Architecting Leaders Quotes

If you're not critical about your history, that can be a problem because there are religious leaders, politicians and all kinds of powerful people who can take advantage of a population that isn't really thinking. ~ Jose Gonzalez

The fascist dictator declares that the masses of people are biologically inferior and crave authority, that basically, they are slaves by nature. Hence, a totalitarian authoritarian regime is the only possible form of government for such people. It is significant that all dictators who today plunge the world into misery stem from the suppressed masses of people. They are intimately familiar with this sickness on the part of masses of people. What they lack is an insight into natural processes and development, the will to truth and research, so that they are never moved by a desire to want to change these facts.

On the other hand, the formal democratic leaders made the mistake of assuming that the masses of people were automatically capable of freedom and thereby precluded every possibility of establishing freedom and self-responsibility in masses of people as long as they were in power. They were engulfed in the catastrophe and will never reappear.

Our answer is scientific and rational. It is based on the fact that masses of people are indeed incapable of freedom, but it does not - as racial mysticism does - look upon this incapacity as absolute, innate, and eternal. It regards this incapacity as the result of former social conditions of life and, therefore, as changeable. ~ Wilhelm Reich

The role of the United Nations is to set the mental clocks of the world leaders from past problems to the present opportunities and from local power mindset to global welfare mindset. ~ Amit Ray

I have seen humility in many of the finest leaders I have met the world over. And indeed, it is embodied in the warm, engaging and quintessentially successful spirit of Sir Richard Branson. ~ Naveen Jain

All Jews, however, in proportion as they are one with the leaders and rulers of their race, will oppose the influence of the supernatural Life of Grace in society and will be an active ferment of Naturalism. ~ Denis Fahey

I always believe leaders are readers, so you've got to read 30 minutes a day of something that's going to inspire you. ~ Tony Robbins

The world can no longer be left to mere diplomats, politicians, and business leaders. They have done the best they could, no doubt. But this is an age for spiritual heroes- a time for men and women to be heroic in their faith and in spiritual character and power. The greatest danger to the Christian church today is that of pitching its message too low. ~ Dallas Willard

Leaders are the ones who run headfirst into the unknown. They rush toward the danger. They put their own interests aside to protect us or to pull us into the future. Leaders would sooner sacrifice what is theirs to save what is ours. And they would never sacrifice what is ours to save what is theirs. This is what it means to be a leader. It means they choose to go first into danger, headfirst toward the unknown. And when we feel sure they will keep us safe, we will march behind them and work tirelessly to see their visions come to life and proudly call ourselves their followers. ~ Simon Sinek

You shouldn't blindly accept a leader's advice. You've got to question leaders on occasion. ~ Richard Branson

Blind faith in your leaders, or in anything, will get you killed. ~ Bruce Springsteen

I believe that the Jews have made a contribution to the human condition out of all proportion to their numbers: I believe them to be an immense people. Not only have they supplied the world with two leaders of the stature of Jesus Christ and Karl Marx, but they have even indulged in the luxury of following neither one nor the other. ~ Peter Ustinov

When leaders acquire the skills that enable them to release the productive potential and tap the collective capabilities of the group, who knows what positive results will be achieved? Some of them may move mountains. ~ Thomas Gordon

If the workers see themselves faced with defeat through starvation, they will prefer to go down fighting rather than fainting - and whether or not we leaders agree. ~ Ernest Bevin

Everybody is living for a purpose, you might turn out to be significant or insignificant depending on the kind of message you are feeding the world with. ~ Michael Bassey Johnson

God designed the church to be a community of lifelong learners under the earthly guidance of leaders who are teachers at heart. The Christian faith is not a finite course of study for the front-end of adulthood. Our mind-set shouldn't be to first do our learning and then spend the rest of our lives drawing from that original deposit of knowledge. Rather, ongoing health in the Christian life is inextricably linked to ongoing learning. ~ David Mathis

The most successful leader of all is the one who sees another picture not yet actualized. He sees the things which are not yet there ... Above all, he should make his co-workers see that it is not his purpose which is to be achieved, but a common purpose, born of the desires and the activities of the group. ~ Mary Parker Follett

Be wary of great leaders. ~ Pete Seeger

For centuries the leaders of Christian thought spoke of women as a necessary evil, and the greatest saints of the Church are those who despise women the most. ~ Annie Besant

Real leadership is not seeking the applause from followers; real leadership is applauding the followers who become leaders. ~ Onyi Anyado

The greatest leaders have the ability to have one eye on the prize and the other in the moment. When either one is lost they both will fail. ~ Ford Taylor

it's well to take a look at what new rascals you are going to get before you jump at any chance to turn your present rascals out. Democracy is a poor system of government at best; the only thing that can honestly be said in its favor is that it is about eight times as good as any other method the human race has ever tried. Democracy's worst fault is that its leaders are likely to reflect the faults and virtues of their constituents - a depressingly low level, but what else can you expect? ~ Robert A. Heinlein

Leaders are lovers of change. Without change, growth is static. To lead, you have to appreciate change; else change will depreciate you! ~ Israelmore Ayivor

To paraphrase Augustine, if you want to know your God-given gifts, first know that the purpose of spiritual gifts is to bring unity to the church. Then "love God and do what you feel like doing." But there is more to the unleashing of gifts in the body. One of the bad fruits of an "I" church is that we don't tell people when they bless us. If someone has taught Sunday school and helped us understand a passage of Scripture, then we should tell the person and encourage his or her gift. If worship leaders left us rejoicing that we have been with God's people in his presence, then thank them for the specific ways they blessed you and the church. No one should have to ask what their gifts are; we should tell people their gifts as they minister to us. Can ~ Edward T. Welch

To narrow natural rights to such neat slogans as "liberty, equality, fraternity" or "life, liberty, property," . . . was to ignore the complexity of public affairs and to leave out of consideration most moral relationships. . . .

Burke appealed back beyond Locke to an idea of community far warmer and richer than Locke's or Hobbes's aggregation of individuals. The true compact of society, Burke told his countrymen, is eternal: it joins the dead, the living, and the unborn. We all participate in this spiritual and social partnership, because it is ordained of God. In defense of social harmony, Burke appealed to what Locke had ignored: the love of neighbor and the sense of duty. By the time of the French Revolution, Locke's argument in the Second Treatise already had become insufficient to sustain a social order. . . .

The Constitution is not a theoretical document at all, and the influence of Locke upon it is negligible, although Locke's phrases, at least, crept into the Declaration of Independence, despite Jefferson's awkwardness about confessing the source of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

If we turn to the books read and quoted by American leaders near the end of the eighteenth century, we discover that Locke was but one philosopher and political advocate among the many writers whose influence they acknowledged. . . .

Even Jefferson, though he had read Locke, cites in his Commonplace Book such juridical authorities ~ Russell Kirk

I've written extensively on Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth and seen up close how those women, who were born when the country hoped for a male heir, made their way as leaders. ~ Kate Williams

If San Francisco is indeed a city of leaders, then I think we should lead, and if we don't want a chain store, then we should say so loudly. ~ Chicken John

One must say bluntly that it is an unattractive sight when, with a view to smearing the Soviet people, leaders of such a country as the United States resort to what almost amounts to obscenities alternating with hypocritical preaching about morals and humanism. ~ Yuri Andropov

We are each other's seventh largest trading partner, we are the fifth largest investor there and likewise, we have a lot of exchanges between political leaders, businessmen, tourists and school children too. ~ Sellapan Ramanathan

Leaders are dealers in hope. ~ Mark Miller

I meant the moral to be that revolutions only effect a radical improvement when the masses are alert and know how to chuck out their leaders as soon as the latter have done their job. ~ George Orwell

You see, King, we have a legend - I used to believe that it was all fairy-tale rubbish and empty smoke. It is a legend about how such things as war and death and despair were common in our country at one time. These terrible words, which we have long since stopped using in our language, can be read in collections of our old tales, and they sound awful to us and even a little ridiculous. Today I've learned that these tales are all true ... But now tell me, don't you have in your soul a sort of intimation that you're not doing the right thing? Don't you have a yearning for bright, serene gods, for sensible and cheerful leaders and mentors? Don't you ever dream in your sleep about another, more beautiful life where nobody is envious of others, where reason and order prevails, where people treat other people only with cheerfulness and considerations? ~ Hermann Hesse

Selflessness is the highest goal of good leaders. ~ Todd Stocker

Leaders must see the dream in their mind before they will accomplish the dream with their team. ~ Orrin Woodward

The BoDs and business leaders must work with the right mindset to make good policies and create an inclusive organization with every dip in the business life cycle. ~ Pearl Zhu

The people of Missouri said they expect their elected leaders to support public schools because they know that education is the best economic development tool there is. ~ Jay Nixon

All religious leaders and spiritual teachers emphasize finding a place within us that is true. People who obsessively follow these leaders instead of their own purpose attach to the spiritual leader and become fanatical and controlling. That's why Jesus tried to tell his followers not to get attached to outward form. ~ Martha Beck

Reasons are the spoils of victory. When you've destroyed the enemy, then your leaders write down the reasons in books, and give moving speeches about them. If you've done your job, then there aren't any of the enemy left to dispute your leader's reasons. At least not until the next war. ~ Terry Goodkind

A great leader's courage to fulfill his vision comes from passion, not position. ~ John C. Maxwell

I would not be a Moses to lead you into the Promised Land, because if I could lead you into it, someone else could lead you out of it. ~ Eugene V. Debs

You break the legs of your leadership chair when you chase after other people's assignments instead of pursing yours! ~ Israelmore Ayivor

The most effective leaders of companies in transition are the quiet, unassuming people whose inner wiring is such that the worst circumstances bring out their best. They're unflappable, they're ready to die if they have to. But you can trust that, when bad things are happening, they will become clearheaded and focused. ~ James C. Collins

There are no office hours for leaders. ~ James Gibbons

I worry that business leaders are more interested in material gain than they are in having the patience to build up a strong organization, and a strong organization starts with caring for their people. ~ John Wooden

As we surge towards Indonesia 2045, those who will lead us must have special qualities. To begin with, they will need to exercise transformational, rather than transactional, leadership. This means forward- looking leaders who will continue to transform the nation across sectors. They will need to have a higher risk-appetite and the courage to challenge old assumptions, while coming up with new ideas that suit present- day challenges. ~ Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

I look at tens of thousands of church leaders who still do need a bit of an awakening. ~ Bill Hybels

Leaders step up, even when they feel like hiding. And they do so because they care. ~ Michele Jennae

The power of these recommendations is that they come from leaders representing a broad spectrum of religious conviction. At the table were people with Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Native American and humanist perspectives, as well as individuals from advocacy groups ranging from the American Civil Liberties Union to the American Center for Law and Justice. ~ Charles Haynes

Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person. ~ Mother Teresa