Many CEOs and leaders think that silence is indeed golden, that consensus is bliss. It is - sometimes. But more often what it signifies is that there are no respected processes for surfacing concerns and dissent. Margaret Heffernan More Quotes by Margaret Heffernan More Quotes From Margaret Heffernan If you have never failed at anything, then you haven't been trying hard enough, aren't very imaginative, or have had such extraordinarily good luck that you have come to believe you are invincible. Margaret Heffernan good-lucktryingbelieve For good ideas and true innovation, you need human interaction, conflict, argument, debate. Margaret Heffernan innovationideasneeds Companies don't have ideas. Only people do. And what motivates people are the bonds of loyalty and trust they develop around each other. Margaret Heffernan loyaltypeopleideas The cell phone has become the adult's transitional object, replacing the toddler's teddy bear for comfort and a sense of belonging. Margaret Heffernan phonescellsbears Huge open source organizations like Red Hat and Mozilla manage the collaboration of hundreds of people who don't know one another and have spent no time hanging around the water cooler. Margaret Heffernan organizationwaterpeople We know - intellectually - that confronting an issue is the only way to resolve it. But any resolution will disrupt the status quo. Given the choice between conflict and change on the one hand, and inertia on the other, the ostrich position can seem very attractive. Margaret Heffernan ostrichesissueshands A fantastic model of collaboration: thinking partners who aren't echo chambers. Margaret Heffernan motivationinspirationthinking Bosses and leaders everywhere should cherish the people who bring them bad news, disappointing data or hard problems. Margaret Heffernan dataleaderpeople As long as they are well-intentioned, mistakes are not a matter for shame but for learning Margaret Heffernan mattermistakelong The healthiest companies are always characterized by organic talent development. Margaret Heffernan companytalentdevelopment All businesses and jobs depend on a vast number of people, often unnoticed and unthanked, without which nothing really gets done. They are all human and deserve respect and gratitude. Margaret Heffernan gratitudenumbersjobs [For constructive conflict,] we have to resist the neurobiological drive which means that we really prefer people mostly like ourselves. Margaret Heffernan motivationinspirationmean Making those around you feel invisible is the opposite of leadership. Margaret Heffernan invisibleoppositesfeels We have to see conflict as thinking and then get really good at it. Margaret Heffernan get-realconflictthinking I don't think you ever know anyone until you see them in action. Margaret Heffernan knowsactionthinking Instead, we have found ourselves gasping for air in a sea of corruption, dysfunction, environmental degradation, waste, disenchantment and inequality—and the harder we compete, the more unequal we become. Margaret Heffernan dysfunctionairsea The truth won't set us free until we develop the skills and the habit and the talent and the moral courage to use it. Margaret Heffernan motivationskillsinspiration On overnight flights, I have trained myself to get to sleep almost instantly after takeoff. I always listen to the same audiobook on my iPod so my brain knows, regardless of time zone, that that voice means it's time for bed. Margaret Heffernan voicesleepmean Companies don't have ideas; only people do. And what motivates people are the bonds and loyalty and trust they develop between each other. What matters is the mortar, not just the bricks. Margaret Heffernan companypeopleideas It is nobody's right to be waited on and nobody's fate to do the waiting. Margaret Heffernan fatewaiting
