Mary Peery, Retired Senior Vice President of Hewlett Packard, said this was the most important leadership lesson ever learned:

Stay humble. Humility keeps you open to learning from any one else. No on EVER has all the answers and if they think they do they’re not a good leader. Over time they will most likely fail and certainly do significant damage along the way.

Here is a thought provoking quote I came across today:

I am asking that we stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight

–President Hinckley

President Gordon B. Hinckley has repeatedly stressed the importance of getting an education. Here is one quote that I like:

Be smart. You are all in school. Do not waste your time. This is a time of great opportunity that you will never have again as long as you live. Make the most of it right now. It is wonderfully challenging. It is hard, it is tough, isn’t it? But what a wonderful thing to go and learn of all the accumulated knowledge of all the centuries of time. Go on to college or whatever school, vocational school, whatever your choice is, but take advantage of every opportunity that you have because the Lord has laid upon you a mandate through revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith concerning not only spiritual learning but secular learning. Yours is the responsibility, and you can’t afford to waste your time. There is so much to learn. Be smart. Give it the very best that you have.

Source: Discourses of President Gordon B. Hinckley, Vol. 1, pp. 395-396

I found this in a magazine and I really liked it:

Remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.

–Henry Ford

Gordon B Hinckley has taught:

Love is like the Polar Star. In a changing world, it is a constant. It is the very essence of the gospel.

Without love . . . there is little else to commend the gospel to us as a way of life.

Source: Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley [1997]

The First Presidency message this month is from President Gordon B. Hinckley and is titled: A Perfect Brightness of Hope — to New Members of the Church. It is a special message written especially toward new converts and members of the Church. It talks to them about their transition into membership and the culture of the Church.

Throughout the message, President Hinckley tells the new members how we (existing members of the Church) will help them. Here are some quotes that help illustrate how we are suppose to help new members:

• “We stand ready to assist you in any way we can”?
• “Unless there are strong hands to greet you, unless we reach out to you with love and concern”?…
• “We have the challenge of helping you to strengthen your testimony of the truth of this work”?
• “We rejoice with you in the gospel of Jesus Christ”?
• “We need you”?
• “We will put our arms around you and be friends with you. “
• “We will do our best to comfort you, to make you feel welcome and accepted”?
• “We love you, and we know the Lord loves you.”?
• “Come and work with us side by side as we grow and learn together”?

As a footnote: according to the Church’s Member and Statistical Records Division, first-generation members made up 64 percent of the total Church membership as of July 2006.

“Software architecture is the set of design decisions which, if made incorrectly, may cause your project to be cancelled.”

Eoin Woods

Incorrect open source software architecture decisions may cause your project to fail.

Its long, curly and soft

–Carson about his chest hair.

Time is funny. We are always running out of it, yet there is always more.

In one of my computer engineering classes, we were briefly talking about Microsoft. My professor make a comment, “I’ve actually seen some Microsoft software work,” which spurred a debate about what that software could be: minesweeper, paint, or hearts.

Finally, the conversation ended with my professor saying, “I shouldn’t say that, some of you will probably go work for the evil empire.”