Power always has to be kept in check power exercised in secret, especially under the cloak of national security, is doubly dangerous.

An inexhaustible good nature is one of the most precious gifts of heaven, spreading itself like oil over the troubled sea of thought, and keeping the mind smooth and equable in the roughest weather.

A kind heart is a fountain of gladness, making everything in its vicinity freshen into smiles.

I am always at a loss to know how much to believe of my own stories.

Christmas is a season for kindling the fire for hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart.

Some minds seem almost to create themselves, springing up under every disadvantage and working their solitary but irresistible way throughout a thousand obstacles.

Great minds have purposes, little minds have wishes.

There is a healthful hardiness about real dignity that never dreads contact and communion with others, however humble.

Good leaders make people feel that they’re at the very heart of things, not at the periphery. Everyone feels that he or she makes a difference to the success of the organization. When that happens people feel centered and that gives their work meaning.

The leaders I met, whatever walk of life they were from, whatever institutions they were presiding over, always referred back to the same failure something that happened to them that was personally difficult, even traumatic, something that made them feel that desperate sense of hitting bottom–as something they thought was almost a necessity. It’s as if at that moment the iron entered their soul that moment created the resilience that leaders need.

Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.

There are two ways of being creative. One can sing and dance. Or one can create an environment in which singers and dancers flourish.

Excellence is a better teacher than mediocrity. The lessons of the ordinary are everywhere. Truly profound and original insights are to be found only in studying the exemplary.

Great things are accomplished by talented people who believe they will accomplish them.

Leaders keep their eyes on the horizon, not just on the bottom line.

Leaders must encourage their organizations to dance to forms of music yet to be heard.

People who cannot invent and reinvent themselves must be content with borrowed postures, secondhand ideas, fitting in instead of standing out.

What makes a good follower The single most important characteristic may well be a willingness to tell the truth. In a world of growing complexity leaders are increasingly dependent on their subordinates for good information, whether the leaders want to hear it or not. Followers who tell the truth and leaders who listen to it are an unbeatable combination.

Our tendency to create heroes rarely jibes with the reality that most nontrivial problems require collective solutions.