Warren Bennis Quotes

There are two ways of being creative. One can sing and dance. Or one can create an environment in which singers and dancers flourish.

Most regular, two-year MBA programs provide both experience and the capacity to link together the essential elements of management such as finance, marketing, organizational behavior, and operations.

The original and brilliant idea of an MBA was the opportunity for students to study the theory and application of business and management principles.

A great director or leader knows his people, creates a great team, and then makes a great movie that can influence millions more than the readers of his column.

Create a compelling vision, one that takes people to a new place, and then translate that vision into a reality.

I've become more and more aware of the promise and struggle to teach the global mind nowadays because I use every chance I get to ask faculty and administrators of management education programs why we don't offer at least one course - not even required, just an elective - on the world's religions.

The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why.

Leaders must encourage their organizations to dance to forms of music yet to be heard.

The primary goal of management education was, as originally conceived, to impart knowledge that could be applied to a variety of real-world business situations.

Leadership is the capacity to turn vision into reality.

Find the appropriate balance of competing claims by various groups of stakeholders. All claims deserve consideration but some claims are more important than others.

The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it.

Leaders should always expect the very best of those around them. They know that people can change and grow.

Becoming a leader is synonymous with becoming yourself. It is precisely that simple, and it is also that difficult.

Failing organizations are usually over-managed and under-led.

As my blog editor knows all too well, I wasn't all that keen to enter the blogosphere world.

I wanted the influence. In the end I wasn't very good at being a president. I looked out of the window and thought that the man cutting the lawn actually seemed to have more control over what he was doing.

Success in management requires learning as fast as the world is changing.

The manager has his eye on the bottom line; the leader has his eye on the horizon.

Leaders are people who do the right thing; managers are people who do things right.

People who cannot invent and reinvent themselves must be content with borrowed postures, secondhand ideas, fitting in instead of standing out.

Great things are accomplished by talented people who believe they will accomplish them.

The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range perspective.