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A group of followers has strength because of its numbers. A following has power because of its beliefs.
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When we accept the fact that we can't do everything, we are more willing to ask for and accept help when we do anything.
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Wal-Mart's size and scale is so vast they literally have the ability to change the face of the entire country. If Wal-Mart were to make a decision tomorrow to refuse to sell a single product made with partially hydrogenated oils, for example, we'd probably see rates from heart disease decline a few years later. That's how powerful Wal-Mart is.
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People who go to work to be a part of the cause don't go home. They are home. Now - who wants to quit?
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A leader's job is not to do the work for others; it's to help others figure out how to do it themselves, to get things done and to succeed beyond what they thought possible.
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I knew what I did and I knew how I did it, but I didn't know why.
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People have accused me of only working with good companies. No I don't. I work with some very dysfunctional companies or unbelievably dysfunctional organizations. The people that bring me in know what they're doing won't work for the future. They know they want to change and they want to change for the right reasons. They believe what I believe and that's why they called me.
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The courage of leadership is giving others the chance to succeed even though you bear the responsibility for getting things done.
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When we can communicate from the inside out, we're talking directly to the part of the brain that controls behavior, and then we allow people to rationalize it with the tangible things we say and do. This is where gut decisions come from.
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Academic experts may not be good at doing what they are experts in themselves, but they are good at explaining the subject matter to others. They write books, teach courses and offer lessons and give steps others can follow.
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What I thought I developed all of those years ago was a pattern to understand communication.
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The next time someone starts listing all the reasons an idea won't work or can't happen, ask them to give 3 reasons it can.
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Trust is maintained when values and beliefs are actively managed. If companies do not actively work to keep clarity, discipline and consistency in balance, then trust starts to break down.
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Trust has two dimensions: competence and integrity. We will forgive mistakes of competence. Mistakes of integrity are harder to overcome.
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Some good leaders are rough around the edges and some leaders are difficult. Some have difficult personalities and some are really nice to be around, but those are not the qualifications. The qualifications are their desire to see us achieve more, their desire to push us to be the best we can be. Not for their selfish gain, but because they believe that we have something to offer.
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Systems and processes are essential to keep the crusade going, but they should not replace the crusade.
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Stress and anxiety at work have less to do with the work we do and more to do with weak management and leadership.
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Leadership is a choice. It's not a rank, it's a choice. I know many people who are at the top of their organization who have authority. We have to do what they say because they have authority over us. But they're not leaders. We wouldn't follow them. They may be at the top of the company but they're not leaders.
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I find, when you're an optimist, life has a funny way of looking after you.
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Focus on where you're going and you'll know what steps to take. Focus on the steps you're taking and you won't know where you're going.
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Rule books tell people what to do. Frameworks guide people how to act. Rule books insist on discipline. Frameworks allow for creativity.
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Fight against something and you focus on the thing you hate. Fight for something and you focus on the thing you love.
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The confident ask questions to learn what will connect. The insecure just keep talking with the hope something will stick.
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Before we can build the world we want to live in, we have to imagine it.