"I love working with customers. Sales has really influenced everything I do. It has instilled in me the important traits of operating with a sense of urgency and listening to people."

"When I was a young guy, when I first started with G.E., Jack Welch sent us all to Japan because in those days Japan was gonna crush us. And we learned a lot about Japan when we were there. But over the subsequent 30 years, the Japanese companies all fell behind. And the reason why they fell behind is because they didn't globalize."

"I'd be lying if I didn't say there were days when I went back and said, 'I wish I'd done this. I should have done that. I handled this the wrong way.' But it's always in the motivation of getting better. I've never once looked in the mirror and said, 'Oh boy, can't do this one.'"

"GE sells more than 96 percent of its products to the private sector, where America's future must be built. But government can help business invest in our shared future."

"One-fifth of the people are against everything all the time."

"I hate those e-books. They can not be the future... they may well be... I will be dead."

"Education in the light of present-day knowledge and need calls for some spirited and creative innovations both in the substance and the purpose of current pedagogy."

"Everyone here has the sense that right now is one of those moments when we are influencing the future."