Seeing clearly. Thinking broadly. Feeling deeply.
“It seems so human to hold your hand out to people less fortunate than you are.”
(Paul Newman, founder of Newman’s Own, in “What CEOs Can Learn From Paul Newman.” John C. Whitehead and Peter L. Malkin. Wall Street Journal: October 2, 2008. pg. A.17)
“One of the things I talk a lot about is the necessity to juggle all of the constituencies that have an interest in the business: shareholders, customers, employees, vendors, and the communities in which we operate. Those constituencies are all mildly in conflict with one another in terms of what's best for them. Your job as a leader in a company is to find an appropriate way to juggle those conflicting interests so everybody feels like they're getting a fair deal, without letting any one dominate the others because they'll drag your company down.”
(Charles Geschke, co-founder and co-chairman of Adobe Systems, in “Driving Adobe: Co-founder Charles Geschke on Challenges, Change and Values.” Knowledge@Wharton: September 3, 2008)
“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)
“Whenever I travel, there are three things on my agenda: meeting with local management, seeing a customer, and having lunch with young high potentials.”
(Gerard Kleisterlee, CEO of Philips Electronics, in “The New Fast Track; Nowadays, the handpicking begins even before the first job.” by Lindsey Gerdes. Business Week: September 15, 2008. pg. 44)
“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)
“My father was a very kind and gentle guy -- tough, but still gentle in the way he was tough.”
(Charles Geschke, co-founder and co-chairman of Adobe Systems, in “Driving Adobe: Co-founder Charles Geschke on Challenges, Change and Values.” Knowledge@Wharton: September 3, 2008)
"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)
“If not this business, I would probably look to some type of service industry that touches people's lives; something that at the end of the day allows you to reflect and say that what you're doing makes a difference. That's important long-term and it's what motivates and drives me.”
(Dean Liollio, President and CEO of EnergySouth, in “Dean Liollio found his calling in natural gas industry.” by Jeff Share. Pipeline & Gas Journal: August 1, 2007. pg. 22)
“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)
“Deliver bad news early and personally. Own your plan, and quickly, proactively act on variances. Attack the issue, not the person, and assume positive intent.”
(Ronald A. Williams, CEO of Aetna, in “The Turnaround King.” by Sonia Alleyne. Black Enterprise: September 1, 2006. pg. 96)
“When a company is doing poorly, people are more likely to dig in together if they understand the situation. In every case of bankruptcy I've been aware of, the employees had no idea what was happening. If they'd known, I don't think they would have let it happen. I never see a downside to sharing information totally.”
(Robert Meggy, President and CEO of Great Little Box Company, Ltd., in “Packing the perfect HR punch.” by Robert Colman. CMA Management: March 1, 2007. pg. 40)
“The benefits of good, well-trained leaders are very difficult to quantify. All you know is that it's big… You can never, ever overeducate your workforce, whether it is frontline associates or anyone else. Education is mother's milk to an organization.”
(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)
