A diversion -- your favourite CI and strategy quotes

[Alli Marshall]

A diversion to start the work week -- what are your favourite CI/strategy quotes?

"Skate to where the puck's going, not where it's been."
Walter Gretzky (Wayne's father)

"Fools rush in..."
Alexander Pope

"Know your enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles, you will never be defeated."
Sun Tzu

...?

[August Jackson]

This is not CI related, but if people are going to quote the brilliant Winston Churchill I feel like I need to bring out my favorite quote from the most wise sage of our era, Yogi Berra:

"In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. But, in practice, there is."

(A quick look on Wikipedia suggests there are multiple attributions for this quote. Jan L. A. van de Snepscheut and Chuck Reid are also credited.)

[Woz Ahmed]

Well August, it's a tough call to match Yogi Berra. Let me leave you with something from Oscar Wilde:

'The truth is rarely pure, and never simple'

[August Jackson]

I did not know about this quote. This is actually a great one. Wilde was the sage of his era.

[Tadeusz Lemańczyk]

In fact, Algernon said those words directly after Jack's statement "That, my dear Algy, is the whole truth pure and simple." ( http://www.gutenberg.org/files/844/844-h/844-h.htm ). ;-)

[Alli Marshall]

This discussion has been a great diversion this week -- thank you for all of the inspiring and entertaining quotes.

Some of my favourite quotes about the truth and the essence of things are from artists.

"To get to the essence of things one must work long and hard."
-- Vincent van Gogh

"Nothing is less real than realism. Details are confusing. It is only by selection, by elimination, by emphasis that we get to the real meaning of things.”
-- Georgia O'Keeffe

[Alan S. Michaels]

Hello Alli,

"Competition is at the core of the success or failure of firms."

--- Michael E. Porter, in his book "Competitive Advantage" on page one, sentence number one.

[August Jackson]

"Your ability to learn faster than your competition is your only sustainable competitive advantage." -Arie De Gues

[Tadeusz Lemańczyk]

Are all of you able to say to Competitive Intelligence Leon Payne's words "I love you cause you're you"? Enjoy therefore the whole song in my favorite performance ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HTYd_m2GGA&hl=pl ) and ...

remember Ogden Nash's words ( http://www.geocities.com/tadfrompoland/1092.html ). :-)

[Tadeusz Lemańczyk]

The 508 unused error again ( http://www.geocities.com/tadfrompoland/1092.html )? Try the mirror -- http://www.lemant.user.icpnet.pl/tad/1092.html ! :-)

[Max Nelson]

Believe it or not, but i have found all of these invaluable throughout the course of my career in various aspects of what we do at various times and places. They are all from Robert A. Heinlein (and can be found in calligraphied and illuminated form in the book "The Notebooks of Lazarus Long):

Certainly the game is rigged. Don’t let that stop you; if you don’t bet, you can’t win.

Always listen to experts. They’ll tell you what can’t be done and why. Then do it!

Get a shot off fast. This upsets him long enough to let you make your second shot perfect.

If it can’t be expressed in figures, it is not science; it is opinion.

A generation which ignores history has no past—and no future.

Cheops’ Law: Nothing is ever built on schedule or within budget.

Avoid making irrevocable decisions while tired or hungry. N.B.: Circumstances can force your hand. So think ahead!

What are the facts? Again and again and again-what are the facts? Shun wishful thinking, ignore divine revelation, forget what “the stars foretell,” avoid opinion, care not what the neighbors think, never mind the unguessable “verdict of history”--what are the facts, and to how many decimal places? You pilot always into an unknown future; facts are your single clue. Get the facts!

You live and learn or you don’t live long.

Peace is an extension of war by political means. Plenty of elbowroom is pleasanter--and much safer.

Never underestimate the power of human stupidity!

To be “matter of fact” about the world is to blunder into fantasy--and dull fantasy at that, as the real world is strange and wonderful.

Secrecy is the beginning of tyranny.

Expertise in one field does not carry over into other fields. But experts often think so. The narrower their field of knowledge the more likely they are to think so.

Never try to out stubborn a cat

Tilting at windmills hurts you more than the windmills.

Inductive logic is much more difficult --but can produce new truths.

If “everybody knows” such-and-such, then it ain’t so, by at least ten thousand to one.

Anything free is worth what you pay for it.

Pessimist by policy, optimist by temperament--it is possible to be both. How? By never taking an unnecessary chance and by minimizing risks you can’t avoid. This permits you to play the game happily, untroubled by the certainty of the outcome.

A committee is a life form with six or more legs and no brain.

Minimize your therbligs until it becomes automatic; this doubles your effective lifetime--and thereby gives time to enjoy butterflies and kittens and rainbows.

Don’t try to have the last word. You might get it.

[Arik Johnson]

Great list Max - Heinlein is one of my favorites!

- Arik

[Jens Thieme]

Concluding our recent annual results management orientation our CEO quoted Winston Churchill:

"If you're going through hell - KEEP GOING!"

Unfortunately many around here might relate these days... On the other hand: CI has been one of the very few areas where cuts could be prevented and activities increased. People do realize that they can't keep walking through foggy territory.