Strong managers who make tough decisions to cut jobs provide the only true job security in today’s world. Weak managers are the problem. Weak managers destroy jobs.
Don’t lose youself on the way to the top.
So every time you think about your work-life balance issue, remember what your boss is thinking about – and that’s winning. Your needs may get heard – and even successfully resolved – but not if the boss’s needs aren’t met as well.
I’ve learned that mistakes can often be as good a teacher as success.
You can’t grow long-term if you can’t eat short-term. Anybody can manage short. Anybody can manage long. Balancing those two things is what management is.
You measure your people and you take action on those that don’t measure up.
I was never the smartest guy in the room. From the first person I hired, I was never the smartest guy in the room. And that’s a big deal. And if you’re going to be a leader – if you’re a leader and you’re the smartest guy in the world – in the room, you’ve got real problems.
Does coaching work? Yes. Good coaches provide a truly important service. They tell you the truth when no one else will.
You are not a leader to win a popularity contest-you are a leader to lead.
My main job was developing talent. I was a gardener providing water and other nourishment to our top 750 people. Of course, I had to pull out some weeds, too.
We bring together the best ideas – turning the meetings of our top managers into intellectual orgies.
The essence of competitiveness is liberated when we make people believe that what they think and do is important – and then get out of their way while they do it.
When you were made a leader you weren’t given a crown, you were given the responsibility to bring out the best in others.
As a leader, your job is to energize people around the mission and vision you’ve articulated.
Nothing of any importance has ever been accomplished by a pessimist.
Giving people self-confidence is by far the most important thing that I can do. Because then they will act.
If you pick the right people and give them the opportunity to spread their wings, and put compensation as a carrier behind it, you almost don’t have to manage them.
Willingness to change is a strength, even if it means plunging part of the company into total confusion for a while.
If you want risk taking, set an example yourself and reward and praise those that do.
The story about GE that hasn’t been told is the value of an informal place. I think it’s a big thought. I don’t think people have ever figured out that being informal is a big deal.