Wisdom in fragments

What I realised was, that in studying other manufacturing companies, in particular Toyota, I could see that their mechanism for distributing responsibility and pushing it far down the organisation turned them into a creative enterprise! This is the opposite of what most people think, which is that the purpose of manufacturing is to reliably produce the same thing over and over again.

Co-Founder of Pixar & Pioneer in Computer Graphics

We always have this mix in each area, but people tend to categorise creativity by discipline rather than by the individuals within those disciplines.

Co-Founder of Pixar & Pioneer in Computer Graphics

Fundamentally, where creativity is concerned, people are trying to express an idea or solve a problem. This applies in business, the arts, or even solving family or societal problems.

Co-Founder of Pixar & Pioneer in Computer Graphics

I think of creativity very broadly, for me it's about solving problems. A lot of people put creativity into the narrow bucket of artistic expression; including film-making, creative writing, music and so on- but there are many who understand that if you look at science and engineering, there are many very interesting problems that require creativity and you see a great outpouring of new ideas.

Co-Founder of Pixar & Pioneer in Computer Graphics

Just take a look for example, at NFL players with pink socks, bringing their babies on the field. You would never have seen that just 10 years ago. The culture is changing as we speak.

People need to have access to mental health services right on their doorstep; where they live, where they learn, where they go to work, where they go to worship.

Nobody should ever feel isolated, or like they have nowhere to turn. Whether it's at school, home, or in the workplace. Nobody should ever feel a cultural burden of silence around mental health challenges.

The truth is that many in the clergy don't know what to do when people come to them with something that can't be prayed away!

The first and most important part of tackling mental health challenges is to drive cultural change. If you don't change the culture around mental health- people will continue to be stigmatised, people will continue to stay silent, people will not seek the help they need.

It shocks me that our society has not caught up with the fact that mental illnesses should be treated like any other disease, and not relegated to the justice system. We have so many different therapies and medicines, and people can make significant recoveries.

Right now, only 2% of Europeans have studied outside of their home country – I would want to raise that to 45%. The provincialism that reigns in so many countries would be considerably lessened if it was just considered normal that you would spend at least a year in some other country.

Former President of Estonia & Cybersecurity Pioneer

These are the kinds of digital services that have been technologically available for 25 years but just haven't been implemented anywhere. Basically, for scalability all you need is more servers.

Former President of Estonia & Cybersecurity Pioneer

If you have a start-up, you start out with an idea, but in 6 months you realise 'that wasn't the right idea'. This is how truly creative companies work. Nobody can do that with EU funding because you are locked-in to your original proposal – and because of that no-one I know in the start-up world wants money from the EU.

Former President of Estonia & Cybersecurity Pioneer

I personally want to throw up every time I hear some completely senseless and baseless statement like 'we need more of Europe, not less'. It means nothing, and those slogans simply drive people crazy – It goes to show the intellectual vacuousness of the people who say them.

Former President of Estonia & Cybersecurity Pioneer

For us, for our people, who were under communist domination, we were comfortable and happy to take on a European identity when we gained independence. Identity is something incredibly personal; and how the individual combines their national and European identity is something they do themselves.

Former President of Estonia & Cybersecurity Pioneer

We believe that entrepreneurship is indispensable for the emergence of innovative companies that allow for the diversification and renewal of our economy, ensuring sustainable economic growth and the creation of qualified employment.

Former Prime Minister of Portugal (2015-2024)