Business Strategy Quotes

Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt. ~ Sun Tzu

The spot where we intend to fight must not be made known; for then the enemy will have to prepare against a possible attack at several different points; ~ Sun Tzu

At first, then, exhibit the coyness of a maiden, until the enemy gives you an opening; afterwards emulate the rapidity of a running hare, and it will be too late for the enemy to oppose you. ~ Sun Tzu

The digital capability is modular, dynamic, and nonlinear, having many visible and invisible business elements, for improving organizational competency, and enabling business strategy. ~ Pearl Zhu

Rouse him, and learn the principle of his activity or inactivity. Force him to reveal himself, so as to find out his vulnerable spots. ~ Sun Tzu

There are not more than five primary colors (blue, yellow, red, white, and black), yet in combination they produce more hues than can ever been seen. ~ Sun Tzu

I think I've changed my business strategy every year since 2003. You have to be watching the horizon constantly. The rug has been pulled out from under our feet so many times. ~ John Allison

You can't base an industry solely on one person. That's a very vulnerable business strategy. ~ John Key

Cutting prices or putting things on sale is not sustainable business strategy. ~ Howard Schultz

You can be sure of succeeding in your attacks if you only attack places which are undefended. ~ Sun Tzu

When the outlook is bright, bring it before their eyes; but tell them nothing when the situation is gloomy. ~ Sun Tzu

Attack is the secret of defense; defense is the planning of an attack. ~ Sun Tzu

Be stern in the council-chamber, [Show no weakness, and insist on your plans being ratified by the sovereign.] so that you may control the situation. ~ Sun Tzu

If we wish to wrest an advantage from the enemy, we must not fix our minds on that alone, but allow for the possibility of the enemy also doing some harm to us, and let this enter as a factor into our calculations. ~ Sun Tzu

There are roads which must not be followed, armies which must not be attacked, towns which must not be besieged, positions which must not be contested, commands of the sovereign which must not be obeyed. ~ Sun Tzu

Bravery without forethought, causes a man to fight blindly and desperately like a mad bull. Such an opponent, must not be encountered with brute force, but may be lured into an ambush and slain. ~ Sun Tzu

If he sends reinforcements everywhere, he will everywhere be weak. ~ Sun Tzu

All men can see the tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved. ~ Sun Tzu

If you fight with all your might, there is a chance of life; where as death is certain if you cling to your corner ~ Sun Tzu

Ground on which we can only be saved from destruction by fighting without delay, is desperate ground. ~ Sun Tzu

If his forces are united, separate them. ~ Sun Tzu

A strategy is something like, an innovative new product; globalization, taking your products around the world; be the low-cost producer. A strategy is something you can touch; you can motivate people with; be number one and number two in every business. You can energize people around the message. ~ Jack Welch

Great results, can be achieved with small forces. ~ Sun Tzu

To begin by bluster, but afterwards to take fright at the enemy's numbers, shows a supreme lack of intelligence. ~ Sun Tzu

Strategy is not about doing things ... it's about doing things deliberately. ~ Buffi Neal

What business strategy is all about-what distinguishes it from all other kinds of business planning-is, in a word, competitive advantage. Without competitors there would be no need for strategy, for the sole purpose of strategic planning is to enable the company to gain, as efficiently as possible, a sustainable edge over its competitors. ~ Kenichi Ohmae

Unless a variety of opinions are laid before us, we have no opportunity of selection, but are bound of necessity to adopt the particular view which may have been brought forward. ~ Herodotus

I very frequently get the question: 'What's going to change in the next 10 years?' And that is a very interesting question; it's a very common one. I almost never get the question: 'What's not going to change in the next 10 years?' And I submit to you that that second question is actually the more important of the two -- because you can build a business strategy around the things that are stable in time. ... [I]n our retail business, we know that customers want low prices, and I know that's going to be true 10 years from now. They want fast delivery; they want vast selection. It's impossible to imagine a future 10 years from now where a customer comes up and says, 'Jeff I love Amazon; I just wish the prices were a little higher,' [or] 'I love Amazon; I just wish you'd deliver a little more slowly.' Impossible. And so the effort we put into those things, spinning those things up, we know the energy we put into it today will still be paying off dividends for our customers 10 years from now. When you have something that you know is true, even over the long term, you can afford to put a lot of energy into it. ~ Jeff Bezos

Most change strategy models are not very strategic – change strategy is an important lynchpin between business strategy and change tactics. ~ Paul Gibbons

We don't have much in the way of a business strategy. Like no business plan. Which I say to torment all my friends who are VCs or MBAs. That's always entertaining. The deal is, it's a mixture of luck and persistence. ~ Craig Newmark

The three main observactions - (1) the tail of available variety is far longer than we realize; (2) it's now within reach economically; (3) all those niches, when aggregated, can make up a significant market - seemed indisputable, especially baked up with heretofore unseen data. ~ Chris Anderson

There's a value in that space - rent, overhead, staffing costs, etc. - that has to be paid back by a certain number of inventory turns per month. In other words, the onesies and twosies waste space. However, when that space doesn't cost anything, suddenly you can look at those infrequent sellers again, and they begin to have value. This was the insight that led to Amazon, Netflix, and all the other companies I was talking to. ~ Chris Anderson

Rewards for good service should not be deferred a single day. ~ Sun Tzu

If those who are sent to draw water begin by drinking themselves, the army is suffering from thirst. [One may know the condition of a whole army from the behavior of a single man.] ~ Sun Tzu

Design thinking can be described as a discipline that uses the designer's sensibility and methods to match people's needs with what is technologically feasible and what a viable business strategy can convert into customer value and market opportunity. ~ Thomas Lockwood

When the common soldiers are too strong and their officers too weak, the result is INSUBORDINATION. ~ Sun Tzu

Who does not know the evils of war cannot appreciate its benefits ~ Sun Tzu

In real life, strategy is actually very straightforward. You pick a general direction and implement like hell. ~ Jack Welch

What people intuitively grasped was the new efficiences in distribution, manufacturing, and marketing were changing the definition of what was commercially viable across the board. The best way to describe these forces is that they are turning unprofitable customers, products, and markets into profitable ones. Although this phenomenon is most obvious in entertainment and media, it's an easy leap to eBay to see it at work more broadly, from cars to crafts. Seen broadly, it's clear that the story of the Long Tail is really about the economics of abundance - what happens when the bottlenecks and stand between supply and demand in our culture start to disappear and everything becomes available to everyone. ~ Chris Anderson

what is genuine emotion and what is business strategy. The modern condition. ~ Steven Kotler

The period from 2002 to 2007 was probably our best period. We created a strategy to build global scale, footprints in each of the geographies and dramatically built our international business. ~ Baba Kalyani

I generally disagree with most of the very high margin opportunities. Why? Because it's a business strategy tradeoff: the lower the margin you take, the faster you grow. ~ Vinod Khosla

We cannot enter into alliances until we are acquainted with the designs of our neighbors. ~ Sun Tzu

Let's execute along this strategy, but know that we'll probably get some of this wrong, so be open to changing it. ~ Alan G. Lafley

Whether in an advantageous position or a disadvantageous one, the opposite state should be always present to your mind. ~ Sun Tzu

What we're now starting to see, as online retailers begin to capitalize on their extraordinary economic efficiences, is the shape of a massive mountain of choice emerging where before there was just a peak ... By necessity, the conomics of traditional, hit-driven retail limit choice. When you dramatically lower the costs of connecting supply and demand, it changes not just the numbers, but the entire nature of the market. This is not just a quantiative change, but a qualitative one, too. Bringing niches within reach reveals latent demand for noncommercial content. Then, as demand shifts toward the niches, the economics of provided them improve further, and so on, creating a positive feedback loop that will transform entire industries - and the culture - for decades to come. ~ Chris Anderson

Applying creative thinking to our clients' business strategy-this should be our industry's new core competency. And-in what is very good news for our industry-this kind of creativity, creativity that goes to the heart of business, is more in-demand than ever. ~ Bob Schmetterer

In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity ~ Sun Tzu

If there is disturbance in the camp, the general's authority is weak. ~ Sun Tzu

When the officers are too strong and the common soldiers too weak, the result is COLLAPSE. ~ Sun Tzu

Knowing the enemy enables you to take the offensive, knowing yourself enables you to stand on the defensive. ~ Sun Tzu

You may create a inspirational & visually resplendent strategy map but without accountability its value is specious ~ Paul R. Niven

It may be of interest to future generals to realize that one makes plans to fit circumstances stances and does not create circumstances to fit plans. That way danger lies. ~ William Duggan

The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy. ~ Sun Tzu

First lay plans which will ensure victory, and then lead your army to battle; if you will not begin with stratagem but rely on brute strength alone, victory will no longer be assured ~ Sun Tzu

Begin by seizing something which your opponent holds dear; then he will be amenable to your will. ~ Sun Tzu

These military devices, leading to victory, must not be divulged beforehand. ~ Sun Tzu

What do artists do? Artists give people something they didn't know they were missing: a dance, a piece of music, a painting, a piece of sculpture. Catering to that need is the best business strategy. ~ Daniel H. Pink

So long as victory can be attained, stupid haste is preferable to clever dilatoriness. ~ Sun Tzu

A satisfied customer is the best business strategy of all. ~ Michael LeBoeuf

Bet on your strengths. It's an underrated business strategy in a world where so many people are obsessed with fixing their weaknesses they give short shrift to the skills they were born with. ~ Gary Vaynerchuk

Companies that grow for the sake of growth or that expand into areas outside their core business strategy often stumble. On the other hand, companies that build scale for the benefit of their customers and shareholders more often succeed over time. ~ Jamie Dimon

The principle on which to manage an army is to set up one standard of courage which all must reach. ~ Sun Tzu

Conform to the enemy's tactics until a favorable opportunity offers; then come forth and engage in a battle that shall prove decisive. ~ Sun Tzu

When you surround an army, leave an outlet free. Do not press a desperate foe too hard. ~ Sun Tzu

If you do not take opportunity to advance and reward the deserving, your subordinates will not carry out your commands, and disaster will ensue. ~ Sun Tzu

The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do. ~ Michael E. Porter

A business strategy roadmap is also composed of three elements: insights on technological possibilities, customer needs, and competitive intent. In other words, what could we build, how would people react to it, and does it give us an edge over the competition? ~ Michael Mace

A mere 7% of employees today fully understand their company's business strategies and what's expected of them in order to help achieve company goals. ~ Robert S. Kaplan

The sport of business is the ultimate competition. It's 7 x 24 x 365 x forever. ~ Mark Cuban

I've always been drawn to stories involving brothers, which started with my first viewing of Sean Penn's, 'The Indian Runner.' This subsequently lead to my working with my two brothers, Scott & Brad. I couldn't imagine a greater gift in the business. ~ Dean Winters

If you find yourself pulled beyond all practicality toward doing something
writing poetry, building a business, restoring old cars, planting a secret garden; if at four in the morning the right word comes to you, the perfect flower to plant in that particular spot
you are playing your invisible instrument. ~ Joan Oliver Goldsmith

Writing is a long and lonesome business; back of the problems in thought and composition hover always the awful questions: Is this the page that shows the empty shell? Is it here and now that they find me out? ~ John Kenneth Galbraith

It is human nature, especially as we get older, to look for stability in our lives. But if you want to be a successful entrepreneur, you have to fight against that somewhat, as starting a business requires movement. You cannot stay still. ~ Robert Herjavec

Start a business plan for yourself, not for anyone else. ~ Alexa Von Tobel

Small businesses have made the call that to stay alive, health care isn't something they can provide. I think it's a tragic calculation. ~ Peter Lee

The business side of film has goofed up so many things, but even that's changing. It happened to the music industry and now it's happening to the film studios. It's crazy what's going on. But artists should have control of their work; especially if, as I always say, you never turn down a good idea and never take a bad idea. ~ David Lynch

The profession is never going back to those days when a handful of wealthy people treated publishing like a hobby: one where the business can lose money because the family has lots of it to burn. Frankly, I don't think that model was ever sustainable, and it really only enriched a small number of writers. ~ Victor LaValle

Be satisfied with your business, and learn to love what you were bred to. ~ Marcus Aurelius

The music business is very hard on women over 22. You really have to prove yourself every time you make a record. Are you as vibrant as you used to be? Are you as sexy? So I really want to prove that a woman in her 30s can be all those things and more. ~ Jody Watley

It has always been my rule in business to make everything count. ~ John D. Rockefeller

Television is ultimately a business of failure. You try a lot of things, and most of it fails. ~ Greg Berlanti

No, Mr. Swift's mind doesn't work that way, any more than my father's does. They're men of business. Predators. If Mr. Swift wanted me, he wouldn't stop to ask for my permission any more than a lion would stop and politely ask an antelope if he would mind being eaten for lunch. ~ Lisa Kleypas

I had great football players. To be quite truthful, my great football players, the ones who wanted the ball at the end of the games, they weren't focused on money. They want to do something great. They want to go to Pro Bowls. They want to win Super Bowls. Those are the people that succeed in sports - or in business. ~ Joe Gibbs

And also, as a consumer now, it's weird that when I used to go to a book signing I would leave with a stack of pamphlets people had made to show off their work, and now I just leave with business cards where people have the URL to their websites. ~ Adrian Tomine

Although population and consumption are societal issues, technology is the business of business. If economic activity must increase tenfold over what it is today to support a population nearly double its current size, then technology will have to reduce its impact twenty-fold merely to keep the planet at its current levels of environmental impact. For example, to stabilize the climate we may have to reduce real carbon emissions by as much as 80 percent, while simultaneously growing the world economy by an order of magnitude. ~ Stuart L. Hart

My petite little platinum blonde beauty of a wife suddenly turned into a public-relations dynamo. "The business is Buzz!" she proclaimed, and indeed so it became. ~ Buzz Aldrin

Once upon a time supporters of the Steinitz-Tarrasch school had a very high opinion of a queen-side pawn majority. Modern strategy on the other hand categorically denies that such a majority is an independent factor of any importance. ~ Alexander Kotov

I don't have any interest in being a chef without being on the business side of things, or vice versa, because if you don't make money at the end of the month, you're going out of business. ~ Tom Douglas

Playing safe is very risky. ~ Seth Godin

When I was born, my father owned a business called a 'reading circle'; folders containing an assortment of magazines were lent to customers for one week, then recollected and lent out again. The older the folder, the lower was the fee. This was a flourishing branch of industry. ~ Reinhard Selten

Too many companies want their brands to reflect some idealised, perfected image of themselves. As a consequence, their brands acquire no texture, no character and no public trust. ~ Richard Branson

Being busy is different from taking action. ~ Keshni Kashyap

The fate of your company is in the hands of your people. Train them well. ~ Roy H. Williams

The business that people do in LA on the social level is amazing. You go to a restaurant, bump into this guy or that guy. The next day you get a call, and they want you in their movie. ~ Kevin Bacon

When developing a business story, keep in mind that the opposition character (shadow) is just as important as the audience character (hero) is. ~ Luis Cubero

If doing what ought to be done be made the first business and success a secondary consideration
is not this the way to exalt virtue? ~ Confucius

Imagination is the ability to produce new ideas without the need of time to stop and actually think about it. I'll produce elevator buttons - I bought that business from Jarod Kintz, who was only selling it, because he found a new, more profitable job – male prostitution (he's selling his grandpa's services, not his own, because his own are virtually non-existent – he's a monk now, and monks are sworn to celibacy, you know, or should, by now). Buy now - grieve later. Two 5th floor buttons for your floorless cardboard-built tree house, for the price of one, 7-story tall tree, which, for the purpose of this story we'll call Nathan. Nathan sends you its best regards and wishes you a happy, silent, well-watered-down life, which, coming from a tree isn't really that much, however, as you know - trees aren't regular customers in the land of walking and talking, and it took quite a lot of convincing to make him come over and say that. Meow. ~ Will Advise

Having a strategy suggests an ability to look up from the short term and the trivial to view the long term and the essential, to address causes rather than symptoms, to see woods rather than trees. ~ Lawrence Freedman

It may be said that an education which does not succeed in making poetry a resource in the business of life as well as in its leisure, has something the matter with it. ~ John Dewey