Something in human nature causes us to start slacking off at our moment of greatest accomplishment. As you become successful, you will need a great deal of self-discipline not to lose your sense of balance, humility and commitment.
Big is not beautiful. Big is inefficient.
This planet is our home. If we destroy the planet, we’ve destroyed our home, so it is fundamentally important.
Inventories can be managed, but people must be led.
Life is like a cobweb, not an organization chart.
I came from an environment where if you see a snake, you kill it. At General motors, if you see a snake, the first thing you do is to hire a consultant on snakes.
There is no accountability in the public school system – except for coaches. You know what happens to a losing coach. You fire him. A losing teacher can go on losing for 30 years and then go to glory.
The debt is like a crazy aunt we keep down in the basement. All the neighbors know she’s there, but nobody wants to talk about her.
I love this country, I love the principles on which it’s founded.
Success is like Halley’s comet, you know. Every now and then it just comes around.
You don’t have to be the biggest to beat the biggest.
The first EDSer to see a snake kills it. At GM, first thing you do is organize a committee on snakes. Then you bring in a consultant who knows a lot about snakes. Third thing you do is talk about it for a year.
If someone as blessed as I am is not willing to clean out the barn, who will?
One voice is tiny, and alone it cannot be heard above the din of politics as usual. The peoples voice, when it cries as one, is a great roar.
If we decide to take this level of business creating ability nationwide, we’ll all be plucking chickens for a living.
The American dream. Those three short, simple words encompass the hopes and aspirations of all the peoples on earth. The words are not only short and simple. They are also fragile.
Generosity is something we learn, from our parents, schools and community.
We have to succeed, so we will.
Action is greater than writing. A good man is a nobler object of contemplation than a great author. There are but two things worth living for: to do what is worthy of being written; and to write what is worthy of being read.
Revitalizing General Motors is like teaching an elephant to tap dance. You find the sensitive spot and start poking.
Lead and inspire people. Don’t try to manage and manipulate people. Inventories can be managed but people must be led.