According to the psychologist Irving Janis, is that our sense of belonging (which makes us feel safe) blinds us to dangers and encourages greater risk-taking.

— Margaret Heffernan

A great deal of creativity is about pattern recognition, and what you need to discern patterns is tons of data. Your mind collects that data by taking note of random details and anomalies easily seen every day: quirks and changes that, eventually, add up to insights.

— Margaret Heffernan

All businesses and jobs depend on a vast number of people, often unnoticed and unchanged, without which nothing really gets done. They are all human and deserve respect and gratitude.

— Margaret Heffernan

Britain is famous for being great at inventing and poor at commercializing.

— Margaret Heffernan

British innovation in design, in the creative arts, in engineering and manufacturing is world-class.

— 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

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

For good ideas and true innovation, you need human interaction, conflict, argument, debate.

— Margaret Heffernan

I'm all for ambition and stretch goals. I set them for myself. But leadership isn't the same as cheerleading. Believing in something is a necessary but absolutely insufficient condition for making it come true.

— 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