Business Strategies Quotes

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

In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity

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

Persistence. Perfection. Patience. Power. Prioritize your passion. It keeps you sane.

who wishes to fight must first count the cost

Whenever I am in a difficult situation where there seems to be no way out, I think about all the times I have been in such situations and say to myself, "I did it before, so I can do it again.

Success comes from the inside out. In order to change what is on the outside, you must first change what is on the inside.

When you work on something that only has the capacity to make you 5 dollars, it does not matter how much harder you work – the most you will make is 5 dollars.

The whole secret lies in confusing the enemy, so that he cannot fathom our real intent.

In most cases, the best strategy for a job interview is to be fairly honest, because the worst thing that can happen is that you won't get the job and will spend the rest of your life foraging for food in the wilderness and seeking shelter underneath a tree or the awning of a bowling alley that has gone out of business.

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

If your opponent is of choleric temper,  seek to irritate him.  Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant.

Attack is the secret of defense; defense is the planning of an attack.

A brand that feels human earns something no algorithm can replicate: trust

Great results, can be achieved with small forces.

Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.

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.

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

mystify, mislead, and surprise the enemy

Whatever the Way, the master of strategy does not appear fast….Of course, slowness is bad. Really skillful people never get out of time, and are always deliberate, and never appear busy.

Finally, I decided that the proper strategy was to stare back. Boys do not have a monopoly on the Staring Business.

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.

Move not unless you see an advantage; use not your troops unless there is something to be gained; fight not unless the position is critical.

Today is a new day and it brings with it a new set of opportunities for me to act on. I am attentive to the opportunities and I seize them as they arise. I have full confidence in myself and my abilities. I can do all things that I commit myself to. No obstacle is too big or too difficult for me to handle because what lies inside me is greater than what lies ahead of me. I am committed to improving myself and I am getting better daily. I am not held back by regret or mistakes from the past. I am moving forward daily. Absolutely nothing is impossible for me.

Never venture, never win!

He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.

If he sends reinforcements everywhere, he will everywhere be weak.

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

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

If his forces are united, separate them.

Volume without value isn’t marketing. It’s clutter.

When your army has crossed the border, you should burn your boats and bridges, in order to make it clear to everybody that you have no hankering after home.

who does not know the evils of war cannot appreciate its benefits

6 Ways To Give Your Mind A Break: 1. Stop stressing 2. Stop worrying 3. Give rest to the problems weighing you down 4. Lighten up 5. Forgive yourself 6. Forgive others

People might try a product for its features, but they stick with it because of feelings.

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

Trust isn’t based on words—it’s established through proof.

Strategy is really the essence of the boards value proposition to the company. The ability to strategize well is the essence of what makes a board relevant.

the worst calamities that befall an army arise from hesitation

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

do many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat

You can ensure the safety of your defense if you only hold positions that cannot be attacked.

Conceal your dispositions, and your condition will remain secret, which leads to victory;  show your dispositions, and your condition will become patent, which leads to defeat.

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

Success in warfare is gained by carefully accommodating ourselves to the enemy's purpose.

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.]

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

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

In today's competitive business landscape, a board's primary responsibility is to ensure the long-term success and sustainability of the organization.

Brands don’t exist in decks; they exist in decisions.

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

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;

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.

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

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

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

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

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

Business models are about the systems and processes related to the exchange of value between sellers and buyers.

Danger has a bracing effect.

Unhappy is the fate of one who tries to win his battles and succeed in his attacks without cultivating the spirit of enterprise;  for the result is waste of time and   general stagnation.

No one else knows exactly what the future holds for you, no one else knows what obstacles you've overcome to be where you are, so don't expect others to feel as passionate about your dreams as you do.

The vocation of pastor(s) has been replaced by the strategies of religious entrepreneurs with business plans.

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.

We are not fit to lead an army on the march unless we are familiar with the face of the country -- its mountains and forests, its pitfalls and precipices, its marshes and swamps.

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

People can never get enough of something new and different.

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

The economy is always changing. Therefore, business strategy should change to adapt. And the way to adapt is to find new ways to add value to the customers lives. At Mayflower-Plymouth, we're here to help your business thrive in this way.

If you want to succeed and leave your competitors behind, you need great plans and even greater strategies.

Do you know great minds enjoy excellence, average minds love mediocrity and small minds adore comfort zones?

The purpose of data is to learn on time what is working and what is not and take any corrective actions according to that.

Demand is one of those factors which decide the fate of your business.

The reason that online ads are 80% of the time ignored lies in the fact that we have started forgetting creativity when creativity is as important as data.

Be a surfer. Watch the ocean. Figure out where the big waves are breaking and adjust accordingly.

A good ad is worth so much more than just a little ad spend.

If you want business growth, you are going to offer the right product to the right customer

The most attractive thing about you should have less to do with your face or body and more to do with your attitude and how you treat people.

There can’t be anything more fatal to a business than making decisions based on somebody else’s assumptions.

Launching a similar product still needs some kind of differentiation.

Not planning enough is like preparing for failure even if you are extremely passionate about your idea.

Oscar Wilde once said, “Whatever is popular is wrong.

A good marketing plan can’t be formed in just four hours. Plans are formed on extensive research.

Strategy is your war plan. If you go to a war without your strategy, you might not be able to defeat the enemy.

Marketing is an investment that generally generates long term results.

Without a strategy, your social media channels just become a source of entertainment rather than lead-generation tools.

A good business adapts it’s strategy and approach as the economy continuously evolves.

In business 'professionalism' is not a tactic but a moral value.

A strategy is not permanent. It’s like water, it will keep changing itself as the obstacles come.

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.

Market research is not an add-on feature, it’s a necessity for business survival and business success.

Market research helps you understand the need of your product in the existing market and the current competition.

The future of your business depends on what kind of decisions you are going to make.

The process of decision-making can become efficient and effective, if the right information is handy on time.

Being successful is not that tough, you just need a little mindset change.

Incorrect results of the market research when fed to the marketing strategy and action plans produce disastrous results.

In other words, market research is the swiss knife for the survival of any business.

Incorporate market research as an integral part of your business, and you’ll not just become competitive, but also profitable.

Remember market research is like warming up. It will keep you safe from unnecessary injuries.

Perfecting a product which is not selling is a waste of time and energy.

Business growth happens when people remember you.

The fear of the unknown is deadly for our personal growth as well as for the growth of our business.

You don’t want to run your business based on mere suspicions and assumptions.

A successful business owner will know their business as good as they know their favorite celebrity, their partner, and even their dogs.

Proper market research keeps you informed on what your competitors are doing, as well as their strengths and weaknesses.

Market research is the process by which a business gathers and studies information related to the product or service it is providing or the market it is operating in.

There is no alternative to market research.

Even though marketing is one of the building blocks of a successful business, we should make sure that our marketing is effective and productive.

An advertising strategy is based on proper research which guides you in this entire process of customer acquisition with the help of ads.

The moment you will stop innovating, somebody else will make your product outdated and will become the market leader.

Everything around your customers is shaping those needs and wants. We can’t stop this change from happening, but we can listen.

When we stick to our views and aren’t even willing to consider what others have to say, we lose an opportunity to grow and become better.

When you ask questions, you make the situation easier.

Do you know that most of the B2B companies are actively using social media marketing to reach more and more clients?

With proper strategy, if you enter a war, you can defeat even the biggest army otherwise you can be defeated by even the smallest army.

Maintaining a healthy balance of analytics, strategy and creativity is very important as they’re all equally important.

An effective customer service strategy is the one which will never stop learning more about your customers.

What we should never forget is that customers are our businesses. Customers and businesses are not two separate entities.

You need to be a risk-taker, but you have to also make sure that you are a calculated risk-taker.

Investing in things that will give you long term growth is always a good idea.

Strategy makes sure that all your resources are used efficiently, that your efforts will convert into the desired outcome and that you are heading in the direction of your goal.

There is no perfect product in the world and there will never be.

An effective ad brings long-term positive residual effects for your business.

Advertising is like a stock market for your business investment.

Just like selective listening, now we have selective ad viewing.

Digital trends have made it easy to run ads for each and every business type irrespective of the business size.

Unrealistic profit projections are not going to win you the trust of your investors.

When employees are able to feel what you feel and see what you see in your idea, you won’t need anything else to motivate them, and success will become inevitable.

A good marketing can’t overcome your poor customer strategy, but a good customer service can compensate for your poor marketing.

Start paying more attention to your digital customer strategy. You don’t want any of your online actions to take a hit on your brand reputation.

If you want to have an effective ad, you need to work on communicating your message in the most effective way. Keep it clear, concise and non-confusing.

A perfect website with perfect marketing but bad financial management can fail, similarly a perfect product with a perfect website but a bad customer management strategy can fail.

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

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

Crying about the economy is a strategy. It won’t get you a job, but it will keep Kleenex in business.

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

Market research not only helps you in gaining competitive advantage, but also helps you in being prepared to handle any testing business times.

Inaccurate market research always leads to a business wipe-out.

The moment you will start considering market research as an ongoing process of your business, you will start uncovering so many hidden insights.

Accepting that you’re wrong, shows humility which will set a better example of you as a leader on your team than sticking to something that others can clearly see is wrong.

If you want to understand your customers, you have to go to them. There is nobody else who can tell you what they want

Become a leader that shows humility and not stubbornness.

Search engines' results aren’t always trustworthy. As a matter of fact, they can be easily manipulated.

poor cash planning leads to a loss of investment.

You need a good customer service and client success strategy because it helps your business grow.

Ethical marketing is the only way of marketing. By doing that, you don’t disguise the faults of your products, but instead you try to fix them. When you do that, the results are long-lasting.

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.

While Uber was more a business-like limo car sharing, Lyft was more casual. Though with time, that distinction has become less prominent, but this definitely helped them in the starting stage.

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.

If you are trying to open a restaurant in a place where the majority of people are the practitioners of Judaism faith, then you cannot make a non-Kosher restaurant and still hope to gain popularity.

The success of a strategy largely depends on it's implementation. You can have a good strategy, you can have a winning game plan, but ultimately you and your team have to implement the strategy and execute and put the game plan into action if your business is going to succeed.

A strategy is an action plan of what you want to achieve and how. It defines where you want to see yourself in the long-term and how you are going to use your resources, skills and competencies to achieve that.

When an invading force crosses a river in its onward march, do not advance to meet it in mid-stream.  It will be best to let half the army get across, and then deliver your attack.

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

The business landscape is a constantly evolving ecosystem. Changes in the macro environment, such as technological disruptions or changing consumer preferences, can rapidly alter the competitive landscape. A high-performing board needs to be adept at strategic foresight.

Positive thinking is powerful thinking. If you want happiness, fulfillment, success and inner peace, start thinking you have the power to achieve those things. Focus on the bright side of life and expect positive results.

Evil is real - and powerful. It has to be fought, not explained away, not fled. And God is against evil all the way. So each of us has to decide where WE stand, how we're going to live OUR lives. We can try to persuade ourselves that evil doesn't exist; live for ourselves and wink at evil. We can say that it isn't so bad after all, maybe even try to call it fun by clothing it in silks and velvets. We can compromise with it, keep quiet about it and say it's none of our business. Or we can work on God's side, listen for His orders on strategy against the evil, no matter how horrible it is, and know that He can transform it.

Listen to people from your heart, as if your life depended on it, and you will find that in turn people will listen to you with all of theirs.

Your Monday morning thoughts set the tone for your whole week. See yourself getting stronger, and living a fulfilling, happier & healthier life.

Tweet others the way you want to be tweeted.

Freedom of Speech doesn't justify online bullying. Words have power, be careful how you use them.

The financial statements are just a starting point. By asking the right questions and actively engaging with the data, board members can gain a deeper understanding of the company's financial health and position themselves to make sound decisions that will ensure the company's long-term success.

The business environment is constantly evolving. Economic fluctuations, technological disruptions, regulatory shifts, and competitive pressures demand that companies be able to adjust their goals and strategies.

Take the challenge of your life. Reach out to your goals. There is no limit to what you can achieve.

When you know your enemy is invincible, run and hide, or may do business with him.

... all too often, a successful new business model becomes the business model for companies not creative enough to invent their own. [2002] p.46

We must learn to close doors. A business strategy is primarily a statement on what not to engage in. Adopt a life strategy similar to a corporate strategy: Write down what not to pursue in your life. In other words, make calculated decisions to disregard certain possibilities and when an option shows up, test it against your not-to-pursue list. It will not only keep you from trouble but also save you lots of thinking time. Think hard once and then just consult your list instead of having to make up your mind whenever a new door cracks open. Most doors are not worth entering, even when the handle seems to turn so effortlessly.

If you want to retain your customers, attract more customers, and don’t want to unnecessarily spend your budget in marketing campaigns which will fail because of your increasing number of dissatisfied customers, start working on your customer service strategy right now.

Finally, I decided that the proper strategy was to stare back. Boys do not have a monopoly on the Staring Business, after all. So I looked him over as Patrick acknowledged for the thousandth time his ball-lessness etc. and soon it was a staring contest. After a while the boy smiled, and then finally his blue eyes glanced away. When he looked back at me, I flicked my eyebrows up to say, I win.

I've missed the rush of power that comes with playing a game like this, of strategy and cunning. I hate to admit it, but I've missed risking my neck. There's no room for regrets when you're busy trying to win. Or at least not to die.

If the company is going to thrive financially, then the board must ensure the company has adequate risk mitigation strategies in place.

The internet and online communication is the window into your world - but real life, in person communication / connection is the door.

If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far go together", African Proverb

Above all, success in business requires two things: a winning competitive strategy, and superb organizational execution. Distrust is the enemy of both. I submit that while high trust won't necessarily rescue a poor strategy, low trust will almost always derail a good one.

Success is to wake up each morning and consciously decide that today will be the best day of your life.

If you wanna learn about investment yield, go meditate in a forest.

Don't look for the next opportunity. The one you have in hand is the opportunity.

Resilience is based on the ability to embrace the extremes -- while no becoming an extremist. ... **Most companies don't do paradox very well.** (emphasis by author) [2002] p.25f

Work is not about doing what you want to do; work is about serving others.

Internet articles can be used to give direction to your research, but the real research will start after that. You can read The New York Times, The Washington Post, Forbes, Economic Times, or Entrepreneur as much as you want but these still can’t replace market research.

In today's global economy, it's essential that businesses efficiently execute on or plug into logistics.

Sing your song, and if nobody listens, sing it alone and enjoy it.

The choices you make from this day forward will lead you, step by step, to the future you deserve.

Never say anything on the phone that you wouldn't want your mother in law to hear at your trial

Time is the friend of the wonderful business, the enemy of the mediocre.

7 keys to getting more things done: 1 start 2 dont make excuses 3 celebrate small steps 4 ignore critics 5 be consistent 6 be open 7 stay positive

The company that writes your paycheck every two weeks is not your employer; they are your customer. Adopt this mind-set and everything changes. You are free from the daily grind—free to grow your business and serve your customers, your fellow man.

Seven Ways To Get Ahead in Business: 1. Be forward thinking 2. Be inventive, and daring 3. Do the right thing 4. Be honest and straight forward 5. Be willing to change, to learn, to grow 6. Work hard and be yourself 7. Lead by example

How can we walk away from requirements that we know to be true to pursue something that we think will help?” It turns out that is exactly what product strategy is all about—figuring out the right product is the innovator’s job, not the customer’s job.

Effective corporate governance ensures that the vision and strategy are aligned, with the board of directors playing a crucial role in defining the vision and overseeing the development and execution of the strategy.

Finally, I decided that the proper strategy was to stare back. Boys do not have a monopoly on the Staring Business, after all. So I looked him over and soon it was a staring contest. After a while the boy smiled, and then finally his blue eyes glanced away. When he looked back at me, I flicked my eyebrows up to say, I win. He shrugged

All I had done was to improve on their strategy, and it was the beginning of a very important lesson in life - that anytime you find someone more successful than you are, especially when you're both engaged in the same business - you know they're doing something that you aren't.

Teaching people a large number of sword techniques254 is turning the way into a business of selling goods, making beginners believe that there is something profound in their training by impressing them with a variety of techniques. This attitude toward strategy must be avoided, because thinking that there is a variety of ways of cutting a man down is evidence of a disturbed mind. In the world, different ways of cutting a man down do not exist.

My advice was to start a policy of making reversible decisions before anyone left the meeting or the office. In a startup, it doesn’t matter if you’re 100 percent right 100 percent of the time. What matters is having forward momentum and a tight fact-based data/metrics feedback loop to help you quickly recognize and reverse any incorrect decisions. That’s why startups are agile. By the time a big company gets the committee to organize the subcommittee to pick a meeting date, your startup could have made 20 decisions, reversed five of them and implemented the fifteen that worked.

As for Sadie, she didn’t appear interested in strategy. She leaped from puddle to puddle in her combat boots. She hummed to herself, twirled like a little kid and occasionally pulled random things out of her backpack: wax animal figurines, some string, a piece of chalk, a bright yellow bag of candy. She reminded me of someone … Then it occurred to me. She looked like a younger version of Annabeth, but her fidgeting and hyperness reminded me of … well, me. If Annabeth and I ever had a daughter, she might be a lot like Sadie. Whoa. It’s not like I’d never dreamed about kids before. I mean, you date someone for over a year, the idea is going to be in the back of your mind somewhere, right? But still – I’m barely seventeen. I’m not ready to think too seriously about stuff like that. Also, I’m a demigod. On a day-to-day basis, I’m busy just trying to stay alive. Yet, looking at Sadie, I could imagine that someday maybe I’d have a little girl who looked like Annabeth and acted like me – a cute little hellion of a demigod, stomping through puddles and flattening monsters with magic camels.

In business, its very important to do consistent market research. It's very important to understand your customers and potential customers. The more you understand them, the better you'll be able to add value to their lives, and the more they'll pay for that value. At Mayflower-Plymouth, we're here to help your business thrive in this way.

[The Head of Radio Three] had been ensnared by the Music Director of the college and a Professor of Philosophy. These two were busy explaining to the harassed man that the phrase "too much Mozart" was, given any reasonable definition of those three words, an inherently self-contradictory expression, and that any sentence which contained such a phrase would be thereby rendered meaningless and could not, consequently, be advanced as part of an argument in favour of any given programme-scheduling strategy.

Fascism talks ideology, but it is really just marketing—marketing for power. It is recognizable by its need to purge, by the strategies it uses to purge, and by its terror of truly democratic agendas. It is recognizable by its determination to convert all public services to private entrepreneurship, all nonprofit organizations to profit-making ones—so that the narrow but protective chasm between governance and business disappears. It changes citizens into taxpayers—so individuals become angry at even the notion of the public good. It changes neighbors into consumers—so the measure of our value as humans is not our humanity or our compassion or our generosity but what we own. It changes parenting into panicking—so that we vote against the interests of our own children; against their health care, their education, their safety from weapons. And in effecting these changes it produces the perfect capitalist, one who is willing to kill a human being for a product (a pair of sneakers, a jacket, a car) or kill generations for control of products (oil, drugs, fruit, gold).

life can be organized like a business plan. First you take an inventory of your gifts and passions. Then you set goals and come up with some metrics to organize your progress toward those goals. Then you map out a strategy to achieve your purpose, which will help you distinguish those things that move you toward your goals from those things that seem urgent but are really just distractions. If you define a realistic purpose early on and execute your strategy flexibly, you will wind up leading a purposeful life. You will have achieved self-determination, of the sort captured in the oft-quoted lines from William Ernest Henley’s poem “Invictus”: “I am the master of my fate / I am the captain of my soul.

The most dangerous unhappy people I’ve met are those who are both extremely ambitious and extremely lazy. What this combination produces is envy, which is a deadly sin that will make your life a living hell. These are people who think big and want to do something big, but they’re not willing to put in the work to earn it. They’ll cheat. They’ll throw you under the bus. They’re constantly looking for shortcuts. And if someone else has what they want, it eats away at their very soul. If someone is winning at a higher level than you are, either lower your expectations to match your work ethic or increase your work ethic to exceed your expectations. If you do neither, you’ll be miserable. What it all boils down to is that alignment is the key to fulfillment