Michael Porter

“So companies have to be very schizophrenic. On one hand, they have to maintain continuity of strategy. But they also have to be good at continuously improving.”

“Companies understand that if their employees are sick, it's really expensive. So despite the rhetoric I hear, thank God employers are still in the health-care system.”

“Millennials are more aware of society's many challenges than previous generations and less willing to accept maximizing shareholder value as a sufficient goal for their work. They are looking for a broader social purpose and want to work somewhere that has such a purpose.”

“As a multisport athlete, I was always fascinated with competition and how to win. At HBS and later at the Harvard Department of Economics, I was drawn to the field of competition and strategy because it tackles perhaps the most basic question in both business management and industrial economics: What determines corporate performance?”

“Companies operating in urban communities have a tremendous ripple effect.”

“The best CEOs I know are teachers, and at the core of what they teach is strategy.”

“Being an American doesn't mean that you're guaranteed a high wage. You have to be productive, and we have to create a very low-cost, efficient place to do business, and we've let all that slip in America.”

“I teach in the medical school, the School of Public Health, the Kennedy School of Government, and the Business School. And it's the best perch... because most of my work crosses boundaries.”

“Technology has given us this wonderful opportunity to have low energy costs. We have to seize that, rather than keep debating and discussing and fighting over it.”

“You can't have a healthy society unless you have healthy companies that are making a profit, that are employing people and that are growing.”

“As minorities and other immigrant groups become more important to our economy, the inner city is a crucible that gives us an early look at phenomena that are going to be spreading more broadly in the economy over time.”

“Change brings opportunities. On the other hand, change can be confusing.”

“Ultimately, health care fails the most basic test. It's not organized around the needs of the patient.”

“If all you're trying to do is essentially the same thing as your rivals, then it's unlikely that you'll be very successful.”

“Strategy 101 is about choices: You can't be all things to all people.”

“Strategy is about making choices, trade-offs; it's about deliberately choosing to be different.”

“The underlying principles of strategy are enduring, regardless of technology or the pace of change.”

“If your goal is anything but profitability - if it's to be big, or to grow fast, or to become a technology leader - you'll hit problems.”