Business Leadership Quotes

People wish to learn to swim and at the same time to keep one foot on the ground. ~ Marcel Proust

Employee engagement is an investment we make for the privilege of staying in business. ~ Ian Hutchinson

President Roosevelt's leadership put the world on notice that the United States of America - with the freest, most dynamic economy the world had ever seen - was open for business. ~ John Hoeven

Although individuals need not be well-rounded, teams should be. ~ Tom Rath

What we need is political leadership which can give guidance to the development of global governance. We need business leadership which goes beyond shareholder value to understand the needs and fears of other stakeholders and their communities. ~ Juan Somavia

I like to tell people that all of our products and business will go through three phases. There's vision, patience, and execution. ~ Steve Ballmer

Accountants are in the past, managers are in the present, and leaders are in the future. ~ Paul Orfalea

In business, integrity is just as important as in any of the great public offices ... but I believe one of the first and fundamental obligations of competent business leadership is above all to protect the reputation and integrity of the business - to that degree the integrity of the business is the integrity of the leader. ~ Peter Cosgrove

It is essential to employ, trust, and reward those whose perspective, ability, and judgment are radically different from yours. It is also rare, for it requires uncommon humility, tolerance, and wisdom. ~ Dee Hock

What great leaders have in common is that each truly knows his or her strengths - and can call on the right strength at the right time. ~ Tom Rath

To guard our character with unwavering commitment, our best protection comes from being humbly aware of our vulnerability. ~ Lee Ellis

In many ways, the status quo is human nature; people are often paradoxically afraid of change and also afraid of staying the same – but when push comes to shove, staying the same seems safer. ~ Sean A. Culey

Followers have a very clear picture of what they want and need from the most influential leaders in their lives: trust, compassion, stability, and hope ~ Tom Rath

I learned that when you can turn a presentation into a conversation, you have won the battle of converting a client; and second, I learned that the real Carla was my best competitive weapon and my key personal advantage. ~ Carla Harris

Courage is leaning into the doubts and fears to do what you know is right even when it doesn't feel natural or safe. ~ Lee Ellis

Affirming others isn't 'flattering' them - it's when you genuinely and consistently acknowledge their efforts and accomplishments, both large and small. Make affirmation a habit and watch what happens! ~ Lee Ellis

Good leaders know who they are - their strengths, weaknesses, passions, talents, and values. And, developing leaders always starts with self-awareness. ~ Lee Ellis

The author defines professionalism as exemplified by his subjects in their mutual unwillingness to take expected opposition personally. They would not allow grudges to get in the way of more important business. ~ Chris Matthews

Besides, that MBA is a Masters of Business Administration, not a Masters of Business Leadership. ~ Dave Anderson

Leadership happens at every level of the organization and no one can shirk from this responsibility. ~ Jerry Junkins

The most successful businessmen were often uneducated when measured by the scholastic standards of the teaching profession. But they were equal to their social function of adjusting production to the most urgent demand. Because of these merits the consumers chose them for business leadership. ~ Ludwig Von Mises

Good teams are committed to the team mission and to each other personally. Good leaders inspire and build this commitment and trust. ~ Lee Ellis

One of the tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency. ~ Arnold H. Glasow

Meet your people where they are. They may not be as good as they can be, but they are as good as they believe they can be. They are waiting for you to lead them. ~ Susan C. Foster

What helps people, helps business. ~ Leo Burnett

If leadership is the way forward, vision is its walking stick. ~ Nkem Paul

If all the businesses in town are run like country businesses, You are going to have a country town ~ William Faulkner

Sometimes, I think my most important job as a CEO is to listen for bad news. If you don't act on it, your people will eventually stop bringing bad news to your attention and that is the beginning of the end. ~ Bill Gates

Emotional security is the hall-mark of great leadership. ~ Krishna Saagar Rao

Delete, delegate, de-spec, and defer. ~ Shu Hattori

The paradox of change is that while everyone says they want change, not many people actually like it, and even less want to lead it. ~ Sean A. Culey

Vision without an Action is Illusion. Action without a Vision is Confusion. ~ Sunny John

One of the greatest skills - and gifts - is to focus on a person. Make them feel as though they're the only person in the world. ~ Rhonda Rhyne

As is often the case with children, the rule of 'monkey see, monkey do' plays out in the workplace. It's hard to be good role model, and it's one of the greatest challenges of leadership. ~ Lee Ellis

Having a team deliver standards and performance is much easier when they want to be there and want to be led by you. ~ Tony Curl

It takes healthy, resilient leaders and employees to achieve great results. ~ Sue Tetzlaff

Business success depends on good business leadership, and that means hiring and partnering with only the people your business really needs. These are the smart, hardworking people who know your industry as well as, or even better than, you. ~ Kevin J. Donaldson

There is a science to managing high tech businesses, and it needs to be respected. One of them is that in technology businesses, leadership is temporary. It's constantly recycling. So the asset has limited lifetime. ~ Eric Schmidt

Persistence is important in every endeavor. Whether it's finishing your homework, completing school, working late to finish a project, or "finishing the drill" in sports, winners persist to the point of sacrifice in order to achieve their goals. ~ Lee Ellis

To make a decision, all you need is authority. To make a good decision, you also need knowledge, experience, and insight. ~ Denise Moreland

Over-communicating is the glue that holds a high-performing team together and keeps them focused in the same direction. And, it circles back to clarity. Without good, consistent communication, you don't have clarity. ~ Lee Ellis

There are strong people and there are people who claim to be strong. Strong people can conquer and survive anything , but people who claim to be strong lose and suffer in everything they do. The reason is people who claim to be strong don't know that being strong it doesn't mean you should not accept help or ask for help when needed. For them being strong Is faking doing well, holding pain and not crying and doing everything on their own. You are only strong when you admit your situation and on what's really happening and find ways to deal with it. Sometimes might mean asking for help. ~ De Philosopher DJ Kyos

Leaders devoid of crucible experiences are likely to be overly confident about their ideas, and surprisingly more susceptible to fears; this is also true of children who are overly sheltered from facing challenges and experiences that help build their character. Courageously facing our fears in the difficult times gives us both humility and real confidence. ~ Lee Ellis

Professional accountability is a good thing. Without it, excellence is merely a pipe dream and even average performance isn't a realistic expectation. ~ Lee Ellis

The people who are doing the work are the moving force behind the Macintosh. My job is to create a space for them, to clear out the rest of the organization and keep it at bay. ~ Steve Jobs

My sports were team sports: ice hockey and baseball. The whole team dynamic is similar in business. Leadership is earned - the captain earns that role; it's not because he's the coach's son. These are all things we know, but in today's world, it's not a bad idea to remind ourselves. ~ James McNerney

I can honestly say my music is always going to be greater than my business side. Because I'm naturally a musician. And I don't have to get paid, I don't even have to have businesses. Business is business. And music is life. ~ Lil' Wayne

Reliance is the ultimate measure of a team's or organization's culture. It's not 'Would I recommend a friend to work here?' It's 'Would this group of people put their ass on the line for me?' And 'Would I do the same for them? ~ Bill Jensen

I have what I call an iron prescription that helps me keep sane when I naturally drift toward preferring one ideology over another and that is: I say that I'm not entitled to have an opinion on this subject unless I can state the arguments against my position better than the people who support it. I think only when I've reached that state am I qualified to speak. This business of not drifting into extreme ideology is a very, very important thing in life ~ Charlie Munger

Bigwig: "I can't think why he didn't convince Threarah."
Hazel: "Because Threarah doesn't like anything he hasn't thought of for himself. ~ Richard Adams

It is impossible to think big without thinking complex. ~ Duncan Bannatyne

The more princes abstain from touching the wealth of their people, the greater will be their resources in the wants of the state. ~ Pulcheria

When you buy a product, you don't just buy the product: you buy everything that company stands for.

Sisters, are your things rooted in peace? ~ Ashley Asti

If you are not extreme, then people will take shortcuts because they don't fear you. ~ Marco Pierre White

Live a life of purpose. Be a voice to be reckoned with. Do not be lost in the midst of the crowd. Contribute your own quota to the transformation going on where God planted you. ~ Benjamin Suulola

Leadership is not a title, a position or an Office but a function ~ Kayode Fayemi

The principles that guide your decisions as a leader must not be contradictory to your personal values. Your personal values must lay the strong foundation on which you build your leadership tenets. In becoming a principle-centred leader, these leadership values become your guiding principles and lenses for decision making. ~ Archibald Marwizi

Everyone who worked on 'The Fox and the Hound' is important. We're all lucky to be in a business that we love. ~ Mickey Rooney

The happiest time in a man's life is when he is in the red hot pursuit of a dollar with a reasonable prospect of overtaking it. ~ Josh Billings

Don't worry about me. I plan to continue to be in show business. I have already been booked to be in a production of 'The Sunshine Boys' with Jay Leno. ~ David Letterman

Varium et mutabile! murmurs the man sagely - "A woman's privilege is to change her mind!" If the nature of his industry were such that he had to change his mind from cooking to cleaning, from cleaning to sewing, from sewing to nursing, from nursing to teaching, and so, backward, forward, crosswise and over again, from morning to night - he too would become adept in the lightning-change act. The man adopts one business and follows it. He develops special ability, on long lines, in connection with wide interests - and so grows broader and steadier. The distinction is there, but it is not a distinction of sex. This is why the man forgets to mail the letter. He is used to one consecutive train of thought and action. She, used to a varying zigzag horde of little things, can readily accommodate a few more. ~ Charlotte Perkins Gilman

I think everybody has their own way of looking at their lives as some kind of pilgrimage. Some people will see their role as a pilgrim in terms of setting up a fine family, or establishing a business inheritance. Everyone's got their own definition. Mine, I suppose, is to know myself. ~ Eric Clapton

I love to bring humour into my work. Because comedy is not a huge part of the art world. And big-business film takes itself very seriously. ~ James Franco

What Wall Street is, they're market makers. Wall Street's business model is making money on velocity of money. They're a click industry. That's what Wall Street is. They make a lot of money when there's a lot of turnover. And they make a lot of money when that velocity is fast. ~ Laurence D. Fink

Vision sees what could be. ~ Johnny Hunt

Women, when they are old enough to have done with the business of being women, and can let loose their strength, must be the most powerful creatures in the world. ~ Isak Denisen

There is, of course, a world of difference between cricket and the movie business ... I suppose doing a love scene with Racquel Welch roughly corresponds to scoring a century be fore lunch. ~ Oliver Reed

What goes in your butthole is your business, all we care about is making sure Chipotle is what comes out of it. - Rodrigo Chipotle ~ Kindle Alexander

What happens in Britain, what happens in the world, matters a lot to us in our core business. ~ Satya Nadella

It's been a joy to be a part of other people's journey, to be able to inspire and be a part of new singers coming up in this business. ~ Christina Aguilera

There are pros and cons of experience. A con is that you can't look at the business with a fresh pair of eyes and as objectively as if you were a new CEO. Fire yourself on a Friday night and come in on Monday morning as if a search firm put you there as a turn-around leader. Can you be objective and make the bold change? ~ Andrea Jung

It's still a bottom-line business. You can be out of control, and if they want you, they'll pick you. And you can be a mensch, and if you're not the product they want, you won't get it. ~ Judd Nelson

Doing a residency in any particular city requires a large repertoire to ensure repeat business. ~ Prince

Our mandate is to find the 200 best companies in the world and invest in them, and find the 200 worst companies in the world and go short on them. If the 200 best don't do better than the 200 worst, you should probably be in another business. ~ Julian Robertson

When I'm out of politics I'm going to run a business, it'll be called rent-a-spine ~ Margaret Thatcher

Tomorrow's leaders will not lead dictating from the front, nor pushing from the back. They will lead from the centre - from the heart ~ Rasheed Ogunlaru

Staff has a genius for sitting on its brains and coming up with perfect hindsight. ~ Leo Gordon