Management And Leadership Quotes

I don't care if you're black, white, straight, bisexual, gay, lesbian, short, tall, fat, skinny, rich or poor. If you're nice to me, I'll be nice to you. Simple as that.

Rejection is an opportunity for your selection.

Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.

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.

Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them.

The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it.

If you're not confused, you're not paying attention.

Rank does not confer privilege or give power. It imposes responsibility.

Stress and anxiety at work have less to do with the work we do and more to do with weak management and leadership.

Live your life in such a way that you'll be remembered for your kindness, compassion, fairness, character, benevolence, and a force for good who had much respect for life, in general.

People in any organization are always attached to the obsolete - the things that should have worked but did not, the things that once were productive and no longer are.

Too many kings can ruin an army

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.

Leadership is not magnetic personality, that can just as well be a glib tongue. It is not "making friends and influencing people", that is flattery. Leadership is lifting a person's vision to higher sights, the raising of a person's performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations.

A board-established and led vision is a critical element of effective corporate governance. It provides direction, inspires stakeholders, and guides the company towards a successful future.

Remember There’s No Such Thing As An Unrealistic Goal – Just Unrealistic Time Frames

It doesn't make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to to , We hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.

As a board, you want to be able to identify exactly what the company is succeeding at and exactly what it's failing at so that you can amplify the successes and correct the failures with surgical precision.

As more and more artificial intelligence is entering into the world, more and more emotional intelligence must enter into leadership.

No matter how tiny you look, you can lead huge men if you have what the huge men don't have.

To be successful, a Board of Directors must foster a culture of respect and appreciation.

you must get the right talent and set the proper expectations. If you don’t, you will pay for the job twice—through your employees’ time and your own.

When you are just EXISTING, life happens to you… and you manage; when you are truly LIVING, you happen to life… and you lead.

Too many companies believe people are interchangeable. Truly gifted people never are. They have unique talents. Such people cannot be forced into roles they are not suited for, nor should they be. Effective leaders allow great people to do the work they were born to do.

The first key to leadership was self-control, particularly the mastery of pride, which was something more difficult, he explained, to subdue than a wild lion and anger, which was more difficult to defeat than the greatest wrestler. He warned them that "if you can't swallow your pride, you can't lead.

Consider how hard it is to change yourself and you'll understand what little chance you have in trying to change others

I want to see a world in which entrepreneurs give time to their visions to reality so that they have more money, more family time, and more support, a world in which they can stop working so hard and start living!

Stop overestimating, thinking that you have all the time in the world. In fact, you don’t have time for most of what you think you have time for.

Without the vision of a goal, a man cannot manage his own life, much less the lives of others.

All organizations are perfectly designed to get the results they are now getting. If we want different results, we must change the way we do things.

The best way to protect an asset is with systems that self organize and self execute behaviors which function as protective to the asset.

No ideas will be rejected out of hand and all ideas will be considered.

By embracing a holistic approach to risk management and conducting regular risk assessments, board members can ensure that their company is prepared to face a wide range of challenges

Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective management is discipline, carrying it out

No great manager or leader ever fell from heaven, its learned not inherited.

There is too much negativity in the world. Do your best to make sure you aren't contributing to it.

Everyone starts a business with passion, but not everyone starts it with enough planning.

Restricted thoughts will keep you under the illusion that whatever you’re thinking is right and anyone who doesn’t think the same as you has no clue about how to run your business.

Once you bid farewell to discipline you say goodbye to success

Your reputation is what others think of you; your character is what you truly are. Reputations can be manipulated; character can only be developed and maintained.

You gotta make it a priority to make your priorities a priority.

Hard work without a solid plan isn’t likely to get you where you want to be. You need to be teachable; you need to be dedicated, and you need to work smart.

Self-leaders are still true leaders even if they have no known followers. True leaders inspire by the influence of their characters and general self-made brands. Leadership is defined by the virtues of one's behaviour.

Contrary to popular opinion, leadership is not a reserved position for a particular group of people who were elected or appointed, ordained or enthroned. Leadership is self-made, self-retained, self-inculcated and then exposed through a faithful, sincere and examplary life.

People leave managers, not companies

You are either supporting the vision or supporting division

A leader can bring the solution to people, but sometimes a leader has to bring the people to the solution.

Entrepreneurs must organize their business for success by developing a project management mindset that allows them to plan, build, divide, and conquer.

Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.

The bottom line in managing your emotions is that you should put others – not yourself – first in how you handle and process them. Whether you delay or display your emotions should not be for your own gratification. You should ask yourself, What does the team need? Not, What will make me feel better?

The board's vision sets the standard for leadership throughout the company. By actively promoting and embodying the vision, board members hold management accountable for aligning their actions and strategies with the company's long-term aspirations.

Every entrepreneur faces mediocre moments or points in their careers when they are not meeting their goals. What they do in response to these shortcomings is what either leads them astray or guides them to success.

Great leaders have three things; inner light, inner vision, and inner strength.

Entrepreneurs aren’t looking to go backward. They are looking to go forward, toward their prize of realizing their dreams.

Knowing your “why” is much more important than setting a random goal.

A Visionaire always takes a step back during a crisis to get out of their own way.

You are not alone in the struggles of life. Entire cosmos is with you. It evolves through the way you face and overcome challenges of life. Use everything in your advantage.

Divorce = Rebirth: forget the past, replan your life, improve your appearance & REJUVENATE!

Every entrepreneur should spend time with all their employees, individually and collectively. It is the only way to understand what they want, what is in it for them, what they are hoping to achieve, and what they aspire to become.

Instead of waiting for a leader you can believe in, try this: Become a leader you can believe in.

Sometimes you just have to know when the battle you’re fighting is one best walked away from, than fought to the cold, bitter end.

There’s a reason that God gave us two ears, two eyes and one mouth. It’s so you can listen and watch twice as much as you talk. Best of all, listening costs you nothing.

Control your own Destiny or somebody else will

The Tone is the Message.

In today's constantly evolving economy, business models cannot be static. The business model of each business must be consistently changing and evolving in order to stay relevant and to succeed.

Leadership grows like tall trees. It needs both toughness and flexibility - toughness for accountability - flexibility to adapt changes with a compassionate & caring heart for self and others.

Mindful leadership keeps you cool and energetic in any situation, so that you can make the best possible decisions.

Do the things you like to be happier, stronger & more successful. Only so is hard work replaced by dedication.

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

The job facing production managers focuses on how to help their team maintain hope while also addressing the sometimes brutal or dismal facts of their situation. If the truth of their position remains unseen, they will never grow the skills necessary to resolve it.

I believe that companies, as major employers, resource managers, technological innovators, and capital allocators, have a unique responsibility to operate with integrity, transparency, and accountability.

If we could eliminate the concept of town and return to live in small villages, all world problems were solved.

Strategy is not really a solo sport – even if you’re the CEO.

You can’t sell it outside if you can’t sell it inside.

Leadership is not just some empty formulas but establishing deep connection at soul levels through service, integrity, passion, perseverance and equanimity.

Great leaders know that under the turmoil of chaos and change, there is a beauty of patterns and designs.

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

Adaptive collective action is superior to bureaucracy.

Self-leaders do not look for followers because they are busily pursuing their influencial dreams that followers will trace and ask for. Followers look for influence and that can be obtained from self-leaders.

People don't change that much. Instead of trying to put in what God left out, try drawing out what God left in!

Life is a balance between emotional intelligence quotient (EQ) and intelligence quotient (IQ).

Leadership is service, not position.

Nothing remains the same and at some point in time, everything changes

Achieve employee change adoption through: Awareness, Understanding, Involvement, Learning and Motivation

Business management requires its own skill set separate from being skilled at whatever service or product the business provides.

If you do not change employee behaviour, you will not get organisational change and performance improvement"​

Shaping the company's future requires ensuring value creation is a central theme in all board discussions and evaluations. Creating value for the customers should be at the center of every board discussion.

Life is all about 'Continuous Never Ending Change and Improvement' (CNECI) as we grow, develop and regenerate

The purpose of leadership is to change the world around you in the name of your values, so you can live those values more fully.

Growing a culture requires a good storyteller. Changing a culture requires a persuasive editor.

Compassionate leaders honor the complexity of human relationships, nurture authenticity and create common grounds for blooming great ideas of individuals.

Mindful leaders know how to repeat success patterns and overcome failure patterns.

You telling everyone what to do does not make you the boss. You doing everything you told yourself to do makes you the boss.

When you give an assignment, don’t take it back!

Change Leadership is action, not a position

Pivoting is not the end of the disruption process, but the beginning of the next leg of your journey.

Change Waits for No Leader

Many leaders get to the top of an organisation with skills less associated to leadership, but more the ability to eliminate greater competition on the way

Deluded leaders and the ‘yes men’ that follow are barriers to successful organisational change" Peter F Gallagher Change Management Handbook - The Leadership of Change Volume 3

Ego can’t sleep. It micro-manages. It disempowers. It reduces our capability. It excels in control.

Management makes a system work. It helps you do what you know how to do. Leadership builds systems or transforms old ones.

Most people don't need to be babied through business processes. Most often, what they need is a clear understanding of the objective and access to available resources. From there, they'll leverage their own creative capacity and skillsets to ensure that the objective is accomplished.

A good Board Of Directors team is one where ideas are flowing fluidly - and where each idea is met with an initial welcome, an intellectual challenge, an expression of gratitude, a rigorous scrutiny and a readiness for action.

I say, 'Get me some poets as managers.' Poets are our original systems thinkers. They contemplate the world in which we live and feel obligated to interpret, and give expression to it in a way that makes the reader understand how that world runs. Poets, those unheralded systems thinkers, are our true digital thinkers. It is from their midst that I believe we will draw tomorrow's new business leaders." --Sidney Harman, CEO Multimillionaire of a stereo components company

A young child is a leader to an elderly person once his purpose has a faithful, sincere and trustworthy influence on people. Leadership is not restricted to position and age; it is self-made and influencial. Everyone has this self-leadership quality.

We are all cosmopolitan, what we are born into is an accident of birth, respect for difference, growth and learning is who we are

Today's Arab crisis is not one of money, men, morale, land or resources ... The real crisis is rather one of leadership, management and perennial egotism.

You cannot lead by following.

Organisational change adoption must be made easier than keeping the old ways

If climate drives business results, what drives climate? 50-70% of how employees perceive their organization’s climate corresponds to the actions of one person: their manager.

I once knew one person in a leadership position who promoted diversity, unfortunately their policy excluded groups that were not aligned to his demeanour

A typical response when starting a change journey and engaging organisational leaders, it is not us, it is the employees below me that have the problem with change and improvement

Constructive feedback is leadership gift and driver of organisational behavioural change

To the trolls, my work is about people, leadership and change. If the scribe reminds me of Churchill, dog and stone, then I have already wasted time

If it is difficult to change the behaviour of people so they are healthier and live longer, how difficult will it be to change employee workplace behaviour

Global supply chains have many constituents and responsible parties. Everyone in the supply chain has a responsibility to act in a way that promotes effeciency in the supply chain.

The best leadership teams have purpose, they are aligned on their strategic objectives, they are a high performing team and have change leadership skills to navigate 4IR

Effective anticipatory governance is not possible without leadership teams and boards appreciating the range of potential responses to the respective levels of uncertainty.

No obstacle is so big that one person with determination can't make a difference.

Working harder to achieve results usually results in frustration and failure. The focus of work is the activities that generate results, not the results themselves.

Fortune crowns the bold before the worthy

From my experience, I see a high number of change initiatives fail, so why is it that change experts and leadership coaches continually praise organisations for their great efforts?

Managing activities, not results, requires a comprehensive application of the skills inherent in gained ownership. It is the true test of your management abilities and will cause you the greatest amount of personal growth and satisfaction.

There are 3 groups of employees in any change journey: ‘Advocates’, ‘Observers’ and ‘Rebels’. Each reacts differently to organisational change and will have different levels of resistance

It's best to magnetize your business to specific kinds of customers; customers that are aligned with the businesses goals, purpose, and values. At Mayflower-Plymouth, we're here to help your business figure this out, and to provide holistic solutions.

Every business can benefit from good quality management consulting services. Consultants are able to gather, assemble and utilize data in unique ways. Consultants also have perspectives that are likely to be unique compared to the perspectives you find internal to your business.

Continuing to confuse career development with attaining specific positions will only limit the growth that both employees and organizations need.

When you’re a manager, you work for your company. When you’re a leader, your company works for you.

In essence, leadership is the sense of calling to a higher purpose.

Mindfulness is observing and asking why. Millions saw the apple fall but Newton asked why.

Divorce is the start point for a brand new life. Don't lose the chance to redesign it upon your dreams!

Authority confined in you does not make you a leader. It is the authority created by you that makes you influence people with your purpose.

Ballot papers do not define leaders. Leadership is defined by conviction, vision, passion and inspiration.

Just because you have baggage doesn't mean you have to lug it around.

Change waits for no leader and the skills required for leading day-to-day operations are very different to change leadership

Change resistance is inevitable, ignore it at your peril

A good manager is more eager to compliment peoples strengths than they are to criticize their weaknesses.

When you cross your comfort zone, fear zone, learning zone and growth zone, you will enter into the zone of leadership.

The pace and ability at which an organization is able to effectively innovate will be the determining factor of competitiveness in the future. The future is now.

Only do what only you can do.

The micro facial expression of contempt when engaging leaders about preparing for their organisation's change is often the norm, matched only by their leadership of change knowledge

A successful blitz requires a well-thought-out strategy and flawless execution. Similarly, effective corporate governance involves developing and implementing sound strategies that align with the company's goals and values.

While delivering organisational change or improvements, one cannot be sure whether the main challenge is narcissistic and deluded leaders or the sheep that follow in abundance" Peter F Gallagher Change Management Handbook - The Leadership of Change Volume 3

When climbing and moving are positioned as the only way to really develop, the message that employees get is “step up or stagnate.

Talented people are going to develop careers somewhere. How can you make sure it’s with you and your organization?

Fundamental to helping your employees grow is having the belief that people are smart, capable, and insightful.

Passion without action is of little value.

The work becomes the development. The development becomes the work.

Development accelerates in the presence of difficulties that stretch people beyond where they are today.

The first step to solving any problem is to accept one’s own accountability for creating it.

Don’t blame others. it won’t make you a better person.

Mindfulness improves your capacity for self-discovery and empowerment.

You can’t move up in the staircase of leadership unless you are emotionally intelligent.

A boss says "you do it", a leader says "Let's do it".

A true leader is still a leader even when he takes up servants' duty, provided he maintains a human face and added integrity to his self-retained qualities.

Work/life balance is not about escaping work. It’s about living exactly the way you want to when you’re at work.

Dream without fear, love without limits, and let your life sing its song.

Leadership is about helping other people to be better.

There's a difference between managing a business and leading a business. They require two different skill sets.

If you treat people to a vision of themselves, if you apparently overrate them, you make them become what they are capable of becoming.

The most significant changes often occur at the periphery, requiring constant horizon scanning.

Fixed mindset leaders will quickly contaminate an organisation by killing growth and creativity, as well as promoting incompetence based on their likeness. This cycle will be replicated unless shareholders intervene ruthlessly

You can be in your room and lead people. Just develop your potentials and publicize them and you will see people looking for your product. That is influence; self-made leaders do not look for followers. Followers look for them.

...[I]ron discipline does not preclude but presupposes criticism and contest of opinion within the Party. Least of all does it mean that discipline must be 'blind'. On the contrary, iron discipline does not preclude but presupposes conscious and voluntary submission, for only conscious discipline can be truly iron discipline.

I have always been fascinated by the intricate dance of power, strategy, and decision-making that unfolds within the boardroom. It is a microcosm of human interaction, where the fate of companies, communities, and sometimes even nations, is shaped.

Organisational change leadership is about effectively and proactively articulating the vision, modelling the new way and intervening to ensure sustainable change

For too long, careers have been measured against major markers, points in time, and the artificial yardstick of new positions or titles.

Confidence is the profound yet frequently overlooked dimension of development that boils down to trusting and appreciating one’s talents and abilities.

The problem is that promotions are a small part of what makes up careers and career development.

At its core, macromanagement is a development strategy that allows you to position others to learn more, do more, and be more.

Profitability. Growth. Quality. Exceeding customer expectations. These are not examples of values. These are examples of corporate strategies being sold to you as values.

What first separates a leader from a normal human being? A leader knows who they are as a human being.

We are constantly evolving as we are interacting with the world. Mindfulness and growth mindset drives our evolution faster and on right tracks.

Effective decision-making can be seen as an optimal link between memory of the past, ground-realities of the present and insights of the future.

If you don't appreciate your customers, someone else will.

The heart of the leader is manifested through service to others.

If you don’t know the men at your back by name, don’t be surprised if they won’t follow you into battle. On the other hand, don’t be surprised if they will, either, because there are countless other factors you must take into account. Leadership is a slippery commodity, not easily manufactured or understood.

The weird thing is that the more efficient, on task, on goal you are with your time, the more energy you have. Working with no traction, or for that matter simply wasting a day, does not relax you, it drains you.// Strange as it may seem, when you work a daily plan in pursuit of your written goals that flow from your mission statement born of your vision for living your dreams, you are energized after a tough long day.

Like the brain's command center, the board provides the highest level of cognitive function for the organization. They are the "big picture" thinkers, setting strategic direction, overseeing management, and representing the interests of shareholders and stakeholders.

John Maxwell says a budget (for your money) is telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went. Managing time is the same; you will either tell your day what to do or you will wonder where it went.

Too often the change team will engage a leader with success delusion, this look is obvious on their face when you enter their office. They think to themselves, ‘Who is this plebeian and dullard before me?’" Change Management Handbook - The Leadership of Change Volume 3

The change question all leaders should be able to answer Do you have a change vision, are you aligned on your strategic objectives, are you a high performing team and does you team have change leadership skills to lead the change or improvement that your organisation is facing?

Effective people lead their lives and manage their relationships around principles; ineffective people attempt to manage their time around priorities and their tasks around goals. Think effectiveness with people; efficiency with things.

It doesn’t matter which continent I am working in; I typically encounter three-employee change standpoints: Advocates, Observers and Rebels. However, to successfully implement organisational change management, we must engage, communicate and entice these three employee groups to get buy-in, change adoption and benefits realisation

Burnout occurs when your body and mind can no longer keep up with the tasks you demand of them. Don’t try to force yourself to do the impossible. Delegate time for important tasks, but always be sure to leave time for relaxation and reflection.

One cannot measure a manager’s knowledge and performance in a vacuum. It involves their participation in business activities while bringing all of themselves to the process of development, including their spiritual, personal, and skill & ability development.

All the managers I interviewed had the same sense of identity and self-assurance. None of them were arrogant. Instead, they were clear about who they were and what needed accomplishing. They used that sense of self to engage their team and learn each team member’s strengths and contributions. Their courage and confidence were infectious to their team and to anyone who crossed their paths.

It's good to include playful and imaginative activities in business management. Managers of every business should be actively utilizing their imagination and directing that toward the advancement of the business. And incorporating playful activities into managerial routines is a good way to do that.

In essence, a blitz play in football is a microcosm of corporate governance principles. It showcases the importance of coordination in mind body and spirit, clear roles, strategic planning, risk management, and performance evaluation – all critical elements in ensuring a company's success and sustainability.

With a Masters in Management from USC, I did some consultant work in Reorganization, New Products, and Change. Amazon was smart to have me as a Beta and got my advice for free. Amazon was the only company who did because for other companies, it wasn't. But what I got from Amazon is a good understanding of how they operate, the culture, and the people behind the business - Strong by Kailin Gow

The sign of a good leader is easy to recognize, though it is hardly ever seen. For the greatest leaders are those who share as equals in the trials and struggles, the demands and expectations, the hills and trenches, the laws and punishments placed upon the backs of those governed. A great leader is motivated not by power but by compassion. Therefore he can do nothing but make himself a servant to those whom he rules. Such a leader is unequivocally respected, and loved for loving.

With managing a business, you need to Invest in good software and or good data mining systems. Run your numbers routinely. Take a look at your revenues - when is the money typically coming in, from where, can you identify any patterns in your revenues? Then take a look at your expenses - analyze the numbers and identify patterns. Why? Because Identifying patterns and extracting actionable items from your revenue and expense data will result in the clarity you need to make good business decisions.

Inside mind there are two parts: the controlling mind (ego), and the relaxed but aware mind (self). The controlling mind is the overthinking mind. It is the ego. It tries too much and has many doubts and conflicts. It overthinks and overdoes. It is full with excessive possessiveness and attachments. On the other-hand, the relaxed but aware mind has the natural ability to face and overcome the problems of life with awareness and efficiency.

The Swedes have coined the term 'management by perkele' to portray the Finnish managerial approach. Instead of collectively pondering all the possible alternatives and letting every member of the staff from the cleaner to the MD voice their views, as the Swedes do, the Finns act swiftly and don't waste time on the decision-making process. If something isn't happening quickly enough, it is necessary for the top managers to slam their fists on the table and yell, 'Perkele!' Repeatedly, if necessary.

company leaders need to provide their company with a self-organizing and semi-autonomous immune system. Effective risk management isn't about a siloed approach focusing on isolated threats. We have to think more broadly. Effective risk management requires a holistic approach that transcends a siloed focus on isolated threats. In today's interconnected business landscape, risks are rarely confined to a single department or function. Instead, they often ripple across the organization, impacting multiple areas simultaneously.

Uh, Coach,” Jason said, “that’s a great offer, but we need you to man the ship—or goat the ship. Whatever.” Hedge scowled. “And let you three have all the fun?” Percy gripped the satyr’s arm. “Hazel and the others need you here. When they get back, they’ll need your leadership. You’re their rock.” “Yeah.” Jason managed to keep a straight face. “Leo always says you’re his rock.

For myself the delay may be compared with a reprieve; for in confidence I assure you, with the world it would obtain little credit that my movements to the chair of Government will be accompanied by feelings not unlike those of a culprit who is going to the place of his execution: so unwilling am I, in the evening of a life nearly consumed in public cares, to quit a peaceful abode for an Ocean of difficulties, without that competency of political skill, abilities and inclination which is necessary to manage the helm.

Maybe this is the case for many of us: No matter who we become or what we accomplish, we still feel that we’re essentially the kid we were at some simpler time long ago. Somehow that’s the trick of leadership, too, I think, to hold on to that awareness of yourself even as the world tells you how powerful and important you are. The moment you start to believe it all too much, the moment you look yourself in the mirror and see a title emblazoned on your forehead, you’ve lost your way. That may be the hardest but also the most necessary lesson to keep in mind, that wherever you are along the path, you’re the same person you’ve always been.

As I have earlier noted, the most important things in life and in business can’t be measured. The trite bromide 'If you can measure it, you can manage it' has been a hindrance in the building a great real-world organization, just as it has been a hindrance in evaluating the real-world economy. It is character, not numbers, that make the world go ‘round. How can we possibly measure the qualities of human existence that give our lives and careers meaning? How about grace, kindness, and integrity? What value do we put on passion, devotion, and trust? How much do cheerfulness, the lilt of a human voice, and a touch of pride add to our lives? Tell me, please, if you can, how to value friendship, cooperation, dedication, and spirit. Categorically, the firm that ignores the intangible qualities that the human beings who are our colleagues bring to their careers will never build a great workforce or a great organization.

In the popular imagination, Asian Americans inhabit a vague purgatorial status: not white enough nor black enough; distrusted by African Americans, ignored by whites, unless we’re being used by whites to keep the black man down. We are the carpenter ants of the service industry, the apparatchiks of the corporate world, we are math-crunching middle managers who keep the corporate wheels greased but who never get promoted since we don’t have the right ‘face’ for leadership. We have a content problem. They think we have no inner resources. But while I may look impassive, I'm frantically paddling my feet underwater, always overcompensating to hide my devouring feelings of inadequacy. There's a ton of literature on the self-hating Jew and the self-hating African American, but not enough has been said about the self-hating Asian. Racial self hatred is seeing yourself whites see you, which turns you into your own worst enemy. Your only defence is to be hard on yourself, which becomes compulsive, and therefore a comfort: to peck yourself to death.