Quotes from Larry Bossidy

There's a saying we recently heard: We don't think ourselves into a new way of acting, we act ourselves into a new way of thinking.

The general environment is the same for every player. What differentiates the successful ones are their insights, perceptions, and abilities to detect patterns of change and relate them to their landscape, industries, competition, and business.

Follow-through is the cornerstone of execution, and every leader who's good at executing follows through religiously. Following through ensures that people are doing the things they committed to do, according to the agreed timetable.

While understanding reality is crucial, equally important is communicating it to your people.

To understand execution, you have to keep three key points in mind: Execution is a discipline, and integral to strategy. Execution is the major job of the business leader. Execution must be a core element of an organization's culture.

Much has been written about Jack Welch's style of management—especially his toughness and bluntness, which some people call ruthlessness. We would argue that the core of his management legacy is that he forced realism into all of GE's management processes, making it a model of an execution culture.

Self-awareness gives you the capacity to learn from your mistakes as well as your successes. It enables you to keep growing.