They are admired by peers, adulated in media and among common men, and considered idols by millions of young aspiring leaders dreaming of making it big in the corporate world. Competent managers, outstanding leaders and true visionaries, these Chief Executives have performed excellently over the long term, catapulting their companies to success not just in the business sense but also on a scale of public repute and perception.
What are the leadership principles and management philosophy that drive these icons and enable them to take their organizations to such stellar heights?
Here's an inspiring compilation of management quotes from our choice of 7 CEOs, which reflect on their styles and show us how they led their organizations to feature among the most admired companies in the world.
“As new technology comes into the society there is a period of adjustment and education,” Jobs saidReuters“We cherish cost-consciousness at Berkshire. Our model is the widow who went to the local newspaper to place an obituary notice. Told there was a 25-cent-a-word charge, she requested “Fred Brown died.” She was then informed there was a seven-word minimum. ‘Okay’ the bereaved woman replied, ‘make it ‘Fred Brown died, golf clubs for sale.’”
(Warren Buffett on Business: Principles from the Sage of Omaha; pub: Wiley)
REUTERS“If there's one reason we have done better than most of our peers in the Internet space over the last six years, it is because we have focused like a laser on customer experience, and that really does matter, I think, in any business. It certainly matters online, where word of mouth is so very, very powerful. You know, if you make a customer unhappy they won't tell five friends, they'll tell 5,000 friends.”
(Academy of Achievement)
AmazonJeff Immelt expresses sympathy for Occupy Wall Street protesters.
REUTERS“The company has to have a priority to focus in on opportunities for growth: how to compete, how to innovate, how to drive our messages broadly to the marketplace, how to build our talent sets. My goals certainly include those, but some of those, I have delegated to people who work for me. My job is to make sure I pick the right people, and I give them the right training, and the right coaching.”
(CIO Asia)
REUTERS“When I started, I viewed my job as three main areas: vision and strategy of the company, development and recruitment of the team to implement that vision and strategy, and the need to communicate all of the above. Within about four or five years I realized there was something that many of us do not understand when we take a leadership role: culture. Great companies have very strong and great cultures. A huge part of a leadership role is to drive the culture of the company and to reinforce it. The other thing that has changed dramatically is [a shift] from command and control to collaboration and teamwork. It sounds easy to do, but it’s hard, because you are trained that way in M.B.A. school, in law school. Around 80 to 90 percent of the job is how we work together toward common goals, which requires a different skill set.”
(Newsweek)
REUTERS“As the CEO, my job is to create a climate of success for our people and inspire them to achieve the vision we have created for our business. That's really the true essence of leadership. At the end of the day, it all comes down to execution. As I mentioned earlier, vision without execution is simply daydreaming…For effective leadership -- especially in these times of challenge, there can be no substitute for strategic thinking and tireless, relentless execution. There can be no alternative for attracting and retaining the absolute best people to lead and creating a dynamic environment for them. And there can be no job more important than communicating effectively with your customers and all your key stakeholders.”
(Wharton School)
Reuters
