Quotes About Leadership

I wouldn't say that I'm bossy. I just always know what to do before anyone else does and I do not keep the information to myself.

But then it hasn't really been a focus of our government to make us an educated people.

A CEO's performance is as good as the performance of his middle managers

Countries that quit producing real products, spend more than they produce, lag in education, burden their middle class with higher taxes, and continue to import billions from other countries, bail out failed businesses and reward bad behavior instead of investing in good businesses, will eventually lose their leadership and wealth

For the desert, a camel is better than a horse. - On Situational Leadership; Stamina vs. Speed

Leadership excellence requires a balanced mix of paradoxes. Leaders need to be visionary yet practical, teachers yet learners, and believers yet open-minded.

Take care of the success of those who work with you and they will take care of your success. Honor and respect those who support your success, including the ones who manage you and the ones you manage.

The challenge is that CEOs now think like global investors, while the political leadership thinks like local civil servants. Getting the right policies to attract and develop talented labor, capital and diversify the income sources will determine the prosperity and wealth of the people of each nation.

The knowledge, wealth, and development gaps among nations is reducing and the reign of superpowers is shortening. Just look at the history of the Roman, Islamic, Russian and British empires, the newer the power the shorter the reign. In the economic and business worlds the same power cycles apply. Ford, IBM, Nokia and other companies all lost their leadership position to newer companies.

The leadership team is the most important asset of the company and can be its worst liability

We over-praise leaders when organizations succeed and over-blame them when organizations fail. Success or failure depends on the environment as much as or even more than the leader. Effective leaders navigate and influence the environment to enable key success factors for their followers

You cannot lead others, if you cannot lead yourself. Know yourself and develop self discipline first, the rest is easy

You cut the jacket to fit the person, you do not cut the person to fit the jacket. Do not imitate the strategies of your competitors or blindly implement industry best practices. The Leader of an organization must analyze the situation and customize the business plans to fit the organization's position.

A leader is there to promote a depth of sharing and listening and to keep everyone focused

Roosevelt's policies generated intense pushback from critics who thought the federal government was straying dangerously far beyond its mandate. But what the president knew - and what those contending with the United States' contemporary difficulties would do well to remember - was that the biggest mistake one can make in a crisis is not to do too much. It is to not do enough.

And I want to be able to - you know, make Republicans and Democrats famous for keeping jobs in California.

I have run large organizations, I know what it takes to create a healthy business climate, and I have more experience than Jerry Brown doing that. So it'll be a stark contrast, a career politician vs. someone who has met a payroll, gotten a return on investment, knows how to use technology to do more with less.

You can't stand for too many things. You can't use the bully pulpit for too many things. So, I promise you, every day, I am going to talk about jobs, spending, and education.

I got to get the right people in the right job. Because a lot of costs can be taken out in the context of your administration without the legislature.For example, using technology to do more with less. Using technology to fight fraud. Reorganizing and streamlining can be done within the context of the administration.

Women in powerful positions are never safe from criticism.

Power structures were always fairly easy to figure out if you took a moment to observe the people involved.

When women got into positions of power, they calibrated and recalibrated tenderness and strength, modulating and correcting. Power and love didn't often live side by side. If one came in, the other might go.

Corporate America had tried to get women to behave as badly as men, Faith Frank said, but women did not have to capitulate. They could be strong and powerful, all the while keeping their integrity and decency.

Corporate America had tried to get women to behave as badly as men, Faith Frank said, but women did not have to capitulate.