"Giving people self-confidence is by far the most important thing that I can do. Because then they will act."

"The Internet is the Viagra of big business."

"The essence of competitiveness is liberated when we make people believe that what they think and do is important - and then get out of their way while they do it."

"My main job was developing talent. I was a gardener providing water and other nourishment to our top 750 people. Of course, I had to pull out some weeds, too."

"Number one, cash is king... number two, communicate... number three, buy or bury the competition."

"An organization's ability to learn, and translate that learning into action rapidly, is the ultimate competitive advantage."

"Strong managers who make tough decisions to cut jobs provide the only true job security in today's world. Weak managers are the problem. Weak managers destroy jobs."

"Willingness to change is a strength, even if it means plunging part of the company into total confusion for a while."

"Don't manage - lead change before you have to."

"The 1980s will seem like a walk in the park when compared to new global challenges, where annual productivity increases of 6% may not be enough. A combination of software, brains, and running harder will be needed to bring that percentage up to 8% or 9%."

"Face reality as it is, not as it was or as you wish it to be."

"If you pick the right people and give them the opportunity to spread their wings and put compensation as a carrier behind it you almost don't have to manage them."

"Give me a highly successful unionized industry."

"I was afraid of the internet... because I couldn't type."

"We bring together the best ideas - turning the meetings of our top managers into intellectual orgies."

"Change before you have to."

"I've learned that mistakes can often be as good a teacher as success."

"Globalization has changed us into a company that searches the world, not just to sell or to source, but to find intellectual capital - the world's best talents and greatest ideas."

"We've only been wealthy in this country for 70 years. Who said we ought to have all this? Is it ordained?"

"Control your own destiny or someone else will."

"If GE's strategy of investment in China is wrong, it represents a loss of a billion dollars, perhaps a couple of billion dollars. If it is right, it is the future of this company for the next century."