The Essential Book of Business and Life Quotations

By Dominique V. Turpin and Antoine de Saint Affrique

An up-to-date book of quotations for executives, academics and anyone who wants to spice speeches and business presentations or simply reflect on some of the best things ever said on topics linked to business and management life in general. From “Aristotle” to “Mark Zuckenberg” and from “Action” to “Work”, this book is a formidable source of witty remarks and inspiration for all. Best of its kind and fully sourced, the book also covers modern topics such as “Bitcoins”, “Digitalization”, “Sustainability” or “Fake News” and includes a large number of quotations never published before.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Anthem Press
• Release date: Jan 17, 2023
• ISBN: 9781839984402

Book preview

Praise

This book is a real modern business encyclopedia with all what has been said about management and life in general. It is an absolute reference, for provoking, reinsuring, serious or fun thoughts! Chose the word of your moment and enjoy!

—Gilles Morel, President Europe Middle East Africa and Executive Vice-President of Whirlpool Corporation

This is the perfect entertaining book to acquire new knowledge! Take a cup of tea or coffee in one hand and open a page at random with the other, you will always find clever and amusing quotations to make you think or smile.

—Grace Lin Xu, Founder of VIVA Nutrition China, Switzerland and USA

It is amazing what has been said about business, organization and leadership during the recorded life of the human race. Dominique’s book provides an exciting and inspiring overview of this toolbox for academics, authors, speakers and leaders to provide positive inspiration by relying on wise words of those who came before them.

—Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, Executive Chairman of the LEGO Brand Group, Member of the Board of Starbucks, Member of the Board of Merlin Entertainments Limited

This is accumulated wisdom in more than 10,000 quotes and by far the best guide for everyone who has to make a speech in public. Dominique’s book is full of smart, witty advices, tips and remarks meant to help you deal with many various topics about business and life. It’s all you need to be confident in front of any type of audience!

—Cees’t Hart, CEO & President of The Carlsberg Group

This book offers executives, scholars or anyone who is curious about the world we live in, the most complete compilation of quotations that have shaped and influenced the global business world.

—Alain-Dominique Perrin, President of the Cartier Foundation, Former CEO of Cartier, Chairman of EFMD (European Foundation for Management Development)

This book is the result of a long and daunting research project. Whenever possible, all the 10,000 quotations have been tracked down to their original author(s) and source. This is amazing research. Dominique’s book is now THE reference title for business and life quotations. It’s truly a must book to read!

—Professor Kazuo Ichijo, Dean of Hitotsubashi, School of International Corporate Strategy

In Colombia, we would say that Dominique’s book is BACANO, which is a word that combines gorgeous, hot, fantastic, great and magical.

—Diego Molano-Vega, Minister of Information Technology and Communications of Colombia (2010-1015)

The Essential Book of Business and Life Quotations

The Essential Book of Business and Life Quotations

Compiled by Dominique V. Turpin

Anthem Press

An imprint of Wimbledon Publishing Company

www.anthempress.com

This edition first published in UK and USA 2023

by ANTHEM PRESS

75–76 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 8HA, UK

or PO Box 9779, London SW19 7ZG, UK

and

244 Madison Ave #116, New York, NY 10016, USA

Copyright © Dominique V. Turpin 2023

The author asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022940037

A catalog record for this book has been requested.

ISBN-13: 978-1-83998-4-389 (Hbk)

ISBN-10: 1-83998-4-392 (Hbk)

This title is also available as an e-book.

Dedicated to Hélène, Antoine, Léo and Guillaume

Contents

Foreword

Introduction

A

Ability

Absence

Accomplishment

Accountability

Accounting

Achievement

Action

Actuaries

Admiration

Adults

Advantage (Competitive)

Adversity

Advertising

Advertising Slogans

Advices

Africa

Age and Ageing

Age, Old

Agility (Business)

Agreement

Air Travel and Airplanes

Alliances

Ambiguity

Ambition

America

Analysis

Anger

Apologies

Applause

Arguments

Arrogance

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Arts

Asia

Assets

Attitude

Auditors

Authenticity

Authority

Autobiographies

B

Balance

Balance Sheet

Banking

Bankruptcy

Beauty

Behaviors

Beliefs

Best Practices (Management)

Better and Best

Big Business

Big Data

Birthdays

Bitcoins

Blame

Boards of Directors

Boldness

Books

Boredom

Borrowing and Lending

Bosses

Bottom line

Branding

Budgets

Bullshit (BS)

Bureaucracy

Business

Business Models

Business Philosophy

Business Plans

Business Purpose

Business Schools

Busy

Buying and Selling

C

Canada

Capital

Capitalism

Care and Caring

Careers

Cash

Cash Flow

Celebrations

Centralization and Decentralization

CEOs

Certainty and Uncertainty

Challenges

Champagne

Chance

Change

Character

Charisma

Cheating

Children

China

Choice

Civilization

Cleverness

Climate Change

Coaching

Collaboration

Commitment

Committees

Common Sense

Communications

Communism

Compassion

Competencies

Competition

Competitiveness

Complacency

Complaints

Complexity

Compliments

Compromise

Computers

Confidence and Self-Confidence

Conflicts

Conformity

Conscience

Consensus

Consequences

Consequences (Unintended)

Conservatism

Consistency

Consulting

Contracts

Control

Conviction

Corporate Culture

Corporate Responsibility

Corporations

Corruption

Costs and Cost Cutting

Courage

Covid

Creativity

Credit and Creditors

Crimes

Crisis

Critics and Criticism

Curiosity

Currencies

Curriculum Vitae (CV)

Customer Centricity

Customer Loyalty

Customer Needs

Customer Relationship

Customer Satisfaction

Customer Service

Customers

Cybersecurity

Cynics and Cynicism

D

Data

Deadlines

Deals

Death

Debts

Deceit

Decision Making

Deeds

Deficits

Delegation

Democracy

Design

Destiny

Details

Dictators

Difference

Differentiation

Difficulties

Digital Transformation

Diplomacy

Disagreements

Disappointments

Discovery

Discrimination

Disruption

Diversity

Divorce

Doubts

Dreams

Drinks

Duty

E

Easy

Ecology

Ecosystems

Economics

Education

Effectiveness

Efficiency

Efforts

Ego

Eloquence

Emails

Emotions

Empathy

Employees

Empowerment

End

Engineering

England

Enthusiasm

Entrepreneurship

Envy

Equality and Inequality

Establishment

Ethics

Europe

Evil

Example

Excellence

Excess

Excuses

Execution (Strategy)

Executive Education

Executives

Expectations

Expenses

Expensive

Experience

Experts

Explanations

F

Facebook

Facts

Fads

Failures

Fairness

Faith

Fake and Fake News

Fame

Family

Family Businesses

Fashion

Faults

Fear

Feedback

Feelings

Finances

Financial Statements

Focus

Food

Forecasting

Forgiveness

France

Freedom

Friendship

Fun

Future

G

Generalization

Generosity

Genius

Germany

Global Warming

Globalization

Goals

Golf

Good and Bad

Gossips

Governance (Corporate)

Government

Gratitude

Great

Greed

Growth

Guts

H

Habits

Happiness

Happiness & Sadness

Hate

Headquarters

Health

Heaven and Hell

Hierarchy

High-Tech

Hiring and Firing

History

Honesty

Hope

Human Resources (HR)

Humiliation

Humility

Humor

Hypocrisy and Hypocrites

Hypothesis

I

Ideals

Ideas

Ideology

Ignorance

Imagination

Imitation

Impact

Implementation

Impossible

Improvement

Inaction

Indecision

India

Indifference

Industry

Inflation

Influence

Information

Inheritance

Initiative

Innovation

Insider Trading

Insights

Integrity

Intellect and Intellectuals

Intelligence

Intentions

Internet

Intuition

Inventions

Investments and Investors

Ireland

Italy

J

Japan

Jobs

Joint ventures (JVs)

Journalists

Judgment

Justice and Injustice

K

Kindness

Knowledge

L

Last Words

Laughing

Laws and Lawyers

Laziness

Leadership

Learning

Legacy

Leisure

Liberty

Lies

Life

Life balance

Listening

Logic

Loneliness

Losers and Losing

Love

Loyalty

Luck

Luxury

M

Madness

Man and Mankind

Management

Managers

Managing People

Manners

Market Research

Marketing

Markets and Market Economy

Marriage

Marxism

MBAs

Media

Mediocrity

Meetings

Memory

Men and Women

Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As)

Millionaires and Billionaires

Mind

Misjudgements

Mission Statement

Mistakes

Misunderstanding

Moderation

Modesty

Money

Monopolies

Morality

Motivation

Mottos

N

Nature

Negotiations

Network and Networking

New Year

News

Newspapers

O

Obstacles

Obvious

Office

Old

Opinions

Opportunities

Opposite

Optimism

Optimism and Pessimism

Order

Organizations

Original and Originality

Others (Other People)

Ownership

P

Pain

Parties

Passion

Past

Past and Future

Patience

Patriotism

Pay

Peace

People

Perceptions

Perfection

Performance

Persistence

Perseverance

Personality

Persuasion

Pessimism

Philanthropy

Philosophy

Pioneer

Plagiarism

Plans and Planning

Pleasure

Politeness

Politicians and Politics

Positioning

Poverty

Power

PowerPoint

Pragmatism

Praise

Prejudices

Presentations

Press

Pricing

Pride

Principles

Priorities

Private Equity

Problems and Problem Solving

Processes and Process management

Production and Manufacturing

Productivity

Product

Professionals

Profits

Progress

Projects

Promises

Promotion (Job)

Promotion (Product)

Propaganda

Prosperity

Prudence

Psychiatrists

Public

Public Relations (PR)

Public Servants

Punctuality

Q

Quality

Questions

Quotations

R

Racism

Reading

Real Estate

Reality

Recession

Reforms

Regrets

Regulations

Relationships

Reorganization

Reputation

Research and Development (R&D)

Resources

Respect

Responsibility

Results

Retail Business

Retirement

Revolution

Reward

Rich and Poor

Right and Wrong

Rights

Risk

Routine

Rules

Russia

S

Safety

Sales and Selling

Savings

Say (Said)

Sciences and Scientists

Secrets

Self (One’s Self)

Self-Development

Selfies

Selfishness

Seriousness

Service

Sexism

Shame

Shareholder Value

Shareholders

Short and Long Term

Silence

Silicon Valley

Simplicity

Sincerity

Sins

Skills (Hard and Soft)

Social Media

Social Responsibility

Socialism

Society

Solitude

Speaking

Specialists

Speculation

Speeches

Speed

Sponsorship

Sports

Start-Ups

Statesmanship

Statistics

Status-Quo

Stock Market

Story-Telling

Strategy

Strengths

Structure (Corporate)

Stupidity

Style

Success

Success (Corporate)

Success (Individual)

Success and Failure (Corporate)

Success and Failure (Individual)

Suicide

Sustainability

Switzerland

Synergies

Systems

T

Tact

Talents

Talking

Taste

Taxes

Taxis

Teaching

Teamwork

Technology

Temptations

Terrorism

Theories

Thinking

Time

Today

Tomorrow

Top Management

Tough (People and Times)

Trade

Trade Unions

Travels

Trends

Troubles

Trust

Truth

Try

Turnaround

Tyranny

U

Understanding

Unemployment

Unexpected

Unhappiness

Unlearning

V

Valuation (Business)

Value

Value Proposition

Values

Venture Capital (VC)

Vices

Victory

Violence

Virtues

Vision

W

Wages

Wall Street

Wars

Weaknesses

Wealth

Willpower

Wines

Winning

Winning and Losing

Wisdom

Wishes

Wit

Women

Work

Workers

World

Worries

Writing

Wrong

Y

Yes and No

Yourself

Youth

Z

Zoom (Conferencing)

Index of Cross Topics

List of Authors and Topics

Foreword

When used appropriately, a quotation is invaluable to create impact. A great quote can jolt your audience, get you a laugh or a smile or trigger new insights. A good quote helps you conquer your audience: It reinforces your point, stresses your message with authenticity and authority, sometimes more effectively than using your own words. The right quotation at the right time helps make your message crystal clear. It not only adds spice but also makes it more memorable.

As importantly, if not more, quotations you read and reflect upon, rather than just using, can become a seed for new thoughts, fuel added to intellectual curiosity or simply an invitation to explore a new field, read a new book or discover a new author.

Dominique Turpin’s decision to create this unique compilation of classic and modern quotes about business and life in general reflects his approach to teaching: Opening up a world of diverse thinking, mixing practical considerations with inspirational ones in a way that always catches the attention and makes you think. It might serve as a great toolbox to some, and to others as a library through which they can browse, picking a quotation here and there—enjoying the discovery and the stimulation it provides—and returning on a regular basis. Whether thought-provoking or amusing, you are sure to find a quotation to suit the moment in this book!

Antoine de Saint-Affrique

CEO, Danone

Paris, France

Introduction

This unique compilation of quotations is the fruit of my several decades at IMD, the top business school specialized in executive education—and consistently ranked among the world’s top five by the Financial Times newspaper. As a professor of marketing strategy and also the former dean and president of IMD, I had the privilege of interacting with thousands of executives—at all levels—from leading companies around the world. I was also fortunate to meet some of the very top (business) leaders of my time, from Akio Morita (founder of Sony Corp.) to former U.S. President Bill Clinton, Bill Gates (Microsoft), Ingvar Kamprad (IKEA), Peter Brabeck-Letmathe (Nestlé), Jack Welch (GE), and many others, including my great friend Antoine de Saint-Affrique (Danone), who has kindly written the foreword to this book. You will find some of their quotes in these pages.

As a passionate academic, I am an avid reader of not only business books and articles but also novels, biographies, and historical and philosophical publications about life in general. In my long career as an instructor, writer, and consultant, I have been blessed to work with a number of outstanding people, including my IMD colleagues, other top academics, and business leaders. Many of them are exceptional characters and brains who provided me with plenty of food for thought, reflected in some of the witty quotes gathered in this book.

As far as possible I have tried to be intellectually honest, tracing thousands of quotations to their (most likely) original sources when those were missing or doubtful. In the social media age, it is common to find smart quotations with dubious origins attributed to giants such as Churchill, Einstein, Twain, or Gandhi. Apocryphal quotations abound on the Internet. Going back to the original source of many of these quotes has been extremely time-consuming, since a significant number remain disputed, obscure, unknown, controversial, or transformed over time.

For example, "Time you enjoy wasting was not wasted" has often been (mis)attributed to John Lennon, Bertrand Russell, T.S. Elliot, Søren Kierkegaard, and Laurence J. Peter, among others. According to my own research—together with the help of others—the original author of this sentence is most probably Marthe Troly-Curtin, an early twentieth-century American writer.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the thirty-fifth president of the United States, was prone to quote others in speeches—often incorrectly—without necessarily mentioning the original authors. This is the reason so many misquotations can be traced back to JFK. Even the most serious quotation books can make mistakes. For example, Bartlett’s attributes the sentence "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent" to Eleanor Roosevelt’s 1937 autobiography This Is My Story, but it is nowhere to be found there. Ralph Keyes has done extraordinary work in his investigative book The Quote Verifier: Who Said What, Where and When; it remains the key reference when in doubt.

"The latest definition of an optimist is one who fills up his crossword puzzle in ink," attributed to Clement King Shorter in the Observer (22 February 1925), has been shortened over time to "An optimist is someone who starts his crosswords with a ballpen." For obvious reasons, the latter is more frequently used now. Unfortunately, the author of this revision remains anonymous.

I have tried to minimize the number of unclearly sourced quotations. However, I found some of them so witty (e.g., "Creativity is intelligence having fun—attributed without evidence to Albert Einstein) that I could not always resist including them. When in doubt, I listed the author of the quote as Unknown or specifically indicated that the quote was attributed (without evidence) to..."

Fortunately, quote verification has been transformed by online tools such as search engines, electronic databases, and libraries as well as digital papers and magazines. Recent quotes (roughly less than twenty-five years old) are now much easier to verify. Nevertheless, quotations without clear sources—including a number of those in this book—should always be treated with suspicion. In particular, misattributions happen mostly when the person quoted is no longer around to correct the record.

This book is a collection of over 10,000 classic and modern quotes, including many original quotes never published before. They are a reflection not only of my life as an academic but also of my life as a whole. In other words, they summarize what I have learned so far. I have kept the quotations as short as feasible and chosen them in such a way that—as far as possible—they are not presented out of context. However, in some cases, contextual information has been added to the source to aid readers. Sometimes, I have included quotations in foreign languages if they are well known or when the English translation might miss some nuances of the original.

The book is organized by broad topic, from Ability to Zoom (Conferencing), and within each, the quotations have been arranged in alphabetical order (by author) to reflect various viewpoints on a particular theme. The choice of quotations reflects both business and general issues. As my IMD colleague Jan Kubes likes to stress: "At the end of the day, every business is about people, their feelings, emotions, and state of mind."

The book covers 600 topics, with inputs from over 2,500 authors, with limited overlap (although a few quotes have been repeated in, for example, topics such as Optimism and Pessimism). The quotations have been mostly classified by overall topic rather than by keywords in the text. For instance, "It’s no longer about the big beating the small; it’s about the fast beating the slow" by Cisco executive Larry Carter is classified under Agility (Business) rather than under Big Business, Small, Fast, or Slow .

The length of each section varies, from a few entries for Zoom (Conferencing) to a large number for Strategy. Obviously, timeless topics such as Change, Competition, Leadership, Life, Money, Power , and Success have more entries than more modern ones such as Bitcoins, Covid, Cybersecurity, Digital Transformation, Emails, or Facebook .

Along with the date, most quotations are listed with a source reference—the event, book, article, or comment in which it (first) appeared. An Index of Cross-Topics is also provided. For example, under Leadership, readers will find a list of related topics: "See also Accountability; Boldness; Character; Charisma "; and so on. Synonyms and/or related topics have also been indexed. Thus, Information Technology contains the reference "See Artificial Intelligence (AI); Computers; Cybersecurity … The Index of Authors" also provides readers with a very brief description of the various authors.

Although the book is primarily targeted at business people, policymakers, and academics, I hope that generalists, students, and the general public at large will also find it thought-provoking—and that it might, at times, raise a smile.

Finally, I would like to express my special thanks to IMD participants, alumni, colleagues, and many friends, who not only encouraged me to compile this book but also provided me with numerous quotations. In anticipation, I am also extremely grateful to the readers who are kind enough to provide feedback, comments, and suggestions for corrections, any misattributions, or other mistakes that may have escaped me. Such a book is always a work in progress and a never-ending enterprise.

Dr. Dominique Turpin,

Emeritus Professor in Marketing

President & Dean of IMD, Switzerland and Singapore (2010–2016)

President (Europe) of CEIBS (China Europe International Business School)

Chairman of DAA Capital

Lausanne, Switzerland

[e-mail]

Ability

Ability and achievement are bona fides no one dares question, no matter how unconventional the man who presents them: Getty, Jean Paul J. Paul (1892-1976; American oil magnate), How to be Rich (1966)

Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it: Holtz, Louis Leo Lou (b. 1937; American football coach), Winning Every Day (1998)

Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there: Wooden, John (1910-2010; American basketball player and coach). As quoted in: The Magic of Teamwork by Thomas Nelson (1997)

Ability, n. The natural equipment to accomplish some small part of the meaner ambitions distinguishing able men from dead ones: Bierce, Ambrose Gwinett (1842-1914; American novelist and journalist), The Devil’s Dictionary (1911)

Ability: Is measured not by the greatness of the talent but by the purpose for which it is employed: Runes, Dagobert David (1902-1982; Ukrainian-born American philosopher and author), Treasury of Thoughts (1987)

Great ability develops and reveals itself increasingly with every new assignment: Gracián y Morales, Baltasar (1601-1658; Spanish Jesuit philosopher and writer), The Oracle, a Manual of the Art of Discretion and The Art of Worldly Wisdom - Oráculo manual y arte de prudencia (1647)

It is not our abilities that show what we truly are. It is our choices: Rowling, Joanne Kathleen J.K. (b. 1965; English novelist), Professor Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (1998)

Most men become successful and famous, not through ambition, but through ability and character: Feather, William (1889-1981; American publisher), The Business of Life (1949)

Executive ability is deciding quickly and getting somebody else to do the work: Nightingale, Earl (1921-1989; American motivational writer and author). As quoted in Conference Leaders’ Source Book (1948)

It does not take executive ability to discharge a man, but it does take it to develop men: Watson Sr., Thomas J. (1874-1956; American entrepreneur, founder of IBM), System (August 1926)

Big jobs usually go to the men who prove their ability to outgrow small ones: Emerson, Ralph Waldo (1803-1882; American poet and philosopher), Journals (1909–1914)

From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs: Marx, Julius Henry Groucho (1890-1977; American comedian and actor), Critique of the Gotha Program (1875)

The greatest ability of all is the ability to overcome one’s self: Inamori, Kazuo (1932–2022; Japanese entrepreneur, best known as the founder of Kyocera), A Passion for Success (1995)

The winds and waves are always on the side of the ablest navigators: Gibbon, Edward (1737-1794; English historian), The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1776–1788)

There is something that is much more scarce, something finer far, something rarer than ability. It is the ability to recognize ability: Hubbard, Elbert (1856-1915; American writer and entrepreneur, best known as the founder of Roycroft Press), The Philistine magazine (August 1901)

Absence

Absence and death are the same; only that in death there is no suffering: Landor, Walter Savage (1775-1864; English poet), Letter to Robert Browning published in Walter Savage Landor: Last Days, Letters and Conversations edited by Harry Christopher Minchin (1934)

Absence makes the heart grow fonder: Bayly, Thomas Haynes (1797-1839; English poet, songwriter, dramatist and writer), Isle of Beauty, Fare Thee Well (1839?)

Absence, the highest form of presence: Joyce, James (1882-1941; Irish novelist, short-story writer and poet), A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916)

In the hope to meet shortly again, and make our absence sweet: Jonson, Benjamin Ben (1572-1637; English poet), Underwoods (1640)

Your absence has been so long that your presence no longer matters: Unknown

Accomplishment

A man’s accomplishments in life are the cumulative effect of his attention to detail: Dulles, John Foster (1888-1959; American politician diplomat), As quoted in: Dulles by Leonard Mesley (1978)

I think that a true measure of success … is accomplishment. Certainly it is a deeper source of satisfaction than money is: Firestone, Harvey Samuel (1868-1938; American entrepreneur, founder of Firestone Tire and Rubber), The American magazine (April 1919)

Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all: Carnegie, Dale (1888-1955; American writer, speaker and educator), How to Stop Worrying and Start Living (1948)

None of us will ever accomplish anything excellent or commanding except when he listens to this whisper which is heard by him alone: Emerson, Ralph Waldo (1803-1882; American poet and philosopher), Letters and Social Aims (1875)

To accomplish great things, one must be with people, not above them: Montesquieu, Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de la Brède et de (1689-1755; French writer and philosopher), Mes pensées (1720)

To achieve great things, we must live as though we were never going to die: Vauvenargues, Marquis Luc de Clapiers (1715-1747; French writer and philosopher), Réflexions et Maximes (1746)

Accountability

A leader is someone who accept responsibility. Anyone incapable of being accountable isn’t qualified to be a leader: Matsushita, Konosuke (1894-1989; Japanese entrepreneur and founder of Matsushita Electric Industrial, now Panasonic), Zest for Management (2001)

Accountability is not only accepting responsibility for what we do, but also for what we do not do: Hawrylyshyn, Bohdan (1926-2016; Ukrainian-born Canadian economist, entrepreneur and philanthropist), Comment made at IMD, Switzerland (20 April 2009)

Accountability is what ties commitment to results: Hawrylyshyn, Bohdan (1926-2016; Ukrainian-born Canadian economist, entrepreneur and philanthropist), Comment made at IMD, Switzerland (20 April 2009)

Accountability breads response-ability.: Covey, Stephen Richard (1932-2012; American psychologist and writer), Principle-Centered Leadership (1990)

Good men prefer to be accountable: Edwardes, Sir Michael Owen (1930-2019; South African-born British industrialist), As quoted in: How to Manage by Ray Wilde Ed. (1994)

Accounting

[Accountancy is] a profession whose idea of excitement is sharpening a bundle of No.2 pencils: Unknown, TIME magazine (19 April 1993)

Accountants and market researchers may be brilliant at examining and analysing facts about the past, but they have no forward vision: Conran, Terence (1931-2020; British designer and entrepreneur; founder of Habitat), As quoted in: The Adventure Capitalists by Jeff Grout and Lynne Curry (1998)

Accountants are perpetually fighting their shiny pants, green eyeshades, number-cruncher image: Newgarden, Albert (Life dates unknown; best known as partner with Arthur Young and Co.), The Wall Street Journal (26 April 1984)

Accountants are the witch doctors of the modern world and are willing to turn their hands to any kind of magic: Harman, Lord Charles Eustace (1894-1970; British jurist), Speech (February 1964). As quoted in The New Anatomy of Britain by A. Sampson (1971)

Accountants can be smarter than anybody else or more ambitious or both, but essentially they are bean counters -- their job is to serve the operation, they can’t run the ship: Townsend, Robert (1920-1988; American business executive, best known as the CEO of Avis), Further Up the Organization (1984)

Accountants don’t retire -- they go to a bar and regroup: Hamilton, Stewart (1945-2014; Scottish management scholar and accountant), Comment made at IMD, Switzerland (08 April 2005)

Accounting and control -- that is mainly what is needed for the smooth working, for the proper functioning of the first phase of communist society: Lenin (Vladimir Illych Ulyanov; 1879-1924; Russian communist leader), The State and the Revolution (1919)

Accounting does not generate cash, managing businesses does: Hamilton, Stewart (1945-2014; Scottish management scholar and accountant), Conversation at IMD, Switzerland (03 September 1989)

Accounting for the most part, remains a legalistic and traditional practice, almost immune to self-criticism by scientific methods: Boulding, Kenneth Ewert (1910-1993; British-born American economist), As quoted in: Philosophical Perspectives on Accounting by Edward Stamp, Michael J. Mumford and Ken V. Peasnell (1993)

Accounting is a malicious extension of the banking conspiracy: Wheeley, John T. (1928-2020; American business management scholar), As quoted by Stewart Hamilton (17 February 1988)

Accounting is the most dismal corner of the dismal science of economics. Like a skunk, it has its own immunity coming from its repellence: Hamilton, Stewart (1945-2014; Scottish management scholar and accountant), Conversation at IMD, Switzerland (03 May 1992)

Accounting reveals the state of the business. It is a kind of thermometer of its condition and its health. One must consult it continually. Every employee in the enterprise, from the lowest up to the Director, must know the results for that part of the service for which he is responsible: Fayol, Henri (1841-1925; French mining engineer and executive), L’exposé des principles généraux d’administration (1908)

An accountant is a man who puts his head in the past and backs his ass into the future: Johnson, F. Ross (1931-2016; American business executive, best known as the Chairman of RJR Nabisco), As quoted in: Barbarians at the Gates, The Fall of RJR Nabisco by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar (1990)

An accountant is someone who attempts to value the present. An actuary is someone who attempts to value the future: Unknown; Society of Actuaries: Fundamentals of Actuarial Practice (2002)

Creativity is great -- but not in accounting: Scott, Charles Red (1928-2013; American business executive, best known as the CEO of Intermark), Inc’s Guide to Small Business Success (1991)

Did you ever hear of a kid playing accountant, even if he wanted to be one? Maslow, Abraham (1908-1970; American psychologist), TIME magazine, Volume 93 (1969)

I have no use for bodyguards, but I have very special use for two highly trained certified public accountants: Presley, Elvis Aron (1935–1977; American singer), The Rotarian (June 1997)

Economists are people who work with numbers but who lack the personality to be accountants: Unknown, Various attributions

Accountants are people: Townsend, Robert (1920–1988; American business executive, best known as the CEO of Avis), Up the Organization (1970)

An accountant is a person hired to explain that you didn’t make the money you thought you did: Hamilton, Stewart (1945-2014; Scottish management scholar and accountant), Conversations at IMD, Switzerland (1986–2014)

Few have heard of Fra Luca Parioli, the inventor of double-entry bookkeeping; but he has probably had more influence on human life than Dante or Michelangelo: Muller, Herbert J. (1905–1980; American economist and historian), The Uses of the Past (1954)

Managers don’t have to cook the books to manipulate earnings; they often have all the power they need in the leeway built in accounting rules: Hamilton, Stewart (1945-2014; Scottish management scholar and accountant), Talk at IMD, Switzerland (10 October 1994)

Mark-to-market accounting is like crack. Don’t do it: Fastow, Andrew (b. 1961; American business, best known as the former chief financial officer of Enron), The Denver Post (19 March 2012)

Mr Anchovy … our experts describe you as an appalling dull fellow, unimaginative, timid, lacking in initiative, spineless, easily dominated, no sense of humour, tedious company and irrepressibly drab and awful. And whereas in most professions these would be considerable drawbacks, in chartered accountancy, they are a positive boon: Cleese, John Marwood (b. 1939; British comedian), Vocational Guidance Counsellor, the Monty Pyton Show, Episode 10 (1969)

Old accountants never die, they just lose their balance: Hamilton, Stewart (1945-2014; Scottish management scholar and accountant), Conversation at IMD, Switzerland (22 June 1989)

One of the chief sources of success in manufacturing is the introduction and strict maintenance of a perfect system of accounting so that responsibility for money or materials can be brought home to every man: Carnegie, Andrew (1835-1919; Scottish-born American entrepreneur and philanthropist), Autobiography (1920)

The management naturally desires to make the best possible showing in its periodic statements. A certain amount of window dressing is the result: Carret, Philip L. (1896-1997; American investor and financier), Buying a Bond (1927)

There are only two things as complicated as insurance accounting and I have no idea what they are: Tobias, Andrew (b. 1947; American journalist, author, and columnist), The Invisible Bankers: Everything The Insurance Industry Never Wanted You To Know (1982)

With creative accounting, who needs cheating? Whitman, Meg (b. 1957; American entrepreneur, founder of eBay), The Observer, U.K. (1987)

It’s easier to teach a poet to read a balance sheet than it is to teach an accountant how to write: Luce, Henry Robinson (1898–1967; American editor, publisher and founder of Time, Life, and Fortune magazines), As quoted in Independent Business Weekly (09 June 1999)

Achievement

Achievement, n. The death of endeavour and the birth of disgust: Bierce, Ambrose Gwinett (1842–1914; American novelist and journalist), The Devil’s Dictionary (1911)

Achievements are rarely the result of a clean forward thrust but rather of a soul intensity generated in front of an apparently insurmountable obstacle which bars his way to a cherished goal: Hoffer, Eric (1902-1983; American philosopher), The Ordeal of Change (1963)

Behind every achievement stands a proud wife and a surprised mother-in-law: Unknown; Various attributions including Brooks Hays, Hubert H. Humphrey and others

In times of difficulty we must not lose sight of our achievements, must see the bright future and must pluck up our courage: Mao, Zedong (1893-1976; Chinese communist revolutionary, founder of the People’s Republic of China -- PRC), Serve the People in Selected Works, Volume III (1944)

It is an immense advantage to have done nothing, but one should not abuse it: Rivarol, Antoine de (1753-1801; French journalist and anarchist),Le petit almanac de nos grands hommes (1788)

It is no use saying: We are doing our best. You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary: Churchill, Sir Winston Leonard Spencer (1874-1965; British statesman, writer, painter, laureate of the 1953 Nobel Prize in Literature), Remark made in London, U.K. (07 March 1916). As quoted in: Churchill by Himself edited by Richard Langworth (2008)

Ladder of achievement: 100% I did; 90% I will; 80% I can; 70% I think I can; 60% I might; 50% I think I might; 40% what is it; 30% I wish; I could; 20% I don’t know how; 10% I can’t; 0: I won’t: Unknown

No great thing is created suddenly: Epictetus (c. 60-120; Greek philosopher), Discourses (c. 100 B.C.)

All great achievements in history resulted from the actualization of principles, not from the clever evaluation of political conditions: Kissinger, Heinz Alfred Henry (b. 1923; German-born American diplomat and politician), The Meaning of History: Reflections on Spengler, Toynbee and Kant; unpublished undergraduate thesis (1950)

Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts: Cameron, William Bruce (b. 1960; American humour columnist), Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)

One must be something to be able to achieve something: Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von (1749-1832; German playwright, poet and scientist), Conversation with Johann Peter Eckermann (20 October 1828)

Strong, deeply rooted desire is the starting point of all achievement: Hill, Napoleon (1883-1970; American author), The law of success (1928)

The greatest achievements are those that benefit the greatest number of people: Yu, Howard (b. 1979; Chinese-born, American business management scholar), Presentation at IMD, Switzerland (25 June 2015)

The most rewarding things you do in life are often the ones that look like they cannot be done: Palmer, Arnold (1929-2016; American professional golfer), As quoted by Leslie B. Worthington then President of U.S. Steel Corporation and reported in The Baytown Sun (11 August 1966)

There appears to be no correlation between leadership and academic achievement … the motivation which makes a good student is not the kind of motivation which makes him a good leader: Ogilvy, David (1911-1999; American advertising entrepreneur, founder of Ogilvy and Mather), On Advertising (1985)

There are many who find a good alibi far more attractive than an achievement: Hoffer, Eric (1902-1983; American philosopher), The Passionate State of Mind and Other Aphorisms (1955)

What is the recipe for successful achievement? To my mind, there are just four essential ingredients: Choose a career you love… Give it the best there is in you … Seize your opportunities … And be a member of the team: Fairless, Benjamin F. (1890-1962; American business executive, best known as the President of US Steel Corporation), What Democracy Did for Me in The American (February 1948)

What separates those who achieve from those who do not is in direct proportion to one’s ability to ask others for help: Keough, Donald (1926-2015; Irish-American business executive, best known as the President of Coca-Cola), As quoted in: Just Because You Can Doesn’t Mean You Should by Mike S. McConnell (2008)

What the mind of man can conceive and believe, the mind of man can achieve: Bonaparte, Napoléon (Napoleone di Buonaparte, 1769-1821; Napoléon 1st, French general and emperor), Maxims (1804–1815)

Action

[Action] is the last resource of those who know not how to dream: Wilde, Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills (1854-1900; Irish playwright, novelist, essayist and poet), Intentions (1891)

Action is consolatory. It is the enemy of thought and the friend of flattering illusions: Conrad, Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski (1857-1924; Polish-born, British writer), Nostromo (1903)

A man always has two reasons for doing anything: a good reason and a the real reason: Morgan, John Pierpont (1837-1913; American financier and philanthropist), As quoted in: Roosevelt: The Story of a Friendship by Owen Wister (1930)

Action follows conviction, not knowledge: Lecomte du Noüy, Pierre (1883-1947; French biophysicist and philosopher), Human Destiny (1947)

Action is eloquence: Shakespeare; William (1564-1616; English playwright and poet), Coriolanus (1608)

Action without a name, without a who attached to it, is meaningless: Arendt, Hannah (1906-1975; German-born American historian), The Human Condition (1958)

All mankind is divided into three classes: the immovable, the movable and those who move: Arabic Saying

Anything that can be done will be done, if not by you, then by someone else: Grove, Andrew Andy (1936-2016; Hungarian-born, American entrepreneur, best known as the founder of Intel), High Output Management (1995)

Between talking and doing, many a pair shoes is worn out: Italian Proverb

Chop your own wood, and it will warm you twice: Old New England saying, Often used by Henry Ford

Discipline enables you to capture your emotion and wisdom and translate them into action: Rohn, Emmanuel James (1930-2009; American entrepreneur and writer), Leading an Inspired Life (1997)

Do anything, but let it produce joy: Whitman, Walt (1819-1892; American poet), Leaves of Grass (1855)

Everything I did started with a dream: Hawrylyshyn, Bohdan (1926–2016; Ukrainian-born Canadian economist, entrepreneur and philanthropist), Remark made at IMD, Switzerland (20 October 2010)

I have a tendency to see what I expect to see, and what I expect to see I help make happen: Kahwajy, Jeanne Louise Jeannie (b. 1970; American leadership scholar), Some of the Very Best Things Ever Said by Jeannie Kahwajy, unpublished (September 2021)

I wake up in the morning at nine and grab for the morning paper. Then, I look at the obituary page. If my name is not on, I get up: Unknown; Various attributions including Benjamin Franklin, George Burns, Harry Hershfield and others

I want to see you shoot the way you shout: Roosevelt, Theodore Teddy (Theodore Roosevelt, 1858-1919; American statesman, 26th President of the United States), Address (October 1917)

If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one: Teresa, Saint Mother (Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, 1910-1997; Albanian nun, founder of the Missionaries of Charity, and laureate of the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize), A Simple Path (1995)

If you don’t make dust, you eat dust: MacAllister, Jack A. (1927-2015; American business executive; best known as the Chairman of US West), Personal motto. The Wall Street Journal (24 September 1987)

If you wait, all that happens is that you get older: Unknown; Various attributions including Mario Andretti and Larry McMurty

In order to act you must be somewhat insane. A reasonably sensible man is satisfied with thinking: Clémenceau, Georges (1841-1929; French prime minister), As quoted in: Clemenceau, The Events of His Life as Told by Himself to His Former Secretary, Jean Martet by Jean Martet (1930)

It is not what happens to you, it is how you respond that determines the result: Kahwajy, Jeanne Louise Jeannie (b. 1970; American leadership scholar), Some of the Very Best Things Ever Said by Jeannie Kahwajy, unpublished (September 2021)

It’s all right to be Goliath, but always act like David: Knight, Philip J. (b. 1938; American entrepreneur, founder and Chairman of Nike), As quoted in: Mr. Little John’s Secrets to a Lifetime of Success by Pat Williams (2000)

My choice in everything is to say nothing and go do it: Gerstner, Jr., Louis Vincent Lou (b. 1942; American business executive, best known as the Chairman and CEO of IBM), The Financial Times, U.K. (08 March 1994)

Never confuse movement with action: Hemingway, Ernest (1899-1961; American writer and journalist, laureate of the 1954 Nobel Prize in Literature), As quoted in: Papa Hemingway by A. E. Hotchner (1966)

Nothing is ever done in this world until men are prepared to kill one another if it is not done: Shaw, George Bernard (1856-1950; Irish playwright, laureate of the 1925 Nobel Prize in Literature), Major Barbara (1907)

People are always neglecting something they can do in trying to do something they can’t do: Howe, Edgar Watson (1853-1937; American journalist and novelist), Country Town Sayings (1911)

Remember that action goes where the money flows: Horovitz, Jacques (1947-2014; French business management scholar, entrepreneur and consultant), IMD PED Yearbook (1981)

There is a day to cast your nets and a day to dry your nets: Chinese Proverb

Rust ruins more tools than overuse: Amish Proverb

Sometimes, doing something wrong is better than not doing anything at all: Werderlin, Henrik (b. 1975; Danish entrepreneur, best known as the founder of Prehype), Presentation in Gleneagles, Scotland (26 June 2016)

The biggest things are always the easiest to do because there is no competition: Van Horne, William Cornelius (1843-1915; American railroad entrepreneur), Attributed. Probably apocryphal

The cost of being wrong is less than the cost of doing nothing: Godin, Seth (b. 1960; American entrepreneur and writer, best known as the Yahoo’s former vice president of direct marketing), Poke The Box: When Was the Last Time You Did Something for the First Time? (2015)

The great aim of education is not knowledge but action: Spencer, Herbert (1820-1903; British philosopher), Social Statics (1850)

The mark of a good action is that it appears inevitable in retrospect: Stevenson, Robert Louis Balfour (1850-1894; Scottish author and poet), Treasure Island (1883)

The most decisive actions of our life: those that matter most for our future—are very often unconsidered actions (Les actions les plus décisives de notre vie, je veux dire: celles qui risquent le plus de décider de tout notre avenir, sont le plus souvent des actions inconsidérées): Gide, André (1869-1951; French novelist), Les Faux Monnayeurs (1925)

The reward of a thing well done is to have done it: Emerson, Ralph Waldo (1803-1882; American poet and philosopher), New England Reformers, from Essays; Second Series (1844)

If you want to walk fast, walk alone; if you want to walk far, walk together: African Proverb

The rewards in business go to the man who does something with an idea: Benton, William (1900-1973; American business executive, publisher and government official), The Journal of Business Strategy (01 May 2000)

There are three kinds of people: Those who let it happen; those who make it happen, those who wonder what happened: Unknown; Various attributions including Mary Kay Ash, Ann Landers, Ronald Reagan and others

Those who say it cannot be done are usually interrupted by others doing it: Kubes, Jan Zdeneck (b. 1944; Czech-born, American consultant and business educator), Presentation at IMD, Switzerland (28 August 1987)

To know what to do and not to do it is the worse cowardice: Confucius (Kung Fu-Tse; 551-479 B.C., Chinese Philosopher), Analects (500 B.C.)

We are born to act: Montaigne, Michel Eyquem de Montaigne (1533-1592; French essayist), Essais (1580–1588)

We need to act as quickly as possible and as slowly as necessary (Il faut agir aussi vite que possible, mais aussi lentement que nécessaire): Berset, Alain (b. 1972; Swiss politician, member of the Federal Council), Talk on the RTS TV network (Switzerland) on how the Swiss Government planned to handle the Corona virus crisis (16 April 2020)

Whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well: Chesterfield, Lord Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield (1694-1773; British statesman and writer), Letter to his son, 10 March 1746; rep. in: The Letters of the Earl of Chesterfield to His Son edited by Charles Strachey (1901)

Whenever you do a thing, act as if all the world were watching: Jefferson, Thomas (1743-1826; American statesman, 3rd President of the United States), Letter to Peter Carr (19 August 1785)

Without action the world would still be an idea: Doriot, Georges (1899-1987; French-born American general, educator business and venture capitalist, founder of INSEAD), Talk in Paris, France (1957)

Without haste but without rest: Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von (1749–1832; German playwright, poet and scientist), Motto

Things do not happen. They are made to happen: Kennedy, John Fitzgerald (1917-1963; American statesman, 35th President of the United States), Remark at Los Banos, California at the Ground-Breaking Ceremonies for the San Luis Dam (18 August 1962)

Those who have the privilege to know, have the duty to act: Unknown

You can do anything in this world if you are prepared to take the consequences: Maugham, William Somerset (1874–1965; British playwright, novelist and short story writer), The Circle: A Comedy in Three Acts (1921)

We never do anything well till we cease to think about the manner of doing it: Hazlitt, William (1778–1830; English essayist and critic), Sketches and Essays (1839)

What I do changes me: Kahwajy, Jeanne Louise Jeannie (b. 1970; American leadership scholar), Some of the Very Best Things Ever Said by Jeannie Kahwajy, unpublished (September 2021)

What you do has far greater impact than what you say: Lopez, José (1952-2020; Spanish business executive), Presentation at IMD; Switzerland (29 October 2018)

Actuaries

Actuaries are people who wanted to be accountants but did not have the personality: Cooke, Karen (b. 1962; Australian author, cartoonist and broadcaster), The Modern Girl’s Guide to Everything Staring Hermoine the Modern Girl (1989)

An accountant is someone who attempts to value the present. An actuary is someone who attempts to value the future: Unknown, Society of Actuaries: Fundamentals of Actuarial Practice (2002)

An actuary is someone who brings a fake bomb on a plane because that decreases the chances that there will be another bomb on the plane: Peter, Laurence J. (1919-1990; Canadian educator and writer), The Peter Principle: Why Things Always Go Wrong; co-written with Raymond Hull (1969)

An actuary is someone who find accounting too exciting: Unknown; The Guardian, U.K. (20 July 1987)

Admiration

Admiration is a very short-lived passion that immediately decays upon growing familiar with its object, unless it be still fed with fresh discoveries, and kept alive by a new perpetual succession of miracles rising up to its view: Addison, Joseph (1672-1719; English essayist, poet, dramatist and statesman), Spectator No. 256 (24 December 1711)

Admiration is the emotion furthest from comprehension: Kubo, Noriaki Tite (b. 1977; Japanese manga artist), Sosuke Aizen in Bleach (2001)

Admiration, n: Our polite recognition of another’s resemblance to ourselves: Bierce, Ambrose Gwinett (1842-1914; American novelist and journalist), The Devil’s Dictionary (1911)

Few men have been admired by their own households:

Montaigne, Michel Eyquem de (1533-1592; French essayist), Essais (c. 1592)

We always love those who admire us, and we do not always love those whom we admire: La Rochefoucauld, François (François VI, duc de, le Prince de Marcillac ; 1613-1680; French Moralist), Sentences and Moral Maxims (1665–1678)

You really admire what you don’t understand: Roosevelt, Anna Eleanor (1884-1962; First Lady of the USA, diplomat and writer), Meet the Press, NBC Television Interview (16 September 1956)

Adults

Adults are just obsolete children and the hell with them: Seuss, Dr. Theodor Seuss Geisel (1904-1991; American writer for children and cartoonist), As quoted by Thomas Fensch in: Of Sneetches and Whos and the Good Dr. Seuss: Essays on the Writings and Life of Theodor Geisel (1997)

Adults are more likely to behave their way into belief change than to believe their way into behaviour change: Kahwajy, Jeanne Louise Jeannie (b. 1970; American leadership scholar), Comment made on in Los Altos Hills, California (27 September 2021)

Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them (Les grandes personnes ne comprennent jamais rien seules, et c’est fatiguant pour les enfants, de toujours et toujours leur donner des explications): Saint-Exupéry, Antoine Marie Jean-Baptiste Roger, comte de (1900-1944; French aviator, poet and author), The Little Prince (1943)

The difference between men and boys is the price of their toys: Unknown; As stated in The Wisconsin State Journal (13 July 1960). No credit given

They were still trying to find the ideal compromise between adults of twenty and adults of six: Huxley, Thomas Henry (1825-1895; English biologist and writer), Brave New World (1932)

Advantage (Competitive)

A company with the best distribution system and the best service will win all the marbles—because you can’t keep an advantage in other areas for long: Iacocca, Lido Anthony Lee (1924-2019; American business executive, best known as CEO of Chrysler), Iacocca, an Autobiography, cowritten with William Novak (1984)

At the end of the day, your only sustainable competitive advantage is PEOPLE: Teerlink, Richard (b. 1937; American business executive, best known as the Chairman and CEO of Harley Davidson), Address to the IMD MBA Class; Switzerland (20 October 1997)

Competitive advantage is based not on doing what others already do well, but on doing what others cannot do as well: Kay, John (b. 1948; British business educator), As quoted in: The Future of Leadership by Randall P. White; Philip Hodgsib and Stuart Crainer (1996)

Control your expenses better than the competition. This is where you can always find the competitive advantage: Walton, Samuel Moore Sam (1918-1992; American entrepreneur, founder of Wal-Mart), Sam Walton: Made in America, cowritten with John Huey (1992)

In an established industry… what differentiates the leading company is almost always outstanding productivity of capital: Drucker, Peter (1909-2005; Austrian-born American educator and business philosopher), Managing in The Next Society (2002)

It is better to first get the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats, and then figure out where to drive: Collins, James Jim (b. 1958; American consultant, writer and lecturer), Good to Great (2001)

It’s the intangibles that are the hardest things for a competitor to imitate. You can get an airplane. You can get ticket-counter space; you can get baggage conveyors. But it is our esprit de corps—the culture, the spirit -- that is truly our most valuable competitive asset: Kelleher, Herb (1931-2019; American entrepreneur, best known as the cofounder of Southwest Airlines), Fortune magazine (24 May 1999)

No matter the size of the corporate center, corporate advantage is fostered by its corporate glue: Horovitz, Jacques (1947-2014; French business management scholar, entrepreneur and consultant), Presentation at IMD, Switzerland (11 April 2000)

Nothing is harder than casting aside the thinking, strategies, and biases that propelled a business to its current success. Companies need to learn how to unlearn, to slough off yesterday’s wisdom: Pfeiffer, Eckhard (b. 1942; German-born American executive; best known as the CEO of Compaq), Fortune magazine (17 April 1995)

If you don’t have a competitive advantage, don’t compete: Kubes, Jan Zdeneck (b. 1944; Czech-born, American consultant and business educator), Comment made at IMD, Switzerland (16 September 2000)

Over the long run, the ability to learn faster than your competitors may be your only sustainable competitive advantage: De Geus, Arie (1930-2019; Dutch business executive, best known as the Head of Strategic Planning at Royal Dutch Shell), As quoted in: The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge (1990)

The secret of my success is that we have gone to exceptional lengths to hire the best people in the world: Jobs, Steve Paul Steve (1955–2011; American entrepreneur, best known as the cofounder of Apple Computer, NeXt and Pixar Animation Studios), As quoted in Fast Company (May 2012)

There are only two sources of competitive advantage, the ability to learn more about customers faster and the ability to turn that into action faster than the competition: Welch, John Francis Jack (1935-2020; American business executive, best known as the Chairman and CEO of General Electric), Bloomberg News Services (2000)

There are two kinds of companies, those that work to try to charge more and those that work to charge less. We will be the second: Jorgensen, Jeffrey Preston (b. 1964; American entrepreneur, best known as the founder of Amazon.com), Forbes magazine (23 April 2012)

The whole point of first mover advantage is first learner advantage: Leleux, Benoit (b. 1961; Belgian-born Swiss business management scholar), Presentation at IMD, Switzerland (28 September 2004)

We’re never going to outspend our competition—we’re going to out-think them: Coulson, Wayne (b. 1960?; Canadian entrepreneur, CEO of the Coulson Group), Interview in Tharawat magazine (09 May 2019)

If this business was split up, I would give you the land, assets and equipment, and I would take the brand, and I would fare better than you: Stuart Jr., John (1916-2014; American business executive, best known as the Chairman of Quakers Oat), Forbes magazine (09 May 2008)

You can’t outpace the competition by sticking to low delivered cost or high perceived value. You have to use both one after the other: Strebel, Paul (b. 1945; South African-born Swiss business management scholar), Email to Dominique Turpin (17 March 2022)

The only sustainable competitive advantage comes from out-innovating the competition: Moose, James F. (Life dates unknown; American business executive, best known as the President of GeoPartners Research Inc.), Harvard Business Review (May-June 1993)

Adversity

A man of character finds a special attractiveness in adversity, since it is only by coming to grips with difficulty that he can realize his potentiality (La difficulté attire l’homme de caractère, car c’est en l’étreignant qu’il se réalise lui-même): De Gaulle, Charles (1890-1970; French general and statesman, President of France), Mémoires de Guerre (1954–1959)

Adversity is the first path to truth: Byron, Lord George Gordon Noel (1788-1824), Don Juan (1823)

Adversity weakens the weak and strengthens the strong: Unknown

In prosperity our friends know us; in adversity we know our friends: Collins, John Churton (184-–1908; English writer), Aphorisms in the English Review (1914)

Adversity introduces a man to himself: Old saying

It is precisely during adverse times that companies can least afford to neglect their people. Look at it this way: Why is a company in trouble in the first place? Is it really only the fault of the economic environment? Were the employees perfectly competent? In reality, being in trouble points to an urgent need to learn. Saying that learning is a luxury is about the same as saying that breathing is a luxury: Gilbert, Xavier (b. 1943; French business management scholar), Why you must never stop learning, Unaxis Newsletter, IMD Switzerland (2005)

Prosperity is a great teacher; adversity is a greater: Hazlitt, William (1778–1830; English essayist and critic), Essays (1819)

The bravest sight in the world is to see a great man struggling against adversity: Seneca, Lucius Annaeus (The Younger, c. 5-65 B.C.; Roman philosopher), De Providencia (c. 55 B.C.)

Good fortune is fine, but adversity is even better: Matsushita, Konosuke (1894-1989; Japanese entrepreneur and founder of Matsushita Electric Industrial, now Panasonic), The Matsushita Perspective: A Business Philosophy Handbook (1997)

The successful businessman is usually the one who is always relaxed -- even in the face of adversity: Getty, Jean Paul J. Paul(1892-1976; American oil magnate), How to be Rich (1966)

There is no education like adversity: Disraeli, Benjamin, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield (1804–1881; British prime minister and novelist), Endymion (1880)

Advertising

A good ad never lies: Momose, Nobuo (1938-2020; Japanese advertising executive), Presentation at IMD, Switzerland (22 March 1995)

A good advertisement is one which sells the product without drawing attention to itself: Ogilvy, David (1911-1999; American advertising entrepreneur, founder of Ogilvy and Mather), Confessions of an Advertising Man (1963)

A good drum does not require hard beating: Chinese Proverb

A great ad campaign will make a bad product fail faster. It will get more people to know it’s bad: Bernbach, William (1911-1982; American Advertising executive, cofounder of DDB Needham Advertising), Bill Bernbach Said (1989)

Advertising is fundamentally persuasion and persuasion happens to be not a science, but an art: Bernbach, William (1911-1982; American Advertising executive, cofounder of DDB Needham Advertising), Bill Bernbach’s Book (1987)

Advertising is only evil when it advertises evil things: Ogilvy, David (1911-1999; American advertising entrepreneur, founder of Ogilvy and Mather), Confessions of an Advertising Man (1963)

The secret of all effective originality in advertising is not the creation of new and tricky words and pictures, but one of putting familiar words and pictures into new relationships: Burnett, Leo J. (1891-1971; American Advertising Executive, founder of Leo Burnett Advertising), Recalled on his death (07 June 1971)

Advertising is our printed salesman. It may not be pretty, but it has to be true: Wrigley Jr., William (1861-1932; American entrepreneur, founder of Wrigley gum), The American magazine (October 1929)

Advertising is the most fun you can have with your clothes on: Femina, Jerry Della (b. 1936; American advertising executive, cofounder of Della Femina, Travisano and Partners), From Those Wonderful Folks Who Gave You Pearl Harbor (1970)

Advertising may be described as the science of arresting the human intelligence long enough to get money from it: Leacock, Stephen (1869-1944; British-born Canadian humorist and educator), Garden of Folly (1924)

All literature is advertising and all genuine advertisements are literature: Hubbard, Elbert (1856-1915; American writer and entrepreneur, best known as the founder of Roycroft Press), A Thousand and One Epigrams (1911)

An advertising agency is 85 percent confusion and 15 percent commission: Allen, Fred (John Florence Sullivan, 1894-1956; American comedian), Treadmill to Oblivion (1954)

Doing business without advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you are doing, but nobody else does: Britt, Stuart Henderson (1907-1979; American marketer) The New York Herald Tribune (30 October 1956), Also attributed without evidence to William Randolph Hearst

Good times, bad times, there will always be advertising. In good times, people want to advertise; in bad times, they have to: Barton, Bruce (1886-1967; American advertising executive; Chairman of Batten, Barton, Durstine and Osborn), Town and Country (February 1955)

Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted, and the trouble is I don’t know which one: Unknown; Often attributed without evidence to Lord Leverhulme (co-founder of Unilever), William Wrigley (US chewing gum magnate) and advertising man George Washington Hill among others (Early 1900s)

If you don’t advertise yourself, you will be advertised by your loving enemies: Hubbard, Elbert (1856-1915; American writer and entrepreneur, best known as the founder of Roycroft Press), The Note Book of Elbert Hubbard (1927)

Make it simple. Make it memorable: Make it inviting to look at. Make it fun to read: Burnett, Leo J. (1891-1971; American Advertising Executive, founder of Leo Burnett Advertising), 100 Leo’s: Wit and Wisdom from Leo Burnett (1995)

Make the product the hero … There are no dull products, only dull writers: Ogilvy, David (1911-1999; American advertising entrepreneur, founder of Ogilvy and Mather), On Advertising (1985)

Most advertising spend is defensive, not offensive. You are paying not to increase your market share next year, but ensure it stays where it is: Ritson, Mark (b. 1968; Australian brand consultant and marketing scholar), As quoted in MarketingWeek (18 December 2020)

The codfish lays ten thousand eggs, the homely hen lays one. The codfish never cackles to tell you she’s done. And so we scorn the codfish while the humble hen we prize. It only goes to show you that it pays to advertise: Old saying

The first law in advertising is to avoid the concrete promise … and cultivate the delightfully vague: Burnett, Leo J. (1891-1971; American Advertising Executive, founder of Leo Burnett Advertising), Recalled on his death (07 June 1971)

You can tell the ideals of a nation by its advertising: Douglas, [George] Norman (1868-1952; Scottish writer), South Wind (1917)

The melon-seller never cries bitter melons: Chinese Proverb

When you advertise fire-extinguishers, open with the fire: Ogilvy, David (1911-1999; American advertising entrepreneur, founder of Ogilvy and Mather), On Advertising (1985)

You cannot bore people into buying your product: Ogilvy, David (1911-1999; American advertising entrepreneur, founder of Ogilvy and Mather), On Advertising (1985)

You can fool all the people all the time if the advertising is right and the budget is big enough: Levine, Joseph E. (190-–1987; American film producer), The New York Times (01 August 1987)

The man who stops advertising to save money is like the man who stops the clock to save time: Unknown; Various attributions including Henry Ford, Thomas Jefferson and others

Even God believes in advertising: Churches have bells (Dieu lui-même croit en la publicité; il a mis des cloches dans les églises): Attributed, Guitry, Alexandre Georges Sacha (1885-1957, French actor, writer and film maker), various sources including Aurélien Scholl (1833-1902; French journalist and writer)

Advertising Slogans

A diamond is forever: De Beers Consolidated Mines; Advertising slogan coined by Frances Gerety (1948)

A Mars a day helps you work, rest and play: Mars (American multinational manufacturer of confectionery, pet food and pet care services), Advertising slogan (1965)

At sixty miles an hour the loudest noise in this new Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock: Rolls Royce (Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, British luxury automobile maker, now part of BMW), Advertising slogan (1958)

Connecting People: Nokia Oy (Finnish multinational telecommunications, information technology, and consumer electronics company), Advertising slogan coined by Ove Strandberg, a Nokia employee (1992)

Have a break, have a Kit-Kat: Ki-Kat (Chocolate-covered wafer bar confection brand), Advertising slogan, 1955-2004 (Nestlé changed it to Take the most of your break and then reverted to the old slogan in 2007)

Heineken refreshes the parts other beers cannot reach: Heineken; Advertising slogan coined by Terry Lovelock (1975)

I don’t know who you are. I don’t know your company. I don’t know your company’s product. I don’t know what your company stands for. I don’t know your company’s customers. I don’t know your company’s records. I don’t know your company’s reputation. Now—what was it you wanted to sell me? McGraw-Hill Magazines, Advertising slogan. As quoted in: Ogilvy on Advertising by David Ogilvy (1983)

Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing: Advertising slogans created for Adidas by TBWA’s Aimée Letho and Boyd Corner for the last sentence, The Associated Press (06 February 2004)

Make yourself heard: Ericsson (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (lit. Telephone Stock Company of LM Ericsson), commonly known as Ericsson, Swedish multinational networking and