Leadership
Leading people: setting direction, earning followers, and taking responsibility for others.
Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans—born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage
Verified sourceInaugural Address · Watch at 2:43 · John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
2:43 of 15:11All quotes from this speech →
In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility—I welcome it.
Verified sourceInaugural Address · Watch at 13:03 · John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
13:03 of 15:11All quotes from this speech →
And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.
Verified sourceInaugural Address · Watch at 13:52 · John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
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My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.
Verified sourceInaugural Address · Watch at 14:09 · John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
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If you want to change the world, measure a person by the size of their heart, not the size of their flippers.
Verified source2014 Commencement Address at the University of Texas at Austin · Watch at 8:30 · UT News, The University of Texas at Austin
8:30 of 19:29All quotes from this speech →
As delivered If you want to change the world, measure a person by the size of their heart, not by the size of their flippers.
The power of one person — Washington, Lincoln, King, Mandela and even a young girl from Pakistan, Malala — one person can change the world by giving people hope. So, if you want to change the world, start singing when you’re up to your neck in mud.
Verified source2014 Commencement Address at the University of Texas at Austin · Watch at 17:32 · UT News, The University of Texas at Austin
17:32 of 19:29All quotes from this speech →
I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice.
SourceAttributed to Lincoln by Joseph Gillespie in letter to The Herald and Torch Light (March 15, 1876) · via Wikiquote
Stand with anybody that stands right, stand with him while he is right and part with him when he goes wrong.
SourceSpeech at Peoria, Illinois (1854) · via Wikiquote
I want it said of me by those who knew me best, that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow.
SourceRecalled in a letter from Joshua Speed in Herndon's Lincoln (1890), p. 527 · via Wikiquote
With public sentiment, nothing can fail. Without it, nothing can succeed.
SourceFirst debate with Stephen Douglas Ottawa, Illinois (21 August 1858) · via Wikiquote
No policy that does not rest upon some philosophical public opinion can be permanently maintained.
SourceAllow the humblest man an equal chance (1860) · via Wikiquote
Nothing is a greater stranger to my breast, or a sin that my soul more abhors, than that black and detestable one, ingratitude.
SourceLetter to Governor Dinwiddie · Mount Vernon Ladies' Association on George Washington's Mount Vernon
I shall make it the most agreeable part of my duty to study merit, and reward the brave and deserving.
SourceAddress to the Officers of the Virginia Regiment · National Archives on Founders Online
Remember that it is the actions, and not the commission, that make the officer, and that there is more expected from him, than the title.
SourceAddress to the Officers of the Virginia Regiment · Mount Vernon Ladies' Association on George Washington's Mount Vernon
A man's intentions should be allowed in some respects to plead for his actions.
SourceLetter to the Speaker of the House of Burgesses · National Archives on Founders Online
I have diligently sought the public welfare; and have endeavoured to inculcate the same principles in all that are under me. These reflections will be a cordial to my mind as long as I am able to distinguish between Good & Evil.
SourceLetter to the Speaker of the House of Burgesses, John Robinson · National Archives on Founders Online
Three things prompt men to a regular discharge of their duty in time of action: natural bravery, hope of reward, and fear of punishment.
SourceLetter to the President of Congress, Feb. 9, 1776 · National Archives on Founders Online
...a people unused to restraint must be led, they will not be drove.
SourceGeorge Washington to Major General Stirling · National Archives on Founders Online
Still I hope I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain (what I consider the most enviable of all titles) the character of an honest man.
SourceGeorge Washington to Alexander Hamilton · National Archives on Founders Online
All see, and most admire, the glare which hovers round the external trappings of elevated office. To me there is nothing in it, beyond the lustre which may be reflected from its connection with a power of promoting human felicity.
SourceLetter to Catherine Macaulay Graham · National Archives on Founders Online
I hold the maxim no less applicable to public than to private affairs, that honesty is the best policy.
SourceFarewell Address to the People of the United States · National Archives on Founders Online
It is important ... that the habits of thinking in a free Country should inspire caution in those entrusted with its administration, to confine themselves within their respective Constitutional Spheres; avoiding in the exercise of the Powers of one department to encroach upon another.
SourceFarewell Address to the People of the United States · National Archives on Founders Online
...without Virtue & without integrity, the finest talents & the most briliant accomplishments can never gain the respect or conciliate the Esteem of the truly valuable part of mankind.
SourceWashington to Bartholomew Dandridge · Mount Vernon Ladies' Association on George Washington's Mount Vernon
It's not that every single thing that happens on Facebook is gonna be good. This is humanity. People use tools for good and bad, but I think that we have a clear responsibility to make sure that the good is amplified and to do everything we can to mitigate the bad.
SourceIn an interview with as quoted in Zuckerberg: The Recode interview (July 18, 2018) · via Wikiquote
If you aren't fired with enthusiasm, you will be fired with enthusiasm.
SourceReported in Lee Green, Sportswit (1984), p. 169. · via Wikiquote
The price of greatness is responsibility.
SourceThe Second World War (1939–1945) · via Wikiquote
Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right.
I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right, and stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong.
Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.
No man is good enough to govern another man without the other's consent.
Avoid popularity if you would have peace.
Public sentiment is everything. With public sentiment, nothing can fail. Without it, nothing can succeed.
Standing as I do, with my hand upon this staff, and under the folds of the American flag, I ask you to stand by me so long as I stand by it.
If once you forfeit the confidence of your fellow-citizens, you can never regain their respect and esteem.
Some single mind must be master, else there will be no agreement in anything.
Leaders have to act more quickly today. The pressure comes much faster.
Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.
My job is not to represent Washington to you, but to represent you to Washington.
We need somebody who's got the heart, the empathy, to recognize what it's like to be a young teenage mom, the empathy to understand what it's like to be poor or African-American or gay or disabled or old - and that's the criterion by which I'll be selecting my judges.
Americans... still believe in an America where anything's possible - they just don't think their leaders do.
You know, one of the things I think you understand as president is you're held responsible for everything, but you don't always have control of everything, right?
As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.
Expectations are a form of first-class truth: If people believe it, it's true.
No one person controls Microsoft. The board and the shareholders decide whether they want to have me as CEO.
Personally, I'd like to see more of our leaders take a technocratic approach to solving our biggest problems.
With tech companies, whoever's the leader is always questioned, you know. They say, 'Is this the end of them?' And - there's more - more times people think that's the case than it really is the case.
Some people don't like change, but you need to embrace change if the alternative is disaster.
People work better when they know what the goal is and why. It is important that people look forward to coming to work in the morning and enjoy working.
The path to the CEO's office should not be through the CFO's office, and it should not be through the marketing department. It needs to be through engineering and design.
Here in the West, people often don't like listening to their leaders, even if they are right.
I'm trying to construct a world that maximises the probability that SpaceX continues its mission without me.
The story being told in 'Star Wars' is a classic one. Every few hundred years, the story is retold because we have a tendency to do the same things over and over again. Power corrupts, and when you're in charge, you start doing things that you think are right, but they're actually not.
I realized why directors are such horrible people - in a way - because you want things to be right, and people will just not listen to you, and there is no time to be nice to people, no time to be delicate.
I don't want to be liked. I want to be respected.
The world needs new leadership, but the new leadership is about working together.
I'm humble 'cause I think many years ago people say, 'Well, Alibaba's terrible company'. And I know we were not that terrible. We're pretty good; we're better than people thought. But today, when people have a high expectation on you, and I start to worry and nervous because we are not good yet.
I try to make myself happy, no, because I know that if I'm not happy, my colleagues are not happy and my shareholders are not happy and my customers are not happy.
The thing that motivates me is a very common form of motivation. And that is, with other folks counting on me, it's so easy to be motivated.
My job as a leader is to make sure everybody in the company has great opportunities, and that they feel they're having a meaningful impact and are contributing to the good of society. As a world, we're doing a better job of that. My goal is for Google to lead, not follow that.
Many leaders of big organizations, I think, don't believe that change is possible. But if you look at history, things do change, and if your business is static, you're likely to have issues.
We don't have as many managers as we should, but we would rather have too few than too many.
You know, my family and friends have never been yes-men: 'Yes, you're doing the right thing, you're always right.' No, they tell me when I'm wrong, and that's why I've been able to stay who I am and stay humble.
Leaders don't look backwards to condemn what has already been done; they look forward to create a better future.
I know that I'm not perfect. While we all have our prejudices and bigotries, we have to learn that it's an issue that we have to control, that it's part of my responsibility as an entrepreneur to try to solve it, not just to kick the problem down the road.
Leaders are not dogmatic. They are principled and know that change is never easy, but when it's necessary, they must lead.
There are a lot of things I suck at. I'm not organized. I have to have partners and people around me who dot my i's and cross my t's. I'm sloppy. I'm a ready-fire-aim guy. I need to have people around me who aren't.
Make sure you are the boss. I don't think I would encourage executives that work for me to blog. There can be only 1 public vision for an organization.
I've learned the number one job of a pro manager is not to win championships but to keep their job.
Leaders don't change their positions mid-debate. They welcome scorn from the masses because it creates the opportunity for dialogue.
In my mind, a good leader would say, 'OK, I need to sit down and talk to the guys who oppose me. Let me let them voice their opinions; let me get their thought process.'
I always tell people that you should only hire people to be on your team if you would work for them.
Our philosophy is that we care about people first.
I will only hire someone to work directly for me if I would work for that person. It's a pretty good test.
If we're trying to build a world-class News Feed and a world-class messaging product and a world-class search product and a world-class ad system, and invent virtual reality and build drones, I can't write every line of code. I can't write any lines of code.
There are people who are really good managers, people who can manage a big organization, and then there are people who are very analytic or focused on strategy. Those two types don't usually tend to be in the same person. I would put myself much more in the latter camp.
If you accept the expectations of others, especially negative ones, then you never will change the outcome.
To be successful you have to be selfish, or else you never achieve. And once you get to your highest level, then you have to be unselfish. Stay reachable. Stay in touch. Don't isolate.
I think the players win the championship, and the organization has something to do with it, don't get me wrong. But don't try to put the organization above the players.
I want to be the bridge to the next generation.
It's a heavy duty to try to do everything and please everybody. My job was to go out there and play the game of basketball as best I can and provide entertainment for everyone who wanted to watch basketball. Obviously, people may not agree with that; again, I can't live with what everyone's impression of what I should or what I shouldn't do.
Ultimately, if you can say that I'm a bad owner and we're winning championships, I can live with that. But if we're not making the playoffs and we're spending and losing money, then I have to look in the mirror and say maybe I'm not taking the necessary steps to doing what it takes to run an organization.
Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody's going to know whether you did it or not.
You are responsible for the energy that you create for yourself, and you're responsible for the energy that you bring to others.
You're either humble or you're not. If you were a jerk before the fame, you just become a jerk with a bigger spotlight. Whoever you are really comes through.
Unless you choose to do great things with it, it makes no difference how much you are rewarded, or how much power you have.
Always keep an open mind and a compassionate heart.
Approach the game with no preset agendas and you'll probably come away surprised at your overall efforts.
I think the most important thing about coaching is that you have to have a sense of confidence about what you're doing.
You have to be able to psychologically help your players, support-wise, be in touch with them, so I think managing people is very important.
I think the most important thing about coaching is that you have to have a sense of confidence about what you're doing. You have to be a salesman, and you have to get your players, particularly your leaders, to believe in what you're trying to accomplish on the basketball floor.
The NBA has made a real issue about really making these superstars the premium that everybody wants to go to. That's their calling card and their marketing tool. But the coaches at the other end of the sphere are trying to make everybody on the team, even nine, 10, 11, 12, just as important, and have a real role that's meaningful.
Being a good listener is absolutely critical to being a good leader; you have to listen to the people who are on the front line.
I believe in benevolent dictatorship provided I am the dictator.
The art of delegation is one of the key skills any entrepreneur must master.
All you have in business is your reputation - so it's very important that you keep your word.
To me, business isn't about wearing suits or pleasing stockholders. It's about being true to yourself, your ideas and focusing on the essentials.
A good leader doesn't get stuck behind a desk.
A passionate belief in your business and personal objectives can make all the difference between success and failure. If you aren't proud of what you're doing, why should anybody else be?
Ridiculous yachts and private planes and big limousines won't make people enjoy life more, and it sends out terrible messages to the people who work for them. It would be so much better if that money was spent in Africa - and it's about getting a balance.
Especially when you're at a high level in an organization, criticism can be devastating to an employee. I prefer to praise employees for what they're doing right, and it tends to lead to them doing more of the same. Not always, but it's the way I choose to bet.
From a young age, I learned to focus on the things I was good at and delegate to others what I was not good at. That's how Virgin is run. Fantastic people throughout the Virgin Group run our businesses, allowing me to think creatively and strategically.
There is no way I would ask others to go on a Virgin Galactic flight if I didn't feel it was safe enough for myself.
Through the right people focusing on the right things, we can, in time, get on top of a lot if not most of the problems of this world. And that's what a number of us are trying to do.
When I started Virgin from a basement in west London, there was no great plan or strategy. I didn't set out to build a business empire... For me, building a business is all about doing something to be proud of, bringing talented people together and creating something that's going to make a real difference to other people's lives.
The energy you create around you is perhaps going to be the most important attribute - in the long run, EQ trumps IQ. Without being a source of energy for others, very little can be accomplished.
There is something only a CEO uniquely can do, which is set that tone, which can then capture the soul of the collective.
The thing I'm most focused on today is, how am I maximizing the effectiveness of the leadership team, and what am I doing to nurture it?
One thing we've talked a lot about, even in the first leadership meeting, was, what's the purpose of our leadership team? The framework we came up with is the notion that our purpose is to bring clarity, alignment and intensity.
I want people on the front line to be proud of what they're doing and give themselves permission to finish things in ways that they can be proud of.
Ultimately, what any company does when it is successful is merely a lagging indicator of its existing culture.
I want the least number of decision makers. We want to empower people to get more things done and also give permission to question orthodoxy.
I have certain guys who I looked up to. Jordan, Kobe, those guys. Passing that on to doing my part to kind of keep that influence of basketball where it should be is kind of why I play the game.
Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren't used to an environment where excellence is expected.
The people who are doing the work are the moving force behind the Macintosh. My job is to create a space for them, to clear out the rest of the organization and keep it at bay.
The delicate balance of mentoring someone is not creating them in your own image, but giving them the opportunity to create themselves.
One of the gratuities about being a director is that you can volunteer yourself out of difficult details.
All presidents swear an oath to the Constitution to keep this country united, and when the country fell apart, Lincoln had to put it back together again, with a lot of help. But he bore total responsibility.
Lincoln believed in the American people.
Lincoln's leadership is based on a number of precepts, but my favorite one is that he acted in the name, and for the good, of the people.
What you are will show in what you do.
You want to be the pebble in the pond that creates the ripple for change.
For us, the most important thing we can do is raise people up - that is, either by giving the ability to do things they could not otherwise do, allow them to create things they couldn't otherwise create. It's about giving them tools; it is about empowering people.
To whom much is given, much is expected. I do believe this. It's embedded in me.
I hope people remember me as a good and decent man. And if they do, then that's success.
I'm not a person who defends myself very often. I kind of let my actions speak for me.
When you're one of the leaders of the team, there are no days off.
If you're a quarterback, you want everything on your shoulders. You want to be the one to make the decisions.
The thing about film-making is I give it everything, that's why I work so hard. I always tell young actors to take charge. It's not that hard. Sign your own cheques, be responsible.
I look at the Samurai because they were the artists of their time. What I think struck me when I read Bushido is compassion. 'If there's no one there to help, go out and find someone to help.' That hit me, because I try to lead my life like that.
Leaders are made, they are not born. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile.
Confidence is contagious. So is lack of confidence.
Character is just another word for having a perfectly disciplined and educated will. A person can make his own character by blending these elements with an intense desire to achieve excellence. Everyone is different in what I will call magnitude, but the capacity to achieve character is still the same.
The leader can never close the gap between himself and the group. If he does, he is no longer what he must be. He must walk a tightrope between the consent he must win and the control he must exert.
Coaches who can outline plays on a black board are a dime a dozen. The ones who win get inside their player and motivate.
I have no use for people who throw their weight around as celebrities, or for those who fawn over you just because you are famous.
Of all the things I've done, the most vital is coordinating those who work with me and aiming their efforts at a certain goal.
I was only the servant of my country and had I, at any moment, failed to express her unflinching resolve to fight and conquer, I should at once have been rightly cast aside.
We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.
Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.
Great and good are seldom the same man.
It is more agreeable to have the power to give than to receive.
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