Seeing clearly. Thinking broadly. Feeling deeply.
“I have a philosophy – I invite criticism. But don't ever come to me with a complaint without saying, here is what we might do to make it better. I am happy to hear Part A if I hear Part B.”
(Arthur D. Levinson, CEO of Genentech, in “Boss Talk: How Genentech Wins At Blockbuster Drugs; CEO to Critics of Prices: 'Give Me a Break',” by Marilyn Chase. Wall Street Journal: June 5, 2007. pg. B.1)
"A crisis is a terrible thing to waste."
(Richard Clark, CEO of Merck, in "Is Merck's Medicine Working?" by Arlene Weintraub. Business Week: July 30, 2007. , Iss. 4044; pg. 67)
“There are only so many ideas we can digest at any given time... You want to be able to move with alacrity when opportunities present themselves, but behind the scenes be very deliberate.”
(Dave Barger, CEO of JetBlue, in “Boss Talk: Changing the Course of JetBlue; New CEO Dave Barger Reviews Discount Carrier's Strategy, Seeks Calmer Approach to Growth,” by Susan Carey. Wall Street Journal: June 21, 2007. pg. B.1)
"Windows of opportunity open and close so quickly today, you can't just mull decisions right in front of you. You have to look around the corner and figure out where you need to go, without becoming spastic or jerking your company in too many different directions."
(Michael Fraizer, CEO of Genworth Financial, in “Fire Yourself -- Then Come Back and Act Like a New Boss Would,” by Carol Hymowitz. Wall Street Journal: October 9, 2006. pg. B.1)
“At one level I don't care what people who don't know me think about me. But I also have to think about my legacy. The idea that my grandchildren can Google me ten years from now and see horrible information that goes to the heart of my character distresses me. I need to do what I can to change that.”
(Pattie Dunn, former Non-Executive Chairman of Hewlett-Packard, in “The Survival of Pattie Dunn,” by Patricia Sellers. Fortune: June 11, 2007. Vol.155, Iss. 11; pg. 110)
“Before I started, I talked to about 250 people at Discovery at all levels. One of the resounding themes was that we need change and we want to win. So I know they're ready for it. We have also tried to ease the transition by having very direct internal communication and lots of town-hall meetings. People are comfortable with change if they know they're being heard and they know the strategy.”
(David Zaslav, CEO of Discovery Communications, in “Boss Talk: CEO Guides a New Age of Discovery; Zaslav Rouses Sleepy Cable Networks, Changing Structure and Programming; Sees Cache of Nonfiction Shows as Key,” by Brooks Barnes. Wall Street Journal: June 11, 2007. pg. B.1)
“If you start to focus on … the consumers' perspective, it opens up a whole world of possibilities to what new products one might offer. We have all kinds of studies that we've done. But there is no substitute for seeing with your own eyes how people actually use the products.”
(Irene B. Rosenfeld, CEO of Kraft Foods, in “Boss Talk: Cooking Up Changes At Kraft Foods; Studying Rushed Consumers, CEO Rosenfeld Orders Up Menu Of Complete Meals,” by Janet Adamy. Wall Street Journal: February 20, 2007. pg. B.1)
“My definition of a good CEO was then and is now a person who is really hands-on, understands the business, and can anticipate issues and have an intelligent conversation with the people rather than just be a bureaucrat. The more a CEO knows about the business, the better a CEO he can be. I don't think that has ever changed.”
(Sandy Weill, former chairman and CEO of Citigroup, in “Wisdom From Weill,” Chief Executive: January/February 2007, Iss. 223; pg. 10)
“Toyota must keep growing even as it builds a stronger foundation for the future; it has to do both for the company's long-term health. There are three keys to building a stronger foundation: We must improve product quality, keep reducing costs, and, in order to attain those two objectives, develop human resources.”
(Katsuaki Watanabe, President of Toyota, in “Lessons From Toyota's Long Drive,” by Thomas A. Stewart, Anand P. Raman. Harvard Business Review: July/August 2007. Vol. 85, Iss. 7/8; p. 74)
"We need to spend more time developing the next generation of authentic leaders within our companies...
"We should be developing leaders who have the character, values, wisdom and depth to lead our organizations in the future. Far too much attention has been paid to honing their leadership style and image, managerial techniques and communications skills. In many organizations, we even force our highest potential leaders to conform to the organization's norms, thus draining them of their best leadership qualities.
"Instead, we should be encouraging them to be their own person and lead in their unique style, while following their values and the 'true north' of their moral compass."
(Bill George, CEO (ret.) of Medtronic, in “Taking Charge: Vision and Heart,” by Bill George. Chief Executive. New York: December 2003., Iss. 194; pg. 30)
"Deliver results. Let your work speak for you the loudest.
"Build a network by finding successful people with high standards you admire and strive to make those attributes your own. And finally, never stop learning."
(Adriane M. Brown, President and CEO of Honeywell International's Transportation Systems, in “Results Count,” by Sheryl Nance Nash. Black Enterprise. New York: March 2007. Vol.37, Iss. 8; pg. 90)
“Leaders, who are essentialists, think everything boils down to one thing. It is all about shareholder value, or it is all about earnings. However, the world is complex, full of conflicts. By its very nature, ethics is about weighing and balancing different considerations, morally relevant considerations, and interests of different stakeholders who might be in conflict. What ethics really allows and inspires leaders to do is the process of weighing and balancing often-conflicting demands and interests.
“No CEO gets to have ethics or earnings. You need find a way to have both. A leader thinking that way is on the right track... They go through a process of weighing, wrestling, and balancing, and then, they make the right calls. This is very tough. Typically, the ones who get it right are the ones that think long term...
“In many cases doing the right thing is often inconvenient. It can be very unpopular. It can be dangerous, and in the short-term, it can certainly be unprofitable. Sometimes that is exactly when you know you are doing the right thing when it feels so inconvenient...
”Ethics is not something that you just cognitively learn. It is something that you struggle with and practice. Every day, people encounter ethical dilemmas, sometimes without even realizing it.”
(Dov L. Seidman, CEO of LRN, in “A Corporate Training View of Ethics Education: An Interview with Dov L. Seidman, CEO of LRN,” by Kenneth R Thompson. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies: 2007. Vol. 13, Iss. 3; p. 79)
“Leadership is in short supply today. For me, I start my workday early, at about 6:30 a.m., not only to think but to quiet my mind and my spirit. It is during those few hours that solutions that are less harsh come to me.”
(Koh Poh Tiong, CEO of Asia Pacific Breweries, in “Singapore’s Tiger Beer Chief Draws Lessons from Zoology, Nixon,” Wall Street Journal: July 9, 2007. pg. B.3)
“We have… done a very thorough assessment of the soft qualities in our top management, particularly with respect to leading by example. And we have also made changes in senior management because some people could not live up to those requirements.”
(Gerard Kleisterlee, CEO of Philips Electronics NV, in “Gerard Kleisterlee CEO, Philips,” by Peter Lorange. European Business Forum: Spring 2007. , Iss. 28; pg. 60)
“The definition of managers in my mind is someone who says, ‘I have a hand. I'm going to optimize the hand that I've been given.’
"Leaders actively change the hand to drive the business. Leaders make change where they see it is needed and actively develop the talent they have on their teams. I think the ultimate mark of leadership is to say, ‘Here's where I'm going to go,’ and to go put a plan together to get there and get it done.
"I think people want that leadership, they want to be developed, they want to know what to do. They want to have clear objectives; they want to understand what they did right, what they did wrong and what they can do.”
(Mark Hurd, CEO of Hewlett-Packard, in “Q&A with Mark Hurd,” Baylor Business Review: Fall 2006. Vol. 25, Iss. 1; pg. 26)
"The real world, whether in business or government, requires that you don't jump to the endgame [or] to success right away. You do it piece by piece. Some people get immobilized when they come to a roadblock. My answer is, 'You know, it's a shame it's there, but now where else can we go? Let's just do it’."
(Michael R. Bloomberg. Mayor of New York City and founder of Bloomberg LP, in “The CEO Mayor; How New York's Mike Bloomberg is Creating a New Model for Public Service that Places Pragmatism Before Politics,” by Tom Lowry. Business Week: June 25, 2007. , Iss. 4040; pg. 58)
“I remind young executives that you cannot hurry to get the next job; you should get as much information as possible and make yourself 'promotable' by being positive. The success that I have achieved is because I have loved every job I ever had and have taken the time to learn all there was to offer.”
(Alyson Pitman Giles, Chairman of the American College of Healthcare Executives, in “Interview With ACHE's 2007-2008 Chairman,” by Marilyn E Mages. Healthcare Executive: March/April 2007. Vol.22, Iss. 2; pg. 8)
“I expect people to seek perpetual education and development – not necessarily by going back to school but by exposing themselves to new people and ideas... It demonstrates that you're interested in your own development. It also prepares you for difficult challenges in the future.”
(Larry Bossidy, former CEO of AlliedSignal, in “What Your Leader Expects Of You And What You Should Expect In Return,” by Larry Bossidy. Harvard Business Review: April 2007. Vol. 85, Iss. 4; p. 58)
"People are often faced with difficult choices -- for instance, 'Do I want to be the high-quality, high-cost supplier or the low-quality, low-cost supplier?' We're trained to examine the pros and cons of such alternatives and then pick one of them.
“But really successful businesspeople look at choices like these and say, 'I don't like either one.' They don't accept that it's an 'either-or’."
(Bob Young, cofounder and former CEO of Red Hat, in ”How Successful Leaders Think,” by Roger Martin. Harvard Business Review: June 2007. Vol. 85, Iss. 6; p. 60)
“I get a big kick out of watching leaders and CEOs who try to manage results. You can't manage results unless you manage the things that go into making the results.”
(Jack Rooney, President & CEO of U.S. Cellular, in “There Are No Happy Losers,” by Tony Bingham and Pat Galagan. T+D: May 2007. Vol.61, Iss. 5; pg. 42)
