If I went back to college again, I’d concentrate on two areas: learning to write and to speak before an audience. Nothing in life is more important than the ability to communicate effectively.
Gerald Ford, US President (1913-2006)
No one can say just how long a message should be, but you rarely hear complaints about a speech being too short. The amateur worries about what he is going to put in his speech. The expert worries about what he should take out. An artistic performance is concentrated, has a central focus.
Edgar Dale, US media guru (1900-1985)
Problems
There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hand.
Richard Bach, US author (b. 1936)
There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.
Epictetus, Greek philosopher (55-135 AD)
There are two kinds of worries – those you can do something about and those you can’t. Don’t spend any time on the latter.
Edward Kennedy ‘Duke’ Ellington, US composer, arranger, jazz pianist (1899-1974)
Golf without bunkers and hazards would be tame and monotonous. So would life.
Bertie Charles Forbes, British journalist, founder of Forbes Magazine (1880-1954)
A problem well stated is a problem half solved.
Charles Kettering, US engineer, inventor (1876-1958)
If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.
Abraham Maslow, US psychologist, philosopher (1908-1970)
A man of character finds a special attractiveness in difficulty, since it is only by coming to grips with difficulty that he can realise his potentialities.
Charles de Gaulle, French President, general (1890-1970)
Obstacles are things a person sees when he takes his eyes off the goal.
Eli Joseph Cossman, US entrepreneur, sales author (1918-2002)
Profits
The worst crime against working people is a company which fails to operate at a profit.
Samuel Gompers, British politician (1850-1924)
Whoever could make two ears of corn or two blades of grass to grow upon a spot of ground where only one grew before would deserve better of mankind and do more essential service to his country than the whole race of politicians put together.
Jonathan Swift, Irish clergyman, poet, satirist (1667-1745)
Watch the costs and the profits will take care of themselves.
Andrew Carnegie, British industrialist, philanthropist (1835-1919)
The most important thing in life is not simply to capitalise on your gains. Any fool can do that. The important thing is to profit from your losses. That requires intelligence, and makes the difference between a man of sense and a fool.
Dale Carnegie, US lecturer, author (1888-1955)
I had no ambition to make a fortune. Mere money-making has never been my goal, I had an ambition to build.
John D Rockefeller, US industrialist, philanthropist (1839-1937)
A business that makes nothing but money is a poor kind of business.
Henry Ford, US automobile manufacturer, engineer (1863-1947)
Always concentrate on the service or product you provide first and the financial rewards second. Money is a by-product of excellence. Always make ‘doing what is right’ your main priority and the financial rewards will follow.
Lawrence Weiss, US entertainer aka Larry Harmon, and Bozo the Clown (1925-2008)
Money often costs too much.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, US essayist, poet (1803-1882)
Surplus wealth is a sacred trust which its possessor is bound to administer in his lifetime for the good of the community.
Andrew Carnegie, British industrialist, philanthropist (1835-1919)
Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.
Paula Williams, British designer, publisher (b. 1950)
Public Relations
Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some hire public relations officers.
Daniel J Boorstin, US media author, historian (1914-2004)
Nobody believes the official spokesman – but everyone trusts an unidentified source.
Ron Nessen, US government press officer (b. 1934)
An issue ignored is a crisis ensured.
Henry Kissinger, German/US diplomat, political scientist (b. 1923)
News and political broadcasting bores its audience off the air as soon as it slides from controversy into public relations.
Paul Foot, British journalist (1937-2004)
Quality
It’s a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it.
Somerset Maugham, British author dramatist (1874-1965)
Find the qualities in your people and you find the quality in your company.
Simon Hornby, British retail business leader, W H Smith (1935-2010)
How long does it take you, as a boss, to achieve world class quality? Less than a nanosecond to attain it, a lifetime of passionate pursuit to maintain it.
Tom Peters, US management author, presenter (b. 1942)
Quality is free.
Philip B Crosby, US management author (1926-2001)
In communities where men build ships for their own sons to fish or fight from, quality is never a problem.
J Deville
With ISO 9000 you can still have terrible processes and products. You can certify a manufacturer that makes life jackets from concrete, as long as those jackets are made according to the documented procedures and the company provides the next of kin with instructions on how to complain about defects.
Richard Buetow, US executive, Motorola (b. 1931)
Don’t confuse consistency with quality. The customer decides what quality is by their own standards.
Geoff Burch, British management author, presenter (b. 1951)
Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative.
Oscar Wilde, Irish dramatist, poet (1854-1900)
The trouble with doing something right the first time is that nobody appreciates how difficult it was.
Walt West, US manufacturing executive
It is a very sobering feeling to be up in space and realise that one’s safety factor was determined by the lowest bidder on a government contract.
Alan Shepard, US astronaut (1923-1998)