The Speed of Wisdom?

“The speed of innovation required to compete in the world mandates that we must have seamless communication. We cannot depend on a small group of people who are holding the key to all communication throughout the world. That really impedes information sharing and decision-making. I want everybody's wisdom instead of just a few.”

(Yong Nam, CEO of LG Electronics, in “Boss Talk: CEO Broadens Vistas at LG --- Becoming a 21st Century Multinational; A Contender to Buy GE Appliance Unit?” by Evan Ramstad. Wall Street Journal: May 21, 2008. pg. B.1)

Less Me, More Thee

“I look at CEOs. I look at these very serious, self-important people, and I just don't want to be that.

"The way our organization succeeds, and if I'm the happiest, is if the hierarchy is minimized except where you need it to create order. And everything else is the team working together.”

(James Hinton, CEO of Presbyterian Healthcare Services, in “One-On-One with Jim Hinton ; At A Glance.” by Autumn Gray. Albuquerque Journal: May 15, 2008. pg. 3)

It Is Up To Me

“We're not going to complain; we're going to change. Long-term prospects are incredibly positive if you can find a way around short-term negatives.”

(Joseph Jimenez, CEO of Novartis Pharma, in “Jimenez swimming against the tide.” by Tanya Lewis. Medical Marketing & Media: May 1, 2008. pg. 40)

First Things First

“We have to be a role model. We want to make a profit. To do that, we have to behave in a way that makes a contribution to the country. It's benign self-interest.”

(Gareth Penny, Managing Director of DeBeers, in “Gem of an Idea.” by Alex Perry. Time: May 12, 2008. Vol. 171, Iss. 19; pg. GB 9)

Fear-less

“In chess, you show your position all the time, your strengths and your weakness are right there on the board. However, your strategy of moving forward is kept to yourself. When I negotiate, I show my position. The other side is often trying not to show their position, and that is poker. The poker player will not believe what you tell him. I strongly believe the chess player wins relative to the poker player.”

(Chavvas Chamberlain, founder, Chairman and former CEO of Dalsa Corp., in “Live & Learn: Savvas Chamberlain.” by Andrew Wahl. Canadian Business: March 17, 2008. Vol. 81, Iss. 4; pg. 92)

Our World -- Our Choices and Our Actions

“Essentially, what a lot of companies have started to say is: ‘We know the world of business is complex, but a lot of the complexity we have is self-imposed. We have created things, we have inherited things, we have acquired things, and when we look at them they are far more complicated than they should be.’”

(Mike Gibson, CEO of PricewaterhouseCoopers, in “How To Survive Complexity.” by Matthew Gwyther. Management Today: April 2008. pg. 36)

Management is Messy

“In an increasingly networked world, the 21st century is not for tidy minds… We all look for nice black-and-white solutions, but if it was as simple as that it would be easy. We would not have to come into the office in the morning.”

(Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO of WPP Group, in “How To Survive Complexity.” by Matthew Gwyther. Management Today: April 2008. pg. 36)

From the Core, To the Core

“I used to think I could just create a great place to work -- and I can. But every single person has to care, every day, and take personal responsibility. We have printed core values, and we take quarterly retreats to talk about them. That makes them live.”

(Cathy Dunkin, founder, president and CEO of Standing Partnership, in “A Day in the Work Life of Cathy Dunkin.” by Susan Caba. St. Louis Commerce: April 1, 2008. pg. 64)

What Matters?

“I'm convinced that size is not a recipe for value creation.”

(Frederic Oudea, CEO of Societe Generale, in “International Finance: SocGen Turns Page as CEO Plots Recovery.” by David Gauthier-Villars and Nicolas Parasie. Wall Street Journal: May 14, 2008. pg. C.2)

Our Day

“Today's a challenge. The future's going to be a challenge. But the past has always been a challenge.”

(Scott Wester, President and CEO of Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, in “New leader, old challenges.” by Steve Clark. The Greater Baton Rouge Business Report: March 25, 2008. pg. 42)

Competence That Is Distinctive

“We… haven’t tried to mimic everyone else. Your differences are your advantages.”

(John Tippets, CEO of AAFCU, in “CUJ EXIT Interview: John Tippets, CEO of $4.7-B AAFCU, Retires With Thoughts On Management, Future of Cus.” by Ray Birch. Credit Union Journal: March 3, 2008. pg. 18)

It's Who We Are

“Have very strong core values and communicate them clearly. Hire a wonderful team and trust them. Treat people with respect and hold them accountable.”

(Cathy Dunkin, founder, president and CEO of Standing Partnership, in “A Day in the Work Life of Cathy Dunkin.” by Susan Caba. St. Louis Commerce: April 1, 2008. pg. 64)

Good, Clear Values & Integrity -- Balance

“Every deal should have a balance. Imbalance is what creates the tension in the future, and when you're trying to create a partnership that is long term and sustaining you can't take the last dollar or pound from the table. You have to have fairness. In the long run, it serves a purpose because people feel they got the value. Then they are loyal and they feel good and they continue to work with you.”

(Joanna Shields, President of BEBO, in “The MT Interview: Joanna Shields.” By Emma De vita. Management Today, May 1, 2008. pg. 30)

Heart & Soul

"I set out to bring humanity back to air travel, and we did just that by having the most talented crew members in the industry serving our customers."

(David Neelman, founder and Chairman of JetBlue Airways, in “JetBlue Founder Will Leave Board --- Neeleman to Devote Full Time and Attention To Brazilian Start-Up.” by Susan Carey. Wall Street Journal. April 10, 2008. pg. B.7)

Big Little Things

“Heroes are people you can count on every day. They don't have to do anything amazing. They just do the consistent thing. And that changes the lives of people around them.”

(Larry Stapleton, President and CEO of United Southeast Federal Credit Union, in “CEO Keeps On Truckin'.” Credit Union Magazine: March 2008. Vol. 74, Iss. 3; pg. 20)

Knowledge is Power -- What Fun!

“One really fun thing about this to me is the chance to learn so much and it's so fun and I think I have read just about every book I could possibly get my hands on about the automobile industry, especially about Ford… It's just a tremendous story. And so, I've been a student of it.”

(Alan Mulally, President and CEO of Ford Motor Company, in “Conversations From The Corner Office: Ford Motor Company President and CEO Alan Mulally.” with Kai Ryssdal. www.marketplace.org. January 15, 2008)

And a Little Child Shall Lead Them

“When I got this job, I came home and I was feeling very proud I was just made CEO. My daughter who was then 16 said, ‘Let's be really clear, Dad, you're not the CEO of this house.’

"It's very important in a job like this to have a place you can go to get real perspective on who you are and what you're doing, and my family provides that for me and I spend every moment I can with them.”

(Jeffrey Kindler, CEO of Pfizer, in “Boss Talk: Looking for Life After Lipitor; Pfizer CEO Kindler Touts His Strategy For a Turnaround.” by Avery Johnson. Wall Street Journal: April 24, 2008. pg. B.1)

Just Listen

“We do 360-degree reviews of our senior management team, and I tell people the feedback they get from their subordinates is more important than the feedback from their peers or supervisors. You can fool your boss, but you can't fool your subordinates for very long.”

(James Hackett, CEO of Anadarko Petroleum, in “'Too Nice To Get Ahead'?; The CEO of Anadarko Petroleum proves otherwise.” by Richard M Smith. Newsweek: March 24, 2008. Vol. 151, Iss. 12)

Flexibility and Strength in a Balanced Heart

“You have to be resilient and tough and committed and stay with your plans. Don't get down too much when you're going through bad times, but don't get too exuberant when you're going through good times because neither of those are representative of the long term.”

(David O'Reilly, CEO of Chevron, in “Chevron CEO Ponders Prices; O'Reilly Expects High Energy Costs For the Long Haul.” by Russell Gold and Ana Campoy. Wall Street Journal: May 1, 2008. pg. B.1)