Reading history books can be useful, but the best thing is to read old books. - Paul Graham

Benioff is eccentric and maybe well-meaning but I can't help noticing his oscillations coincide with whatever side has the upper hand.

Steve Jobs saved a company that was in a terminal decline. And not merely in the way a turnaround specialist does, by cutting costs; he had to decide what Apple’s next products should be. Few others could have done it.

Another reason people don't work on big projects is, ironically, fear of wasting time. What if they fail? Then all the time they spent on it will be wasted. (In fact it probably won't be, because work on hard projects almost always leads somewhere.)