Management Quotes

"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."

— Jack Welch

"Make your top managers rich and they will make you rich."

— Robert H. Johnson

"Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it."

— Proverbs 3:27

"Catch someone doing something right."

— Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson

"Never try to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and it annoys the pig."

— Paul Dickson

"Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don't interfere as long as the policy you've decided upon is being carried out."

— Ronald Reagan

"Always recognize that human individuals are ends, and do not use them as means to your end."

— Immanuel Kant

"Don't equate activity with efficiency. You are paying your key people to see the big picture. Don't let them get bogged down in a lot of meaningless meetings and paper shuffling. Announce a Friday afternoon off once in a while. Cancel a Monday morning meeting or two. Tell the cast of characters you'd like them to spend the amount of time normally spent preparing for attending the meeting at their desks, simply thinking about an original idea."

— Harvey Mackay

"Because a thing seems difficult for you, do not think it impossible for anyone to accomplish."

— Marcus Aurelius

"Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall."

— Stephen R. Covey

"Hire people who are better than you are, then leave them to get on with it . . . ; Look for people who will aim for the remarkable, who will not settle for the routine."

— David Ogilvy

"When hiring key employees, there are only two qualities to look for: judgement and taste. Almost everything else can be bought by the yard."

— John W. Gardner

"The secret of managing is to keep the guys who hate you away from the guys who are undecided."

— Casey Stengel

"A desk is a dangerous place from which to view the world."

— John Le Caré