As a mother, I work hard every day and I expect that work to be recognized and appreciated. Because I work for and with human beings, sometimes they’re grateful and sometimes they aren’t. – Margaret Heffernan
For good ideas and true innovation, you need human interaction, conflict, argument, debate. – Margaret Heffernan
Very few entrepreneurs start their business on the back of market research. Instead, they have tremendous zeitgeist, honed by paying attention to where they are. – Margaret Heffernan
Once you have power, you are inevitably surrounded by people who have their own agendas and will tell you whatever advances them. – Margaret Heffernan
Every organization has issues and concerns which are known about by many people who choose to remain silent. – Margaret Heffernan
On overnight flights, I have trained myself to get to sleep almost instantly after takeoff. I always listen to the same audiobook on my iPod so my brain knows, regardless of time zone, that that voice means it’s time for bed. – Margaret Heffernan
Phones and soundtracks and Muzak and fountains replace genuine and unpredictable human contact with a seamless soundtrack from a bad movie and a cliche that makes us believe we must all be happy. – Margaret Heffernan
Business is not a science; it is not susceptible to experiments that can be controlled and replicated. Everything in business is too unpredictable for that – every business, employee, product, market is different and keeps changing. – Margaret Heffernan
If I have to spend a lot of time on planes, I try to think of this as time off. In certain ways, it’s more restful than home: no Internet, no phones, no interruptions. – Margaret Heffernan
Most executives I know are so action-oriented, or action-addicted, that time for reflection is the first casualty of their success. – Margaret Heffernan
Many CEOs and leaders think that silence is indeed golden, that consensus is bliss. It is – sometimes. But more often what it signifies is that there are no respected processes for surfacing concerns and dissent. – Margaret Heffernan
Making a company fit to sell may be the only way to ensure you never need a buyer. – Margaret Heffernan
In our house, Mother’s Day is every day. Father’s Day, too. In our house, parents count. They do important work and that work matters. One day just doesn’t cut for us. – Margaret Heffernan
Everywhere I look, there are ads marking Mother’s Day. Mostly they conform to stereotype: flowers, jewelry, perfume. Not a lot of books. Not many computers. Few tools. Little that’s useful. – Margaret Heffernan
The biggest catastrophes that we’ve witnessed rarely come from information that is secret or hidden. It comes from information that is freely available and out there, but that we are willfully blind to. – Margaret Heffernan
Research shows that when we read words on paper, it reduces our stress levels by nearly 70 percent. We also read more carefully than on tablets or laptops. – Margaret Heffernan
Companies are bought for their revenue, customer base, technology, or people. A few great companies offer all of these, but any valuable business offers one. – Margaret Heffernan
British innovation in design, in the creative arts, in engineering and manufacturing is world class. – Margaret Heffernan
Most people have their best ideas when they take their minds away from problems they’re trying to solve. – Margaret Heffernan
I don’t think a true company – one that builds sustainable value – can ever only exist online or remotely. – Margaret Heffernan
Building businesses takes tremendous stamina, and success isn’t achieved without it. – Margaret Heffernan
