"In fact, one approach is to intentionally over optimize a local optimization. This will often make apparent to management (or even to you) where the true bottle neck in the system is. We shouldn't worry so much about doing the wrong things righter, but we should be aware that that may be the case and always work to be doing the right things.

In the end, showing improvement and building momentum can lead to exciting changes. In fairness, it can also come crashing to the ground if the right kinds of changes aren't made at some point, but this should not deter anyone who thinks something can be made better from trying to do so and it certainly should not be a reason to do nothing!"

"The rumors started seeping out of Ukraine about three years ago: A young Russian film director has holed up on the outskirts of Kharkov, a town of 1.4 million in the country's east, making...something. A movie, sure, but not just that. If the gossip was to be believed, this was the most expansive, complicated, all-consuming film project ever attempted."

"Engagement that begins with the intention of affecting others but not being affected by them, such as beginning with “I know” is ultimately merely an attempt to introduce or perpetuate a hierarchical power structure. By contrast, engagement that begins with the willingness to be affected by others is in accord with the horizontal and ethical environment of mutual respect that is characteristic of p2p culture."

"Thunderbirds says that science is awesome because you get to fly in space and live on a high-tech island full of booze. Beat that for incentive."

"In the industrial model of student mass production, the teacher is the broadcaster. A broadcast is by definition the transmission of information from transmitter to receiver in a one-way, linear fashion. The teacher is the transmitter and student is a receptor in the learning process. The formula goes like this: "I'm a professor and I have knowledge. You're a student, you're an empty vessel and you don't. Get ready, here it comes. Your goal is to take this data into your short-term memory and through practice and repetition build deeper cognitive structures so you can recall it to me when I test you."... The definition of a lecture has become the process in which the notes of the teacher go to the notes of the student without going through the brains of either."

"We believe Agile software development is being dumbed down, commodified, and is losing its spirit. We seek to replace the current name with one having two virtues: first, that it capture more exactly the attitudes originally behind Agile; second, that it be obscure enough that no one will assume they already know what it means and that—amazingly enough!—they are already doing it."

"Building communities is vital today, whether it's to build a reliable support network, serve as a valuable source of new ideas, or provide a powerful marketing tool. In The Art of Community, you'll learn about the broad range of talents required to recruit, motivate, and manage community members. The book takes you through the stages of community, and covers topics ranging from software tools to conflict resolution skills. "

"Working in an collaborative environment that simultaneously supports business, technology, creativity, and performance give rise to new concepts. Below we list of some of the ideas we use in our work--terms you may hear or things you may experience if you become a member and spend some time in this unique environment."

"Maybe someday we’ll think of soap that isn’t anti-bacterial as a high-quality, artisanal product."

"The Mechanics’ Institute sprang up in 19th century England for the ostensible purpose of imparting upon the working class mechanic knowledge of the sciences, literature, and arts. In actuality, a myriad of purposes shrouded the creation of these institutes, which were ultimately appropriated by the middle class when it became apparent that the working class was not as receptive as had been anticipated. ... As the middle class began to move in, the working class retreated to the Institute’s libraries and reading rooms, where they were free to discuss topics that interested them. One of the unintended consequences of the failed Mechanics’ Institutes was the aiding in the creation of a democratic infrastructure for working class access to printed materials.... In short, despite being borne from a desire to regulate, they were an important precursor to the establishment of public libraries and a liberated mass reading public."