Quotes in leadership

A good question for anybody in business to ask is What business are we in? To do well what we are doing-i.e., to turn out a good product, or good service, whatever it be? Yes, of course, but this is not enough. We must keep asking - What product or service would help our customers more? We must think about the future. What will we be making 5 years from now? 10 years from now?

You manage things; you lead people.

Does a security guard empower the CEO to enter the building?

Profit in business comes from repeat customers, customers that boast about your product and service, and that bring friends with them.

So much of what we call management consists in making it difficult for people to work.

Long-term commitment to new learning and new philosophy is required of any management that seeks transformation. The timid and the fainthearted, and people that expect quick results, are doomed to disappointment.

Top management should publish a resolution that no one will lose his job for contribution to quality and productivity.

Don't worry about people stealing an idea. If it's original, you will have to ram it down their throats.

Managers must see themselves as experimenters who lead learning, not dictators who impose control.

Persuasion is often more effectual than force.