My boss is quite a guy. He has the ability to look at complex problems and cut right to the heart of things. In addition to asking the kinds of questions that make you think he can peer directly into your mind, he is good at communicating strong concepts with cool metaphors.
Here's the list I've collected so far (these are my paraphrasings - not necessarily his words):
When they train horses, trainers make it easy for them to do the right things and harder to do the wrong things. It works with people, too.
Companies reward people for results - not activity. That's an important difference.
Babe Ruth is remembered for hitting lots of home runs, and for standing up at the plate and pointing to the bleachers beyond the outfield - calling his shots. What people forget is that he didn't have a great batting average, and struck out a lot. There's something to learn from that.
Doing what's uncomfortable to serve the greater good makes all the difference.
Pretty cool stuff.