MARGARET HEFFERNAN

Making those around you feel invisible is the opposite of leadership.

Customers who have to come back and spend, or customers who just don't want the hassle of leaving - those are the ones who are most worth attracting.

Britain is famous for being great at inventing and poor at commercializing.

I'm all for ambition and stretch goals. I set them for myself. But leadership isn't the same as cheerleading. Believing in something is a necessary but absolutely insufficient condition for making it come true.

The healthiest companies are always characterized by organic talent development.

Noise is a buffer, more effective than cubicles or booth walls.

The vast literature concerning whistleblowers shows that, far from weird extremists, they are really quite ordinary people: male and female, young and old, junior and senior, no more nerdy or obsessive than most hard workers.

Most executives I know are so action-oriented, or action-addicted, that time for reflection is the first casualty of their success.

If I have to spend a lot of time on planes, I try to think of this as time off. In certain ways, it's more restful than home: no Internet, no phones, no interruptions.

Words are how people think. When you misuse words, you diminish your ability to think clearly and truthfully.

Making a company fit to sell may be the only way to ensure you never need a buyer.

I don't mind if the couple next to me is tense or the kids are whiny. I'd even be happy to hear an honest argument, evidence of thinking. I'd like to know these teeth-perfect families don't just buy each other stuff but just occasionally can talk to one another.

Very few entrepreneurs start their business on the back of market research. Instead, they have tremendous zeitgeist, honed by paying attention to where they are.

Research shows that when we read words on paper, it reduces our stress levels by nearly 70 percent. We also read more carefully than on tablets or laptops.

Those in powerless positions aren't about to complain about bullying bosses, abusive supervisors or corrupt co-workers. There is no safe way to do so and no process that promises redress.

Everyone I know feels harassed by email which has invaded their waking and sleeping hours.

What do you want your business to do? Make money, of course. To pay for people and supplies, to be able to grow.

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.

The biggest catastrophes that we've witnessed rarely come from information that is secret or hidden. It comes from information that is freely available and out there, but that we are willfully blind to.

The cell phone has become the adult's transitional object, replacing the toddler's teddy bear for comfort and a sense of belonging.

I don't think a true company - one that builds sustainable value - can ever only exist online or remotely.

If we aren't going to be afraid of conflict, we have to see it as thinking.

I regularly take my entrepreneurship students out walking because I want to get them in the habit of noticing and thinking about what they notice. They have to leave their phones behind to learn the basic lesson: Be where you are.

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.

Clearing your head of distractions in order to notice and understand the people you are with can feel inefficient - there are so many other people and issues to think about. But being present makes you effective.