„The story is told of a sales call that Ernest Gallo made to a New York customer in the dark days of the depression. He offered sample glasses of two red wines - one costing five cents per bottle and the other ten cents. The buyer tasted both and pronounced, “I’ll take the ten-cent one.” The wine in the two glasses was exactly the same. Clearly, the customer wanted to buy an identity - the image of someone who wouldn’t drink that five-cent rotgut- even if he couldn’t actually taste the difference." #

„A CEO does only three things. Sets the overall vision and strategy of the company and communicates it to all stakeholders. Recruits, hires, and retains the very best talent for the company. Makes sure there is always enough cash in the bank." #

„How much soda can a person steal?  How much does that same person cost the company per hour in salary and benefits?  Our most interesting profits will come from capitalizing on huge opportunities, not from micromanaging costs.  I’m sure some finance person will lambast me for this, which would only further depress me.  Believe in our upside.  Focus on our upside." #

„Now if you leap forward and look at the products that Steve builds today, today the technology is far more capable of doing things; it can be miniaturized; it is commoditized; it is inexpensive. And Apple no longer builds any products. When I was there, people used to call Apple "a vertically integrated advertising agency," which was not a compliment." #

„Apple is doing such a poor job keeping the bad apps out of their store that even software pirates are doing it better. That’s not good. You fight piracy by providing a better experience, not by providing a worse experience and asking people to pay for it." #

„Digg’s collapse has become a cautionary tale for so-called Web 2.0 companies in Silicon Valley, even the current crop of superstars, like Facebook and Twitter. The basic problem is that these new-media companies don’t really have customers; they have audiences. Starting a company like Digg is less like building a traditional tech company (think Apple or HP) and more like launching a TV show. And perhaps, like TV shows, these companies are ephemeral in nature. People flock in for a while, then get bored and move on." #

„Your buyers just won’t be ready to make a deal until they can figure out what the real drawback might be with what you’re offering.

So PUT THERE MINDS TO REST. Tell them what could possibly be wrong for them with your deal. Lay out the faults and limitations of what you’re offering. This does a couple amazing things for you. It allows your customer to feel like he can truly evaluate the deal and be in a better position to make a decision. That’s huge. HUGE. But most importantly, it’s honest; and therefore it boosts your credibility considerably. And, it’s shocking. You have just separated and elevated yourself above the rest of the snake oil salesmen out there. You are a credible source of info in a world of bloodsuckers." #