Any man who retreats into a cave which has only one opening deserves to die.

Give as few orders as possible," his father had told him once long ago. "Once you've given orders on a subject, you must always give orders on that subject.

Someone once told me that, when your operations are not good, you should not talk strategy," says Iyer. "Fair enough. But the opposite is also true. If operations are good, then you must talk strategy.

You must learn to rule. It's something none of your ancestors learned.

Obstacles, of course, are developmentally necessary: they teach kids strategy, patience, critical thinking, resilience and resourcefulness.

He uses the nice old words so rich in tradition to be sure I know he means it.