Whether your employees judge your management style to be dynamic or deluded, it is indisputable that leadership can at times be a challenging and lonely place. Indeed, many successful business leaders have found that they have needed support along the way, not just from friends and family – but from people whom have formerly “walked in their shoes”. So, if you are having a tough time at present, take heart from the following quotes;
- “It’s important to be willing to make mistakes. The worst thing that can happen is that you become memorable” – Sara Blakely, Founder of Spanx Inc.
- “Success is often achieved by those who don’t know that failure is inevitable” – Coco Chanel, Founder of Chanel.
- “I don’t believe too much in luck. I believe in circumstances. I believe in work”. – Carlos Slim, Founder of Grupo Carso.
- “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning” – Bill Gates, Founder of Microsoft.
- “It is not the strangest species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the most responsive to change” – Charles Darwin, Naturalist.
- “I learnt that you don’t get anywhere by sitting comfortably in a chair” – Conrad Hilton, Founder of Hilton Hotels.
- “There’s no reason to be the richest man in the cemetery. You can’t do business in there” – Colonel Sanders, Founder of KFC.
- “We think, mistakenly, that success is the result of the amount of time we put in at work, instead of the quality of time we put in” – Arianna Huffington, Co-founder of The Huffington Post.
- “I want to work for a company that contributes to and is part of the community. I want something not just to invest in. I want something to believe in” – Anita Roddick, Founder of The Body Shop.
- “Everyone talks about building a relationship with your customer. I think you build one with your employees first” – Angela Ahrendts, Senior Vice President of Apple.
- “Don’t ever let someone tell you that you can’t do something. Not even me” – Chris Gardner, Founder of Gardner Rich & Co.
- “You only have to be right once” – Drew Houston, Founder of Dropbox.
- “Hire people that are better than you and then leave them to get on with it” – David Ogilvy, Founder of Ogilvy & Mather.
- “To do a common thing uncommonly well brings success” – Henry J Heinz, Founder of the H. J. Heinz Company.
- “The minute that you start compromising for the sake of massaging somebody’s ego, that’s it, game over” – Gordon Ramsay, Chef & Restauranteur.
- “I have been popular and unpopular, successful and unsuccessful, loved and loathed and I know how meaningless it all is. Therefore,” I feel free to take whatever risks I want” – Madonna.
- “In England, you’re allowed to have an opinion – as long as it comes out of your mouth” – Jamie Oliver, Chef & Restauranteur.
- “A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn a reputation by trying to do hard things well” – Jeff Bezos, Founder of Amazon.
- “Life is too short to spend your time avoiding failure” – Michael Bloomberg, Founder of Bloomberg LP.
- “You don’t need to be a genius or a visionary, or even a college graduate to be successful. You just need framework and a dream” – Michael Dell, Founder of Dell Computers.
- “Culture eats strategy for breakfast” – Peter Drucker, Management Consultant & Author.
- “You’ve got to love what you do to really make things happen” – Philip Green, Chairman of Arcadia Group.
- “In the end, I do respond to my instincts. Sometimes they’re successful, and obviously sometimes they’re not. But you have to, I think, remain true to what you believe in” – Anna Wintour, Artistic Director of Conde Naste.
- “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower” – Steve Jobs, Founder of Apple.
- “If you can get your head around your dream, it means your dream isn’t big enough” – Victoria Beckham, Fashion Designer.
- “Risk comes from not knowing what you are doing” – Warren Buffet, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
- “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible” – Walt Disney, Co- founder of the Walt Disney Company.
- “Advertising is very simple in a lot of ways. Advertisers go where users go, and users are choosing to spend a lot more time online” – Susan Wojcicki, CEO of YouTube.
- “You have to create something from nothing” – Ralf Lauren, Fashion Entrepreneur.
- “It is during the bad times that the skilled manager lays firm foundations for future growth” – Konosuke Matsushita, Founder of Panasonic.
This list was compiled by Peter Nicholls, CEO of Ideology Consulting. For more information go to www.ideologyconsulting.co.uk .