Authentic & Balanced -- Centered & Grounded

“For many years it has been a challenge for me to integrate the intuitive side and the analytical side of myself, the person I am in private and the roles I play in business. Through self-inquiries and sometimes-painful discoveries, I realize that they are not separated. When we are true to ourselves, the imagined separation begins to fade away, and we start to develop more courage to let who we really are shine through everything we do, every encounter we make, and every situation we are in. It is a continuous journey of course.”

(Jing Jin, founder and Managing Director of Turnkey Capital LLC, in “A Closer Look at a Business Renaissance Executive: An Interview with Jing Jin.” Business Renaissance Quarterly: Summer 2007. Vol. 2, Iss. 2; pg. 7)

Balancing

“I feel bad about firing people, but at least I have the courage to do it.”

(Ken Lewis, CEO of Bank of America, in “Money for the Masses.” by Larry Light. Forbes: October 1, 2007. Vol. 180, Iss. 6; p. 77)

Down to Earth & Grounded -- part 2

"They promised me a kingdom, but I resisted. I have a little bit of the peasant in me. When someone promises me a kingdom, I get suspicious."

(Anne Lauvergeon, CEO of Areva, in “Power Woman.” by Joshua Levine. Forbes: September 17, 2007. Vol. 180, Iss. 5; p. 110)

Down to Earth & Grounded

“Don't underestimate the value people place on authenticity. Politicians listen to the focus groups and say the things they think people want to hear. But after 30 years of reading consumers, I know that they can smell phonies.”

(Shelly Lazarus, CEO of Ogilvy & Mather, in “Shelly Lazarus.” by Matthew Boyle. Fortune: September 17, 2007. Vol. 156, Iss. 6; pg. 56)

Humanity & Artistry

“I like human interaction, which is why I genuinely enjoy lunching with employees in the cafeteria… I like people who are simple and direct…

“The biggest challenge facing business and industry worldwide is the bureaucracy. We have to stop its attempt to take over.”

(Jacques Lamarre, CEO of SNC-Lavalin, in “Jacques Lamarre.” by Thomas Watson. Canadian Business: August 13 - August 27, 2007. Vol. 80, Iss. 16/17; pg. 76)

Somebody Somewhere

“Somebody is always going to try and game the system. That is… a general issue, whether it is in religion, the private sector or the public sector.”

(Sandy Weill, former Chairman and CEO of Citigroup, in “Wisdom From Weill,” Chief Executive: January/February 2007., Iss. 223; pg. 10)

Synthesis through Engagement

“We live in a capitalist system, and in a capitalist system, the shareowners are key stakeholders in what the company does. We have an active shareholder engagement program, generally around our results announcements, where we try to reach out to our major shareowners and engage in a very open dialogue with them about their views on how the company should run, their views on return of capital, their views on the returns of the business. It's our job to synthesize those views into a strategy that reflects the commercial needs of the business, the financial returns to the shareowners and the needs of the people who actually deliver all the things for the shareowners: the employees.

“There is a productive tension between shareowners' desires for financial returns and employees' desires for professional reward and experience. That's just the give-and-take of the capitalist system.”

(Todd Stitzer, CEO of Cadbury Schweppes, in “CEO Interview - Todd Stitzer of Cadbury Schweppes: Candy Man.” by C.J. Prince. Institutional Investor: July 2007. pg. 1)

Seeing One's Self

“I don't look at myself as a leader in the sense that you mean it… my own capability and availability are limited. We have a large team of managers at Toyota, including the eight executive vice presidents, who enjoy the freedom to practice the Toyota Way in their areas of responsibility. I trust our managers to do that, but whenever there are problems, I want them to come to me with the bad news first. Other than that, my colleagues call on me to talk, to sound me out. We have hours of debate and discussion, and just as my colleagues air their opinions, I make my own views known. That's my management style. That kind of leadership is important today.”

(Katsuaki Watanabe, President of Toyota Motor Corporation, 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; pg. 74)

Dangerous Words

“Models inherently assume a future similar to the past and therefore they fail.”

(Wilbur Ross, Chairman and CEO of W.L. Ross & Co., in “The Most Dangerous Words on Wall Street.” by Wilbur Ross, Fortune: September 3, 2007. Vol. 156, Iss. 5; pg. 61)

Gracious Judgment

“In business there are no ‘small things.’ Everything you do is important – everything you say, every action you take and the manner in which you carry out your responsibilities. And nothing is more important than your relationship with other people. Ultimately, you will be judged by these relationships.”

(Fred Claire, former GM of the Los Angeles Dodgers, in “A Closer Look at a Business Renaissance Executive: An Interview with Fred Claire.” Business Renaissance Quarterly: Summer 2007. Vol. 2, Iss. 2; pg. 1)

True and False

“Liquidity… is not about physical cash; it is mainly a psychological state.”

(Wilbur Ross, Chairman and CEO of W.L. Ross & Co., in “The Most Dangerous Words on Wall Street.” by Wilbur Ross, Fortune: September 3, 2007. Vol. 156, Iss. 5; pg. 61)

Character as a Choice

“When I was a young man growing up in suburban Chicago, my father encouraged me to earn his trust through my actions rather than just talk about what I was going to do. Today, I tell my children ‘deeds, not words’."

(Bob Eckert, Chairman and CEO of Mattel, in “In Defense of Mattel.” by Bob Eckert. Wall Street Journal: September 11, 2007. pg. A.19)

Thank You!

"If anybody calls you from a different part of the firm, you must be helpful. This isn't an elective course; it's core curriculum."

(Stephen Schwarzman, Blackstone Group's CEO, in “Wall Street's Man Of The Moment,” by Nelson D. Schwartz. Fortune: March 5, 2007.Vol.155, Iss. 4; pg. 74)

Authenticity & Lunacy

“I'm not innovative. I support innovation. There's not a product idea that I'll ever have that's going to amount to anything. But what I'll do is make sure that the right people are in the room and that the lunatic fringe has an opportunity to contribute.”

(Bill Campbell, Chairman of the Board of Intuit, in “Coaching innovation: An interview with Intuit's Bill Campbell,” by Lenny T Mendonca, Kevin D Sneader. The McKinsey Quarterly: 2007. ; p. 66)

I Don't Make It Work

You have two kids, a husband, two dogs and a vast private business that is growing. And you have plans to open your first nonbridal apparel boutique in New York this fall. How do you make it all work?

“I don't really make it all work. I just do the best I can. I also try to stress to my husband and children that I am a stand-up person and I care about people.”

(Vera Wang in “Boss Talk: Is Discount a Good Fit for Vera Wang?; The Designer, on Pins and Needles Over Kohl's Line, Discusses Brand.” Vanessa O'Connell. Wall Street Journal: September 5, 2007. pg. B.1)

How Much Do You Own?

“There's probably two or three decisions a year which I own and I have to say 'trust me, I think this is the best thing for the organization.' And I better be right. But I don't want to do that more than two or three times. I have a lot of ideas, and my colleagues talk me out of a lot of them.”

(William Priest, CEO of Epoch Investment Partners, Inc., in “Back for more.” by Jay Cooper. Pensions & Investments: August 20, 2007. Vol. 35, Iss. 17; pg. 28)