A biography for Max McKeownhasn’t been written yet.
“Who's more likely to succeed - someone with high skill and no ambition, or no skill and high ambition? If you're an entrepreneur, you can hire as many skilled people for your business as you want.”
“Culture is the sum of the values, beliefs and assumptions of human groups.”
“Amazon thrived because it implemented the online bookstore idea better than any of its early rivals did, not because it was the only company to have the idea or the first company to have the idea. It continues to grow only because it keeps trying to improve on the details of the idea and the way it puts it into practise.”
“If traditional doesn't work, then traditions won't do.”
“Strategy was first used in Athens (508 BC) to describe the art of leadership used by the ten generals on the war council. Some argue for the more creative, human side, while others argue for the more analytic side of strategy.”
“Strategy is not really a solo sport - even If you're the CEO.”
“We need to move from comparative advantage to perpetual advantage...”
“At the point that an idea approaches perfection, fashion and expectations surge ahead, leaving the innovator with considerable room to find further improvements.”
“As an innovator, you need to be aware of how traditions, habits and bias can act as barriers to accepting new ideas.”
“The true parents of creativity are curiosity and necessity.”
“Only the right pain gets the right gain.”
“All failure is failure to adapt, all success is successful adaptation.”
“Your life is what happens when you're busy trying to become unbusy.”
“Innovation is about practical creativity - it's about making new ideas useful...”
“Before innovation - or practical creativity - there is insight. You must see the world differently.”
“Innovation can start with wanting what does not yet exist - and finding a solution - or seeing what does not yet exist - and finding an opportunity.”
“Corporate strategy is usually only useful if you get people engaged with helping you to make it work.”
“Entrepreneurs don't believe the future is predictable - but they do believe that they can create the future themselves.”
“There are immense numbers of potential entrepreneurs who can start their own businesses among the people who are working in large organisations.”
“Entrepreneurs are like cats, because they are independent and do their own thing. Although organisations say they like cats, what they really want is sheep that they can herd.”