Problems and solutions

"Cuando no hay solución no existe el problema"

Manuel Vicent, citando a un amigo

Moderation and alternatives

"Moderation is a virtue only in those who are thought to have an alternative."

Dr. Henry Kissinger

Friction

Friction is "the force that makes the apparently easy so difficult"

Clausewitz

"The means to overcome friction is the will. We prevail over friction through persistent strength of mind and spirit"

From "Warfighting". US Marine Corps

My Personal Theory of Risk

"Wo aber Gefahr ist, wächst das Rettende auch"

"But where danger is, grows the saving power also"

Friedrich Hölderlin

About winning

"Winning continuously is a complete disaster"

Takeshi H.

This little wisdom pearl that could be attributed to Sun Tzu comes from my classmate and friend Takeshi. He initially alluded at the negative effect on personal relationships of having one side always winning. The quote can have many other different readings. It could also point at the need of commiting mistakes in order to learn.

Takeshi introduced me to the work of the Japanese architect Tadao Ando and is also a fan of 101 Things I Learned in Architecture School, by Matthew Fredderick, a great read for anybody who likes to connect dots.

Wohoooo! I love this quote

“Creativity is the power to connect the seemingly unconnected”

William Plomer

There was an invisible line connecting this quote with the name of my blog... Magic

Words and Revolutions

"Revolutions begin with an assault on language. When we change our words, we change the way we think"

Richard T. Pascale
from the article "Reflections on Honda"
California Management Review. Vol. 38, NO.4. Summer 1996

This quote is from my weekly Managing Innovation and Change reading. I have a light but juicy bit on Honda that I will share shortly...

Information rich and attention poor

“A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention”

Herbert Simon
Quoted by Hal Varian in McKinsey Quarterly

Words of wisdom coming from Chicago

"Gratefulness is the soil in which Joy thrives"

Seen in a billboard at the Salvation Army in Chicago

A good friend spotted this one. I must say I am grateful to her.
And, hey, this dot connects with Thanksgiving celebrations. Right on time.

Definition of courage

"Courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyway"

John Wayne

I took the quote from metacool, one of my favorite blogs

Art and instinct

"The task of the artist is to make the human being uncomfortable, and yet we are drawn to a great work by involuntary chemistry, like a hound getting a scent; the dog isn't free, it can't do otherwise, it gets the scent and instinct does the rest"

Lucian Freud