Losing Sight & Losing Touch

“In this day of analytic tools and financial models and economic structures, we've lost sight of how important it is to lead with the heart. What I mean by that is, to have a sense of compassion for the people you're working with; a passion for the business; a sense of empathy for both your customers and your employees; and finally, the courage to go against the numbers and make a courageous decision.”

(Bill George, retired Chairman and CEO of Medtronic Inc., in “Leadership Q&A: Radical Authenticity.” by John Cummings. Business Finance: April 2005. Vol. 11, Iss. 4; pg. 16)

Spent or Invested?

“We have an incredible commitment to training and developing people. And we spend a fortune on it, but it's money well spent.”

(John Wren, CEO of Omnicom, in “John Wren: On the Spot.” by Alison Fahey. Adweek: January 2, 2006. Vol. 47, Iss. 1; pg. 8)

No Secrets

“We're guided by our core values -- a focus on continuous quality improvement, innovation, craftsmanship, customer collaboration, empowering employees, avoiding complacency, and reinvesting in the company. We don't have a secret formula for our strategy. It's just good management practice.”

(Craigie Zildjian, CEO of The Zildjian Company, in “Conversation: A Formula for the Future,” by Gardiner Morse. Harvard Business Review: July/August 2007. Vol. 85, Iss. 7/8; p. 23)

Accountability in Your Universe

“Business must strive to be a good citizen in the country in which it operates and make a contribution to wider society. However, business must never forget that it must remain accountable to the disciplines of the balance sheet, as that is the universe in which it functions, survives, and makes its contribution.”

(Maurice Tempelsman, Chairman of Lazare Kaplan International, in “Engaging the Imperfect World.” by Ivan Solotaroff. Modern Jeweler: 2007. Part 2. pg. 14)

Well, That's Easy For You to Say!

"Without execution, vision is just another word for hallucination."

(Mark Hurd, HP CEO, in “The UnCarly; How Mark Hurd, The Consummate Corporate Coach, Parlayed A Fixation On Efficiency Into A World Beating Revival At Hewlett-Packard,” by Quentin Hardy. Forbes. March 12, 2007; Volume 179 Issue 5; pg. 82)

Success to Come: A Healthy Dose of Reality & Humility

"Two-thirds was just mistakes we made in judgment. Clearly, we bear a lot of the blame, much more so than just market conditions."

(Kenneth D. Lewis, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Bank of America, in “CEO Vows to Fix Bank of America; Sharp Decline in Profit Hamstrings Lewis's Plan To Build Investment Power.” by Valerie Bauerlein. Wall Street Journal: October 19, 2007. pg. A.3)

Renewing & Re-knowing

“Every time I go to any of our key markets I try to be with our sales representatives in the field. It's very renewing. With all the stresses and strains of being a CEO of a publicly held company… I get a tremendous amount of energy from getting out with the front lines of sales representatives.”

(Andrea Jung, CEO of Avon, in “Boss Talk: Is Avon's Latest Scent Sweet Smell of Success? Bold Moves, High-Touch-Meets-High-Tech Business Model Help CEO Andrea Jung Boost Sales of Sluggish Company.” by Ellen Byron. Wall Street Journal: October 15, 2007. pg. B.1)

The Two Levers: Connection & Development

“Most people stay with companies because they like the people they work with and the people they work for. So we try to develop our managers so they know how to properly manage and motivate people.

"The second thing people want is a company that will invest in them for the future... and that training takes all forms.”

(Robert A. Reynolds, Jr., Chairman, President and CEO of Graybar, in “On solid ground.” by Victoria Fraza Kickham. Industrial Distribution: October 2007. Vol. 96, Iss. 10; pg. 30)

What's Next?

“In today's highly competitive market, you are only as good as your last report… You have to continually improve the services you are capable of providing. That means, on a consistent and ongoing basis, following a course of action that includes continuing education, mentoring, adhering to standards, welcoming peer reviews… the list goes on.”

(Gordon J. Tomiuk, President of Appraisal Institute of Canada, in “Lifelong learning prepares president for ever-changing environment.” by Gordon J. Tomiuk. The Canadian Appraiser: 2007. Vol. 51, Iss. 3; pg. 6)

Good Perfecting

“In life one can always do better and one should always strive to do so, but one should never let the perfect become the enemy of the good.”

(Maurice Tempelsman, Chairman of Lazare Kaplan International, in “Engaging the Imperfect World.” by Ivan Solotaroff. Modern Jeweler: 2007. Part 2. pg. 14)

Transparency to The Point

"If there is one thing that's noteworthy in our company, it's that the concept of economic profit and how it's applied is understood by thousands of managers, not by a few financial people at the top."

(Bob Lane, CEO of John Deere, in “Reenergizing an Old Company.” by Jia Lynn Yang. Fortune: October 15, 2007. Vol. 156, Iss. 8; pg. 50)

Wise as Serpents, Harmless as Doves

"When somebody says this is the deal of a lifetime and you can't pass it up, you almost have to run in the other direction."

(Reuben Mark, Chairman of Colgate-Palmolive, in “Colgate-Palmolive's Reuben Mark: On Leadership and 'Moving the Bell Curve'”. Knowledge@Wharton. October 03, 2007.)

The Challenge of Inertia & The Blessing of Momentum

“Organizations are essentially social bodies. They reward those who are fully engaged in the organization and the profession.”

(Diane Peterson, Chairman and CEO of D. Peterson & Associates, in “Interview with Diane Peterson, FACHE, chairman and chief executive officer, D. Peterson & Associates.” by Kyle L Grazier. Journal of Healthcare Management: September/October 2007. Vol. 52, Iss. 5; pg. 282)

Authenticity, Empathy, Humility, Humanity -- You're Grounded

“I can tell a lot about people by the way they act toward the food server. So I typically never hire anyone without going out to eat with them. It's a great way to learn about a person. If you have a complete conversation with me and you never acknowledge the food server, you are being disrespectful and will never work for me.”

(Julia Stewart, CEO of IHOP, in “The Pancake Pusher.” by Jenny Mero. Fortune: October 15, 2007. Vol. 156, Iss. 8; pg. 48)

Scary

“The problem with most people who don't succeed is that they see options.

"It's the way I was brought up. I dug ditches, I put in sewer pipe, I put in guardrail. When I was 18, my dad looked at me and said, ‘Where are you going? You can't live here. You going to go in the service? You want me to put your name in up at the shop? Try to go to college?’ So, I went to a cheap state school so I could work three jobs.

"When you don't see options, you don't give up easy. The real problem with our society is we've taken the word responsibility and turned it into entitlement, and we sit around thinking that's an option.”

(Roger Ailes, Chairman and CEO of Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network, and Chairman of Fox Television Stations Group, in "Boss Talk: Can Ailes Outfox CNBC?; Invoking Stonewall Jackson, Fox Business Chief Prepares To Battle Entrenched Rival.” by Rebecca Dana. Wall Street Journal: October 8, 2007. pg. B.1)

Not Always (see Kenny Rogers... )

“Sometimes the difference between success and failure is just staying in the game. Stick it out.”

(Robert Herjavec, CEO of The Herjavec Group, in “Dragon attack.” by Kim Shiffman. Profit: October 2007. Vol. 26, Iss. 4; pg. 60)

The Way It Really Is

“See all those books over there? Those are all outside studies on us. All those big binders are consultant studies.

“The ones over there marked personal and internal, those are Ford employees that I talked to. I kept all that. I gathered everyone's thoughts, studied those for a long time, talked to the board. When you get that much input from that many stakeholders you get really good, robust feedback about the way it is. So you take that and you develop a strategy and a plan to deal with that reality…

“I know that's what I have to do. I need to network with these groups. I saw 4,000 dealers two weeks ago. I talked to them. I met them every night they were in Detroit. I know exactly what the dealers think because I asked them. You've got to ask them.”

(Alan Mullaly, CEO of Ford, in “Boss Talk: At Ford, the 'Outsider' Is Optimistic; In a Town of Pessimists, CEO Mulally Tells Everyone 'It's Going to Be OK'.” by Jeffrey McCracken and Joseph B. White. Wall Street Journal: July 23, 2007. pg. B.1)

A Passion For Their Work

“Good leaders love people and expect the best from them. They're sensitive to employees' needs, wants, and concerns… I lead best when I forget about myself as a leader and focus on my team's needs and goals. To lead is to serve, to give, and to achieve together.”

(Catherine Tierney, President & CEO of Community First Credit Union, in “CEO Bets Dollars to Doughnuts That Good Service Prevails.” Catherine Tierney. Credit Union Magazine: September 2007. Vol. 73, Iss. 9; pg. 18)

Defining Oneself Amid Ambiguity & Paradox

"If everything were black and white, everyone could do it, but most things in business at any level are gray. The ability to parse out what is on one side and what is on another -- and present those sides well and come to a conclusion -- is [key]."

(Reuben Mark, Chairman of Colgate-Palmolive, in “Colgate-Palmolive's Reuben Mark: On Leadership and 'Moving the Bell Curve'”. Knowledge@Wharton. October 03, 2007.)

I See

“Every manager is crazed for time, and they appreciate somebody who’s proactive and says, ‘I see this opportunity, I see this problem, what would you think if I did this?’

“Oftentimes, finding that moment to talk about doing something differently frees you. You have more ability than you know to impact your work environment.”

(Dawn Hudson, CEO of Pepsi-Cola, North America, in “Dawn Hudson.” Forbes Life: Executive Woman: Fall 2007. p. 72)

Let Go to Hold On

“Early in the war, when the Union army was losing badly, Lincoln and a senator called on Gen. McClellan one night at the general's residence. McClellan strode in, ignored Lincoln, and went upstairs to bed. The senator was outraged, but Lincoln ignored the snub. ‘I would hold his horse,’ said Lincoln, ‘if he would but deliver us success.’

“… Sometimes we let our egos get in our way. It's amazing what we can accomplish if we don't care who gets the credit. That's the point of the Lincoln story: The Union needed a victory, and if McClellan could deliver one, even the President of the United States would put aside his ego.”

(Ben G. Watts, President and CEO of Carter & Burgess, in “Diversify your business to make it recession-proof.” Building Design & Construction: September 2007. Vol. 48, Iss. 11; pg. 76)

What's Not Changing

“It helps to base your strategy on things that won't change… I very rarely get asked ‘What's not going to change in the next five to ten years?’ … We're always trying to figure that out, because… all the energy you invest in them today will still be paying you dividends ten years from now. Whereas if you base your strategy first and foremost on more transitory things -- who your competitors are, what kind of technologies are available, and so on -- those things are going to change so rapidly that you're going to have to change your strategy very rapidly, too…

“For our business, most of them turn out to be customer insights. Look at what's important to the customers... They want selection, low prices, and fast delivery… that will be paying us dividends ten years from now…

“Another thing that we believe is pretty fundamental is that the world is getting increasingly transparent -- that information perfection is on the rise. If you believe that, it becomes strategically smart to align yourself with the customer. You think about marketing differently. If in the old world you devoted 30% of your attention to building a great service and 70% of your attention to shouting about it, in the new world that inverts… Of course there could also come a day when one of those things turns out to be wrong. So it's important to have some kind of mechanism to figure out if you're wrong about a deeply held precept.”

(Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon.com, in “The HBR Interview: Jeff Bezos, The Institutional YES.” Julia Kirby, Thomas A Stewart. Harvard Business Review: October 2007. Vol. 85, Iss. 10; p. 74)