffernan
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Making a company fit to sell may be the only way to ensure you never need a buyer.
Margaret Heffernan
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The cell phone has become the adult's transitional object, replacing the toddler's teddy bear for comfort and a sense of belonging.
Margaret Heffernan
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Those in powerless positions aren't about to complain about bullying bosses, abusive supervisors or corrupt co-workers. There is no safe way to do so and no process that promises redress.
Margaret Heffernan
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Building businesses takes tremendous stamina, and success isn't achieved without it.
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[For constructive conflict,] we have to resist the neurobiological drive which means that we really prefer people mostly like ourselves.
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The best remote companies I've seen do almost everything online, via email and telephone. But they also get together face to face on a regular basis.
Margaret Heffernan
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In our house, mother’s day is every day. Father’s day, too. In our house, parents count. They do important work and that work matters. One day just doesn’t cut for us.
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Most executives I know are so action-oriented, or action-addicted, that time for reflection is the first casualty of their success.
Margaret Heffernan
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Britain is famous for being great at inventing and poor at commercializing.
Margaret Heffernan
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When we care about people, we care less about money, and when we care about money, we care less about people.
Margaret Heffernan
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In business, staying focused requires that you turn most opportunities down.
Margaret Heffernan
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We treasure what we can measure.
Margaret Heffernan
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We know - intellectually - that confronting an issue is the only way to resolve it. But any resolution will disrupt the status quo. Given the choice between conflict and change on the one hand, and inertia on the other, the ostrich position can seem very attractive.
Margaret Heffernan
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As long as they are well-intentioned, mistakes are not a matter for shame but for learning
Margaret Heffernan