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.

And if you go too far up, abstraction-wise, you run out of oxygen. Sometimes smart thinkers just don't know when to stop, and they create these absurd, all-encompassing, high-level pictures of the universe that are all good and fine, but don't actually mean anything at all. -- Joel Spolsky

- Gbi de fer - Howa! - On va en France - Non, je vais pas! - Pourquoi? - Parce ki y a pas agouti là-bas! -- Gbi de fer

Dont give users the opportunity to lock themselves. -- unknown

We tend to seek easy, single-factor explanations of success. For most important things, though, success actually requires avoiding many separate causes of failure. -- Jared Diamond

Photography is painting with light. -- Eric Hamilton

The only way to do great work is to love what you do. –Steve Jobs

The only way to do great work is to love what you do. –Steve Jobs

Life isn't about getting and having, it's about giving and being. –Kevin Kruse

Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans. –John Lennon