Quotes About Action

Today is always the result of actions and decisions taken yesterday. Man, however, whatever his title or rank, cannot foresee the future. Yesterday's actions and decisions, no matter how courageous or wise they may have been, inevitably become today's problems

Many brilliant people believe that ideas move mountains. But bulldozers move mountains; ideas show where the bulldozers should go to work.

Managers are action-focused; they are not philosophers and should not be.

A crisis that recurs a second time is a crisis that must not occur again.

The action plan is a statement of intentions rather than a commitment. It must not become a straitjacket. It should be revised often, because every success creates new opportunities. So does every failure.

Around here, I am only the guy who is responsible. If these men don't know what to do when they run into an enemy in the jungle, I'm too far away to tell them. My job is to make sure they know. What they do depends on the situation which only they can judge. The responsibility is always mine, but the decision lies with whoever is on the spot." In

The greatest wisdom not applied to action and behaviour is meaningless data

A decision is a judgment. It is a choice between alternatives. It is rarely a choice between right and wrong. It is at best a choice between "almost right" and "probably wrong"—but much more often a choice between two courses of action neither of which is provably more nearly right than the other.

tonsils or half the appendix risks as much infection or shock as if he did the whole job. And he has not cured the condition, has indeed made it worse. He either operates or he doesn't. Similarly, the effective decision-maker either acts or he doesn't act. He does not take half-action. This is the one thing that is always wrong, and the one sure way not to satisfy the minimum specifications, the minimum boundary conditions.

The assertion that "somebody else will not let me do anything" should always be suspected as a cover-up for inertia.

el efectivo hombre de decisiones actúa o no actúa. Nunca obra a medias. Actuar a medias equivale, siempre, a equivocarse y es la manera más segura de no satisfacer las especificaciones mínimas

expected to get the right things done.

The greatest wisdom not applied to action and behavior is meaningless data.

Planning and doing are separate parts of the same job; they are not separate jobs. There is no work that can be performed effectively unless it contains elements of both. One

problem solving, however necessary, does not produce results. It prevents damage. Exploiting opportunities produces results.

If it were a decision today to start something you are already in (to enter a business, to hire a person, to institute a policy, to launch a project, etc.), would you? If not, then why do you persist?

Effectiveness as an executive demands doing certain—and fairly simple—things.

But innovation and change make inordinate time demands on the executive. All one can think and do in a short time is to think what one already knows and to do as one has always done.

The first two practices gave them the knowledge they needed. The next four helped them convert this knowledge into effective action. The last two ensured that the whole organization felt responsible and accountable.

Note that the question is not "What do I want to do?" Asking what has to be done, and taking the question seriously, is crucial for managerial success.

Effective executives, finally, make effective decisions

Without an action plan, the executive becomes a prisoner of events.

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Problems have to be taken care of, of course; they must not be swept under the rug.