John W. Gardner

It is one of the ironies of history that reformers so often misjudge the consequences of their reforms.

— John W. Gardner

For every talent that poverty has stimulated it has blighted a hundred.

— John W. Gardner

More and more Americans feel threatened by runaway technology, by large-scale organization, by overcrowding. More and more Americans are appalled by the…

— John W. Gardner

History never looks like history when you are living through it.

— John W. Gardner

Political extremism involves two prime ingredients: an excessively simple diagnosis of the world's ills, and a conviction that there are identifiable villains…

— John W. Gardner

The [nonprofit] sector enhances our creativity, enlivens our communities, nurtures individual responsibility, stirs life at the grassroots, and reminds us that we…

— John W. Gardner

The cynic says, "One man can't do anything". I say, "Only one man can do anything."

— John W. Gardner

The world loves talent but pays off on character.

— John W. Gardner

Creativity requires the freedom to consider unthinkable alternatives, to doubt the worth of cherished practices.

— John W. Gardner

One of the reasons people stop learning is that they become less and less willing to risk failure.

— John W. Gardner

Perhaps the most promising trend in our thinking about leadership is the growing conviction that the purposes of the group are best…

— John W. Gardner

“We can keep ourselves so busy, fill our lives with so many diversions, stuff our heads with so much knowledge, involve ourselves…

— John W. Gardner

The play of conflicting interests in a framework of shared purposes is the drama of a free society. It is a robust…

— John W. Gardner

“One of the reasons mature people stop learning is that they become less and less willing to risk failure.”

— John W. Gardner

Our problem is not to find better values but to be faithful to those we profess.

— John W. Gardner

History never looks like history when you are living through it. It always looks confusing and messy, and it always feels uncomfortable.

— John W. Gardner

Renewal is not just innovation and change. It is also the process of bringing the results of change into line with our…

— John W. Gardner

The individual who has become a stranger to himself has lost the capacity for genuine self-renewal.

— John W. Gardner

All laws are an attempt to domesticate the natural ferocity of the species.

— John W. Gardner

The hallmark of our age is the tension between aspirations and sluggish institutions.

— John W. Gardner

If our society continues at its present rate to become less livable as it becomes more affluent, we promise all to end…

— John W. Gardner

The ultimate goal of the educational system is to shift to the individual the burden of pursing his own education. This will…

— John W. Gardner

What leaders have to remember is that somewhere under the somnolent surface is the creature that builds civilizations, the dreamer of dreams,…

— John W. Gardner

Men of integrity, by their very existence, rekindle the belief that as a people we can live above the level of moral…

— John W. Gardner

Leaders develop their styles as they interact with their constituencies. They move toward the style that seems most effective in dealing with…

— John W. Gardner