What do Americans look for in a car? I've heard many answers when I've asked this question. The answers include excellent safety ratings, great gas mileage, handling, and cornering ability, among others. I don't believe any of these. That's because the first principle of the Culture Code is that the only effective way to understand what people truly mean is to ignore what they say. This is not to suggest that people intentionally lie or misrepresent themselves. What it means is that, when asked direct questions about their interests and preferences, people tend to give answers they believe the questioner wants to hear. Again, this is not because they intend to mislead. It is because people respond to these questions with their cortexes, the parts of their brains that control intelligence rather than emotion or instinct. They ponder a question, they process a question, and when they deliver an answer, it is the product of deliberation. They believe they are telling the truth. A lie detector would confirm this. In most cases, however, they aren't saying what they mean. -- The culture code.

You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams. -- Dr. Seuss

You can recognize truth by its beauty and simplicity. When you get it right, it is obvious that it is right. -- Richard Feynman

Quality of the people is better than the quality of the business idea. Crappy people can screw up the best idea in the world. -- Hadi Partovi & Ali Partovi (iLike.com), Talk at StartupSchool2007

Good programmers use their brains, but good guidelines save us having to think out every case. -- Francis Glassborow

640K ought to be enough for anybody. -- Bill Gates, 1981

15.Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. –Charles Swindoll

The best reason to start an organization is to make meaning; to create a product or service to make the world a better place. ~Guy Kawasaki

Eighty percent of success is showing up. –Woody Allen

If you want to achieve excellence, you can get there today. As of this second, quit doing less-than-excellent work. ~Thomas J. Watson