B Altman Quotes

Dana daydreamed of one day being able to set her agenda at B.Altman with the same courage and tenacity as the woman who was now driving the VW while speaking animatedly about her travel plans for the near future. She would be journeying to India in search of exotic merchandise for the store's Indian extravaganza, a lavish event planned by Ira Neimark and Dawn Mello to compete with Bloomingdale's Retailing as Theater movement. The movement was the brainchild of Bloomingdale's Marvin Traub, who staged elaborate presentations such as China: Heralding the Dawn of a New Era. Typical extravaganzas featured fashion, clothing, food, and art from various regions of the world.
"I'll bring back enough items to make Bloomingdale's blush!" Nina said confidently. "And I'm not just talking sweaters, hats, and walking sticks. I'll stop first in the Himalayas and prowl the Landour Bazaar."
Lynn Steward ~ A Very Good Life ~ Lynn Steward

If someone is difficult to talk to, if someone cannot communicate clearly, it's a real problem in terms of their likelihood to work out. ~ Sam Altman

The way to have a company that executes well is you have to execute well yourself. ~ Sam Altman

Many Russia experts note the deep and sad capacity of the Russian people for suffering. ~ Roger Altman

So I moved to Europe and only came back when directors like Robert Altman would call me after they'd seen my work in Full Metal Jacket. ~ Vincent D'Onofrio

The WTO has outlived its usefulness as a setting for trade negotiations. It can still be a good place to resolve disputes (though this can take years) and share ideas, but most countries would be better off choosing their own trading partners and lowering trade barriers at their own pace. ~ Daniel Altman

The way you get deals done and the way you get good terms, is to have a competitive situation. ~ Sam Altman

Employees will only add more value over time. ~ Sam Altman

If you have the opportunity to go be an early employee at a company that's just going crazy, and you believe it's the next Facebook or Google, you should go join that company. ~ Sam Altman

The thing that kills startups at some level, is the founders giving up. ~ Sam Altman

At YC we have this public phrase, and it's relentlessly resourceful. ~ Sam Altman

M&A negotiations feel really fun. This is one of the biggest killers of companies, is they entertain acquisition conversations. ~ Sam Altman

A single mediocre hire in the first five will often in fact kill a startup. ~ Sam Altman

Losing focus is another way that founders get off track. ~ Sam Altman

One of the biggest advantages that start ups have is execution speed, and you have to have this relentless operating rhythm. ~ Sam Altman

Growth and momentum are what a startup lives on and you always have to focus on maintaining these. ~ Sam Altman

No growth hack, brilliant marketing idea, or sales team can save you long term if you don't have a sufficiently good product. ~ Sam Altman

The point of an accelerator is to teach you about companies and business, not about technology. ~ Sam Altman

Developing a personal connection with anyone you're trying to do a big deal with is really important. ~ Sam Altman

A lot of people treat choosing their cofounder with even less importance than they put on hiring. Don't do this. ~ Sam Altman

A related advantage of mission oriented ideas, is that you yourself will be dedicated to them. ~ Sam Altman

There is a lot of stuff I like. I love backpacking. I love going to an island where I can just sit on the beach and read or scuba dive and sail. I do a lot of that. I still go backpacking around Europe in the summers and staying in hostels. I love that. ~ Sam Altman

You should think about for the next 10 years, you're going to be giving out 3-5% of the company every year. ~ Sam Altman

We have more choices than we choose to accept. ~ Mara Altman

Firing people is one of the worst parts of running a company. Actually in my own experience, I think it is the worst. ~ Sam Altman

I did 'Celebrity' by Woody Allen. I did 'The Gingerbread Man' with Robert Altman. These were big talents. ~ Kenneth Branagh

With Altman, he does discuss everything with you, but then leaves you to it and gives you full rein and lets you improvise and create a character while the camera is rolling. ~ Vincent D'Onofrio

I grew up with a computer, and many of my friends were people I met online. ~ Sam Altman

Great execution is at least 10 times more important and a 100 times harder than a good idea ... ~ Sam Altman

Cheap natural gas is a big stimulus to petrochemical production and a meaningful one for all U.S. manufacturing. ~ Roger Altman

About seven years later I was given a book about the periodic table of the elements. For the first time I saw the elegance of scientific theory and its predictive power. ~ Sidney Altman

In addition to relentlessly resourceful, you want a tough and a calm cofounder. ~ Sam Altman

Most things are not as risky as they seem. ~ Sam Altman

Quiet the noise around you; soften its pitch. Our deepest stories are our best teachers. Let the weapons of the weak - the poison, the nagging, the gossip - burn themselves to ash. Cast them to the wind. Take back the permission to succeed. Make it yours. ~ Elissa Altman

Keep salaries low and equity high. Keep the organization as flat as you can. ~ Sam Altman

To be alive is to totally and openly participate in the simplicity and elegance of here and now. ~ Don Altman

Do you think we would become a better civilization if we all took acid? TR: Oh, absolutely. I think that LSD is the genie in the bottle of the world. ~ Mara Altman

We live in an era where the global capital markets are the super power in the world, and when they move against you as they've moved against Russia, as we've all seen in the ruble, there's nothing that can stop that. ~ Roger Altman

I believe in fighting with investors to reduce the amount of equity they get and then being as generous as you possibly can with employees. ~ Sam Altman

Investors will sort of like write the check and then, despite a lot of promises, don't usually do that much; sometimes they do. ~ Sam Altman

Robert Altman made that movie Kansas City about the jazz scene in the city, and we saw that band all together, and that was an amazing show. That's what I got into. I like jazz. ~ Nick Kroll

So it's worth some real up front time to think through the long term value and the defensibility of the business. ~ Sam Altman

Why couldn't it have been done 2 years ago, and why will 2 years in the future be too late? ~ Sam Altman

You need unstoppable people. You want people that are just going to get it done. ~ Sam Altman

There's at least a hundred times more people with great ideas than people that are willing to put in the effort to execute them well. ~ Sam Altman

Don't let yourself make excuses for not doing the things you want to do. ~ Sam Altman