Today's business book says: business exists to maximize profit for the shareholders. I think that's the dumbest idea I've ever heard in my life.
— Hamdi UlukayaFounder and CEO of Chobani Greek Yogurt Company
“Anyone worth following in peak performance will tell you that 90% of human performance is mental. The understanding of that mental aspect of the game is brand-new – perhaps 10-20 years old. The work being done around the neuroscience of performance is creating an unprecedented rate of change; it's honestly off the charts.”— Steven Kotler
Author & Researcher on Flow State & Human Peak Performance
The quote archive
Wisdom in fragments
A growing archive of 3,000+ moments, drawn from every interview.
In a certain sense, when things become ubiquitous, they also become 'invisible'. The process of connection has become much less visible, so that the feeling of 'my computer' 'connecting' to 'the Internet' has changed to a feeling that my computer is the Internet.
— Jimmy WalesCo-Founder of Wikipedia & Online Encyclopedia Pioneer
While participatory culture can create a Wikipedia, it is not likely to produce something like the Star Wars franchise. I don't think that's a problem, because I don't think we have to choose between participatory and top-down culture – both will thrive.
— Jimmy WalesCo-Founder of Wikipedia & Online Encyclopedia Pioneer
You know those people starving in Africa? Pretty soon, they are going to be able to call us… to complain. There are people who are likely to have cheap access to reliable International phone calls before they have cheap access to a reliable food supply. That's a remarkable thing to contemplate.
— Jimmy WalesCo-Founder of Wikipedia & Online Encyclopedia Pioneer
With participatory culture, economics dictates that we pour more resources into building an infrastructure platform that anyone can use, so most resources go into empowering 'the long tail'. Small groups of people can come together and make use of a powerful infrastructure to enable them to pursue their own passions and interests, without regard for popularity.
— Jimmy WalesCo-Founder of Wikipedia & Online Encyclopedia Pioneer
Just think about what happens when the next billion people come online, and the next two billion after that. It's a remarkable thing to consider.
— Jimmy WalesCo-Founder of Wikipedia & Online Encyclopedia Pioneer
My primary design philosophy involves putting the tools into the hands of the community, and thinking really hard about avoiding bottlenecks which require some 'top-down' intervention.
— Jimmy WalesCo-Founder of Wikipedia & Online Encyclopedia Pioneer
A lot of philanthropy is making bets, seeing if they work, staying with them…it is more like being an investor in other people's good entrepreneurial ideas.
— Steve BallmerFormer CEO of Microsoft & Owner of Los Angeles Clippers
One you have to get a unique insight. It starts there. Two, you need to be prepared to devote a lot of energy and commitment.
— Steve BallmerFormer CEO of Microsoft & Owner of Los Angeles Clippers
Small companies will get an idea and try to scale up. Big companies have to decide when to extend, when to extend and scale, and when to do something new. They need to build capabilities in terms of insight and execution to do the new thing.
— Steve BallmerFormer CEO of Microsoft & Owner of Los Angeles Clippers
The most important thing a leader has to have is an idea on where they want to go and the ability to bring people with them. Dangerous leaders can be charismatic and effective at mobilizing people, but take them down a wrong path.
— Steve BallmerFormer CEO of Microsoft & Owner of Los Angeles Clippers
Many forms of entrepreneurship don't lead to wealth, and but they are no less entrepreneurial.
— Steve BallmerFormer CEO of Microsoft & Owner of Los Angeles Clippers
Never was wealth the driver for me. – it was always hey, there's a cool idea here, let's make something of it. It was nice to be well rewarded, but the interesting part was working the problem, thinking about new things and how to bring them forward from being ideas to being products or new ways of doing things.
— Steve BallmerFormer CEO of Microsoft & Owner of Los Angeles Clippers
If people tell me, 'you're the mean shark', I say 'no I'm not, I'm the nicest shark – I tell the truth. And if you can't get past me on shark tank, wait until you get in the real world – you'll get shredded.
— Kevin O’LearyShark Tank investor, businessman, and former Canadian political candidate
I've made the most money with people who put their nose to the grindstone and don't talk about valuation. They talk about running business and growing it.
— Kevin O’LearyShark Tank investor, businessman, and former Canadian political candidate
The sacrifice is perhaps a decade- and it's a total sacrifice- you may not see your kids, you may miss an entire cycle of your lives, but you're doing it to provide for them in the future in a way you never could if you were an employee.
— Kevin O’LearyShark Tank investor, businessman, and former Canadian political candidate