Growing up, I heard a lot about strength. My dad - a Holocaust survivor - embodied it, though he would never say that about himself. Not only did he survive one of the most horrific events in history, but he never lost hope along the way, crediting acts of kindness with keeping him alive.

KIND had grown from a team of dedicated, overworked generalists to a large, professional organization with specialists who had either come in from outside or had been groomed internally to grow in a focused area about which they're passionate.

Big failures hold better lessons than any success - as long as you are in tune with yourself and are open to learning from them. I can trace every one of my accomplishments to earlier failures that I learned from.

Emotional intelligence is a very important skill set, not just to be happier but also to succeed professionally.

A big part of leadership is just being comfortable with the fact that some decisions really are only yours.

People, including business leaders, are willing to be open-minded about investment dollars when they know where they are going - and what purpose they are going to be dedicated - as opposed to just going into the black abyss of the general fund.

Saddam Hussein has set an example of defiance, especially against the first President Bush, that other Arab leaders cannot and should not emulate; the example leads only to empty gestures and developmental stagnation, both of which the Arab nations have had enough of already.

Courage breeds leadership.