My identity, and that of the company, were one-and-the-same, and that's not just inaccurate, it's unhealthy. You don't want to be on the yo-yo of your company's wins and fails. You can keep doing the right things daily and getting 1% better every day, independently of how the business is performing!
— Will Ahmed“We were approaching the technological simulation of consciousness, when the creative process of knowing will be collectively and corporately extended to the whole of human society.”— Marshall McLuhan
The quote archive
Psychology
A growing archive of 3,000+ moments, drawn from every interview.
Positions are what people say they want, interests are why they want the things they want. In most deadlocked negotiations, people haven't really got down to understanding what's driving the other side.
— Joshua WeissNegotiation expert and co-director of Harvard's Program on Negotiation
I look at every negotiation as an opportunity to solve a problem between me and the other negotiator. They are not my adversary – I need them – and they need me.
— Joshua WeissNegotiation expert and co-director of Harvard's Program on Negotiation
The more you're negotiating, the more you're staying at the table and engaging – the more information reveals itself. Value may be hidden initially because the other side doesn't know how to bring it up… how to share it with you without you taking advantage of it… as comfort builds, you gather information, and share it too, that becomes a critical part of the process.
— Joshua WeissNegotiation expert and co-director of Harvard's Program on Negotiation
Negotiation is really a life skill, and it's essential in this day and age.
— Joshua WeissNegotiation expert and co-director of Harvard's Program on Negotiation
Community brings out the good… the encourager in people. You could be on a treadmill next to someone who's having a hard time, and it just brings it out of you.
— Barry JayYes today sucked, but come back tomorrow, I'll meet you there. That means the world to somebody who doesn't feel like getting out of bed that day.
— Barry JayI grew up in survival mode. It was constant. I didn't know what to expect on any given day, what was coming, and I had to be strong enough to be ready for anything – to take it, hide from it, or dodge it. I had to have a strategy.
— Barry JayWhat they found was that people thought the person with the whiter, straighter teeth looked healthier, younger, more well educated. Just the teeth. Same person. Whiter, straighter teeth. Everything else was the same.
— Dr. Kourosh MaddahiSuccess is really a portal into the next stage that we're possibly capable of doing, and we have to decide how we're going to face that tsunami of emotions that then comes flying at us when we thought all we were going to have was happiness.
— Laura Gassner OttingEvery time we achieve some version of success we see another version of ourselves that we didn't even know was possible. We as humans wonder what else potential we have to explore. I didn't know that it was available to me but now that it is, and that's amazing and it's exciting and it's wonderful, it's also anxiety provoking and stress inducing and identity questioning.
— Laura Gassner OttingIt's not success we should be seeking but consonance, alignment, flow. When what we do actually matters to us. We are being called upon to solve a problem at hand, to use what we do best in the world, and in turn being rewarded for in a way that is meaningful to us.
— Laura Gassner OttingI spent 20 years in executive search, and I was hired by my clients to call 'the most successful people' in the world. Bold face names in bold face organisations. However it wasn't that hard, because despite all the success, which is why I was calling them, they were not very happy which is why they were calling me back.
— Laura Gassner OttingIt's strange though, I never feel this as a weight when I'm around kids – I feel so much lighter. They have an impact on me, as much as I hope to have an impact on them. It's a real mutual benefit.
— Lindsey VonnOlympic Alpine Skier with Most World Cup Wins by Female Athlete
It's not even about achieving something – it's about changing mindset. At that age, kids can go strongly in one direction or another in life, and being able to give them a steer is a huge accomplishment.
— Lindsey VonnOlympic Alpine Skier with Most World Cup Wins by Female Athlete
The small things are what make the biggest impact sometimes – and that starts with how you treat people. My 90 seconds with Picabo changed my life. You'd be surprised how many kids have parents and peers around there who tell them they can't, I want to tell them they can.
— Lindsey VonnOlympic Alpine Skier with Most World Cup Wins by Female Athlete