General Business
Quotes
You don't get
smarter just because you are promoted. You're the same person you were
the day before.
The people
who report to you are far more important to future than the people you
report to. Those reporting to will push you up with their outstanding
performance. Those above you will not pull you up if the performance
is substandard.
Never become
irreplaceable. If you do, you become un-promotable.
If you and
I always agree, one of us is unnecessary.
To not decide
is to decide.
You can't lead
by pushing
Never accept
credit for something done by a subordinate. It’s morally corrupt.
When you criticize
subordinates, they may do better because they "have to". When you praise,
they do better because they "want to".
When the climate
in an organization causes people to play the game of protecting their
backsides, creativity goes out of the window. Creativity requires taking
risks. It's impossible to take risks while looking at your backside
in the rear-view mirror.
The world is
full of people who want success as long as achieving it creates no inconvenience.
Don't worry
if some things are broken once in a while. Even grass grows through
cracks.
On rare occasions
doing nothing is the right thing to do. It make you look thoughtful
and non impulsive.
Treat your
people the way you want your boss to treat you.
You are not
more important than your subordinates. You just have different responsibilities.
There's nothing
wrong with being ambitious. The crucial question is "why" you want it.
If you have
a problem with one or two employees violating company rule, don't take
the crowd's way out by writing a memo to the entire staff. Why paint
the innocent with the guilty brush? Deal directly with the offenders.
One of the
biggest complaints employees have about their managers is lack of appreciation
for what they do.
Never correct
or chastise an employee if you're angry or sorely irritated. Wait until
you calm down.
Never discus
one employee's shortcoming with other staffers. Once you get the reputation
as a "loose lip", you've lost all trust and confidence.
The best way
to receive loyalty is to give it .
Some employees
who gripe all the time are happiest in unhappiness. If they didn't have
something to complain they'd have to face their own personality .
Practice things
does not make perfect if you're practicing the wrong things.
There's nothing
so positive as being negative about a bad idea.
The ultimate
diplomacy is the ability to tell the boss that he or she is mistaken.
Admitting there's
much you don't know is one of the first acts of maturity.
Admitting you've
been mistaken completely disarms most people, as they're used to rationalization
and defensiveness.
Knowledge in
the human mind without the capacity to use it is like an unread book.
No one of us
is as smart as all of us.
While we cannot
always control what happens, we can control how we react to what happens.
The greatest
limitation placed upon us is usually in our own minds.
Some people
don't believe they deserve success.
Life, like
sport, enables us to raise our level of performance, if we associate
with people who are better than we are.
Many people
will not apologize because they feel it's a sign of weakness. Actually
it's a sign of character winning out over pettiness.
When the other
person talks too much, he is a “motor mouth”. When you do it, you're
articulate.
When other
people hold back their feelings they're sullen, When you do it, you're
reflective.
You can never
build yourself up by tearing down others.
Our schooling
may end, but our education never should.
Sometimes a
bad decision is better than no decision. At least it gets things moving
again.
We see the world
not as it is, but as we are. - Stephen Covey
"If there were
no problems, there would be no opportunities."
"Courage does not
always roar. Sometimes courage is the small, quiet voice at the end
of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow."
An individual's
self-concept is the core of his personality. It affects every aspect
of human behavior: the ability to learn, the capacity to grow and change.
A strong, positive self-image is the best possible preparation for success
in life. Joyce Brothers
Change can either
challenge or threaten us. Your beliefs pave your way to success or block
you. - Marsha Sinetar
"Believing in yourself,
is an endless destination. Believing you have failed, is the end of
your journey."
One sees great
things from the valley, only small things from the peak. - G. K. Chesterton
Being an expert
is more than understanding how a system is supposed to work. Expertise
is gained by investigating why a system doesn't work. - Brian Redman
A winner is someone
who recognizes his God-given talents, works his tail off to develop
them into skills, and uses these skills to accomplish his goals.
I've always found
that the speed of the boss is the speed of the team. Lee Iacocca
Flaming enthusiasm,
backed by horse sense and persistence, is the quality that most frequently
makes for success. - Dale Carnegie
Knowing trees,
I understand the meaning of patience. Knowing grass, I can appreciate
persistence. - Hal Boreland
Yes! To this thought
I hold with firm persistence; The last result of wisdom stamps it true;
He only earns his freedom and existence Who daily conquers them anew.
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Planning
If you employed
study, thinking, and planning time daily, you could develop and use
the power that can change the course of your destiny. - W. Clement Stone
It amazes me that
most people spend more time planning next summer's vacation than they
do planning the rest of their lives. - Patricia Fripp
Technology
Technology. . .
the knack of so arranging the world that we don't have to experience
it. - Max Frisch
Technology made
large populations possible; large populations now make technology indispensable.
-Joseph Wood Krutch
Technology is so
much fun but we can drown in our technology. The fog of information
can drive out knowledge.- Daniel Boorstin
Motivation
Motivation is what
gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going. - Jim Ryun
Motivation is a
fire from within. If someone else tries to light that fire under you,
chances are it will burn very briefly. - Stephen R. Covey
People often say
that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing -- that's why
we recommend it daily. - Zig Ziglar
Business
It is an immutable
law in business that words are words, explanations are explanations,
promises are promises but only performance is reality. - Harold S. Geneen
If a sufficient
number of management layers are superimposed on top of each other, it
can be assured that disaster is not left to chance. - Norman Augustine
I have learned
that a novice can often see things that the expert overlooks. All that
is necessary is not to be afraid of making mistakes, or of appearing
naive. - Abraham Maslow
I definitely am
going to take a course on time management . . . just as soon as I can
work it into my schedule. - Louis Boone
Management is efficiency
in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the
ladder is leaning against the right wall. - Stephen R. Covey
Goal
A goal is a dream
with a deadline. - Napoleon Hill
"A dream is just
a dream. A goal is a dream with a plan and a deadline."-- Harvey Mackay
Act as if you have
already achieved your goal and it is yours. - Robert Anthony
Desire is the key
to motivation, but it's determination and commitment to an unrelenting
pursuit of your goal -- a commitment to excellence -- that will enable
you to attain the success you seek. - Mario Andretti
Goals determine
what you're going to be. - Julius Erving
Goals provide the
energy source that powers our lives. One of the best ways we can get
the most from the energy we have is to focus it. That is what goals
can do for us; concentrate our energy. - Denis Waitley
If you want to
accomplish the goals of your life, you have to begin with the Spirit.
- Oprah Winfrey
If you're bored
with life -- you don't get up every morning with a burning desire to
do things -- you don't have enough goals. - Lou Holtz
Action
Action to be effective
must be directed to clearly conceived ends. Jawaharlal Nehru (1889 -
1964)
Indian political
leader Action springs not from thought, but from a readiness for responsibility.
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Action is the highest
perfection and drawing forth of the utmost power, vigor, and activity
of man's nature. - Robert South
Action is the antidote
to despair. - Joan Baez
Success
There are no secrets
to success: Don't waste time looking for them.
Success is the
result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty to those
for whom you work, and persistence. Colin Powell
Flaming enthusiasm,
backed by horse sense and persistence, is the quality that most frequently
makes for success. - Dale Carnegie
Even the woodpecker
owes his success to the fact that he uses his head and keeps pecking
away until he finished the job he started. - Coleman Cox
"Most people would
succeed in small things if they were not troubled with great ambitions."--
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
"Nothing splendid
has ever been achieved except by those who dared believe that something
inside of them was superior to circumstance."-- Bruce Barton
"Success is a state
of mind. If you want success, start thinking of yourself as a success."--
Dr. Joyce Brothers
"Every great achievement
was once considered impossible."
"Even the longest
journey begins with a single step."
"The world is moving
so fast these days that the man who says it can't be done is generally
interrupted by someone doing it."-- Elbert Hubbard
"The only time
success comes before work is in the dictionary." "You are successful
the moment you start moving toward a worthwhile goal."--Charles Carlson
"Success is going
from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm." -Winston Churchill
Success is doing
ordinary things extraordinarily well. - Jim Rohn
Leadership
When the effective
leader is finished with his work, the people say it happened naturally.
- Lao Tse
Never tell people
how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with
their ingenuity. - - George Patton
The best executive
is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants
done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while
they do it - Theodore Roosevelt
A leader is one
who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way. -- John C. Maxwell
Leaders will be
those who empower others. Empowering leadership means bringing out the
energy and capabilities people have and getting them to work together
in a way they wouldn't do otherwise. - Bill Gates
The final test
of a leader is that he leaves behind in other men the conviction and
the will to carry on. - Walter Lippman
Not the cry but
the flight of the wild duck leads the flock to fly and to follow - Chinese
Proverb
A true leader is
one who designs the cathedral and then shares the vision that inspires
others to build it. - Jan Carlzon
Customer Service
The cheapest way
to run a business is to provide the highest quality customer service.
The resulting referrals bring in customers that cost you nothing to
generate. - David Steinberg
It is a striking
feature of the well-planned and executed service system that the service
itself seems simple and uncomplicated. - Ron Zemke
If you can write
it down, set standards for it and measure it, then there's a pretty
good chance you can deliver it. - Ron Zemke
Excellent service
is not about being 1000% better at one thing but 1% better at a thousand
things. - Jan Carlzon
Treat the customer
as an appreciating asset. - Tom Peters
A customer who
complains is doing a great service. - Anon
There is only one
boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company, from the
chairman down, simply by spending his money somewhere else. - Sam Walton
