Greatness is not born from one success. Greatness is born from persevering through the countless failed attempts that preceded.
There are only two ways to influence human behavior: you can manipulate it or you can inspire it.
The cost of leadership is self-interest.
Leadership is not about the next election, it’s about the next generation.
Because a true sense of purpose is deeply emotional, it serves as a compass to guide us to act in a way completely consistent with our values and beliefs. Purpose does not need to involve calculations or numbers. Purpose is about the quality of life. Purpose is human, not economic.
The responsibility of leadership is not to come up with all the ideas but to create an environment in which great ideas can thrive.
To succeed takes more than the desire to win. It also takes the acceptance that we could fail.
Stand for people. Not a product or service or metric or number. If we stand for real, living, breathing people, we will change the world.
One of the best paradoxes of leadership is a leader’s need to be both stubborn and open-minded. A leader must insist on sticking to the vision and stay on course to the destination. But he must be open-minded during the process.
Leaders are the ones who have the courage to go first, to put themselves at personal risk to open a path for others to follow.
The rank of office is not what makes someone a leader. Leadership is the choice to serve others with or without any formal rank.
Some see risk as a reason not to try. Some see it as an obstacle to overcome. The risk is the same; to try or not depends on your perspective.
Great leaders don’t see themselves as great; they see themselves as human.
When leaders care less about their people, their people will be careless.
A boss who micromanages is like a coach who wants to get in the game. Leaders guide and support and then sit back to cheer from the sidelines.
Success always takes help. Failure is done alone.
No one knows everything. But together, we know a whole lot.
Leaders volunteer to go first into danger. Their willingness to sacrifice for us is the reason we’re inspired to follow.
Focus on long term success but be willing to make short term adjustments to get there.
More information is always better than less. When people know the reason things are happening, even if it’s bad news, they can adjust their expectations and react accordingly. Keeping people in the dark only serves to stir negative emotions.