Quotes

My Favorite Quotes

Thomas A. Edison

"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." (attributed)

"Oh the thinks you can think..."
"Tell yourself how lucky you are.."
"Someday we’ll go to Solla Sollew.."
"And if worse comes to worse, as we all know it will, thank your lucky stars you’ve gotten this far"

"A lie can travel halfway around the world, while truth is putting on his shoes."
"It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt."

"The only way to lose weight is to lower calorie intake and/or increase physical activity. Claims for diet programs and products that promise weight loss without sacrifice or effort are bogus."

"A leader’s job is to clarify and simplify so that everyone understands what is truly important. … No one can follow a road map they can’t read."

"Can you sign my graph?" - On 2/27/2007 Jeff said this to class hockey star, Steve, whose graph was help up in Chemistry class. The day before Steve was features in the high school paper, and many requested his autograph.

"a practical, matter-of-fact way of approaching or assessing situations or of solving problems"

only two industries refer to their customers as users: drug dealers and computer companies. -The Design of Sites

Do what you love; love what you do

"I believe that the people who are most successful, are the ones who do what interests them" -Jacques A. Nasser, CEO @ Ford
"One thing I learned ... is that I could never take a job simply because it would look good on my resume. I have to do things I enjoy" -Raymond V. Gilmartin, CEO @ Merck
"It's more about your passion, drive, and belief in yourself then it is about your intellect, who you know, or good luck" -Roger Valine, CEO @ Vision Service Plans
"People follow people who care about what they are doing. You've got to show people you have passion. You've got to open up and say, "I belive this"." - Mark Harris, Manager, IBM South Africa
" You must be better then a good communicator - you must be a translator of dreams, a demonstrator of passion for pursuing the dream..." -Rosemarie B. Greco, Director, PA office of Health Care reform

Make people your top priority

"First, no one will follow you if you don't treat them with dignity and respect; no one will follow you if they do not trust you; therefore you must be honest at all times." -Erroll B. Davis Jr. CEO @ Alliant Energy
"I believe in treating other people with respect. My style is to speak to people, be available to them and willing to answer their questions. This also means being straightforward and honest with them." -Sanford Weill, Co-CEO @ Citigroup
"Always treat people with dignity and respect, particularly those who work for you. Not only is the appropriate behavior - if you follow this principle, you will attract and retain talented people, which is essential to your success." -Raymond V. Gilmartin, CEO @ Merck
"The people of your company do not work for you - you work for them." - Charles Cawley, CEO @ MNBA

Clearly communicate the future

"To have big success, you must have big dreams, and you must be willing to take a chance." -Sunner Redstone, CEO @ Viacom
"The best CEOs build the team to achieve the dream" -Charles Lee, CEO @ GTE
"Leadership requires, at times, the willingness to explore ideas and concepts beyond the traditional ways we have always managed; the willingness to take chances, to fail, and to get right up and try again." -Corbin McNeill, CEO, PECO
"No one gets to the top by himself or herself." -Kames Zimmermam, CEO @ Federated Department Stores
"Success is for those who know what they want and go after it, no matter how difficult the path.-Jacques A. Nasser, CEO @ Ford
"I learned to lead by figuring out how to get other people to buy into my idea and expand on it through their own intelligence and drive." -Michael Jorden, CEO @ Electronic Data Systems

It's not just about the paycheck

"A leader seeks and cultivates diversity....diversity of ideas, style, culture, gender, and race. Leaders know that ideas are what counts, and that they come from all over." -William Stavropoulos, DEO @ Dow Chemical
"Believe in people. The further one goes in life, the more his/her accomplishments depends on other people. Create an environment in which everyone can contribute and where diversity in all its dimensions prospers." -George Fisher, Chairman @ Kodak

Look. Listen. Learn.

"To be successful one must be willing to learn and apply new concepts and not be afraid of change." -Craig Barrett, CEO @ Intel
"The more you know, the better equipped you will be to tackle all the obstacles you meet on your way to reaching your objectives." -Ivan Seidenberg, CEO @ Bell Atlantic
"[Nowadays] You'll need an international education and at least a few years abroad. This will help you to understand different cultures and how the globalized business works today - especially beyween human beings from different cultures." -Klaus Zumwinkel, CEO @ Deutsche Post World Net
"The true leader is always listening, learning and being truly open to the world around him." -Jay Gellert, CEO @ Healthnet

Honesty above all, to all

"You can not have a little integrity or a lot of integrity. There is no sliding scale for integrity. You either have it, or you don't." -Rosemarie B. Greco, Director, PA office of Health Care reform
"Great values never go out of style" -John Cahill -CEO @ Pepsi Bottling, Somers, NY
"Stand up for what's right, in small matters and large ones, ands always do what you promise." -Reuben Mark -CEO @ Colgate
"Live each day as if your actions would be the headlines the next day in your local newspaper." -Jon Boscia, CEO @ Lincoln Financial
"Hard work, along with honesty, respect, and confidence, make up a strong plan for success." -Carlos Gutierrez, CEO @ Kellogg
"Be value and principle based. Know what you stand for, and live by those standards." -George Fisher, Chairman @ Kodak

Know what you don't know

"An important mark of a good leader [is] that you don't know it all and never will." -Anne Mulcahy, CEO @ Xerox
"Leaders are humble individuals. They don't seek the spotlight. They respect others on their team." -John Tyson, CEO @ Tyson
"You can't do everything well. Pick the things that matter most and concentrate on getting better and better, little by little, at those things. -Reuben Mark, CEO @ Colgate
"Don't take yourself too seriously. Learn to laugh at yourself and to honestly critique your own performance. Only by personally recognizing your own shortcomings will you be able to show a long-term pattern of continuous improvement. When things don't go right, don't give up. Study what went wrong and then show you can recover from a setback." -Roy Haley, CEO @ Wesco
"You need to know yourself and need to be comfortable in your own space, first and foremost." -Judith Von Seldeneck