Leadership Quotes

"Culture is not an initiative. Culture is the enabler of all initiatives."

- Larry Senn

"Culture is to recruiting as product is to marketing."

- HubSpot’s Culture Code

"We believe that it’s really important to come up with core values that you can commit to. And by commit, we mean that you’re willing to hire and fire based on them. If you’re willing to do that, then you’re well on your way to building a company culture that is in line with the brand you want to build."

- Tony Hsieh

"Corporate culture is the only sustainable competitive advantage that is completely within the control of the entrepreneur."

- David Cummings

"Starbucks was founded around the experience and the environment of their stores. Starbucks was about a space with comfortable chairs, lots of power outlets, tables and desks at which we could work and the option to spend as much time in their stores as we wanted without any pressure to buy. The coffee was incidental."

- Simon Sinek

"Until I came to IBM, I probably would have told you that culture was just one among several important elements in any organization's makeup and success — along with vision, strategy, marketing, financials, and the like... I came to see, in my time at IBM, that culture isn't just one aspect of the game, it is the game. In the end, an organization is nothing more than the collective capacity of its people to create value."

- Louis V. Gerstner, Jr.

"I think as a company, if you can get those two things right — having a clear direction on what you are trying to do and bringing in great people who can execute on the stuff — then you can do pretty well."

- Mark Zuckerberg

"Determine what behaviors and beliefs you value as a company, and have everyone live true to them. These behaviors and beliefs should be so essential to your core, that you don’t even think of it as culture."

- Brittany Forsyth

"You need the right people with you, not the best people."

- Jack Ma

"Our belief is that if you get the culture right, most of the other stuff, like great customer service or building a great long-term brand, or empowering passionate employees and customers will happen on its own."

- Tony Hsieh

"Why is culture so important to a business? Here is a simple way to frame it. The stronger the culture, the less corporate process a company needs. When the culture is strong, you can trust everyone to do the right thing."

- Brian Chesky

"The only thing we have is one another. The only competitive advantage we have is the culture and values of the company. Anyone can open up a coffee store. We have no technology, we have no patent. All we have is the relationship around the values of the company and what we bring to the customer every day. And we all have to own it."

- Howard Schultz

"Become the type of leader that people would follow voluntarily, even if you had no title or position."

- Brian Tracy

"A leader sees greatness in other people. He nor she can be much of a leader if all she sees is herself."

- Maya Angelou

"The only thing of real importance that leaders do is to create and manage culture."

- Edgar Schein

"A leader’s first task is to diagnose the culture. Only then can they decide whether to embrace, adapt, or transform it."

- Michael Watkins

"Your ability to accelerate your impact depends on your ability to read the cultural terrain and navigate it effectively."

- Michael Watkins

"Everything we do in state government, we do with a shared purpose: to Empower People, Improve Lives and Inspire Success. Combined with our shared values of gratitude, curiosity, humility and courage, we're working to develop a positive and innovative state government culture in North Dakota."

- Doug Burgum

"Inspirational leaders need to have a winning mentality in order to inspire respect. It is hard to trust in the leadership of someone who is half-hearted about their purpose, or only sporadic in focus or enthusiasm."

- Sebastian Coe

"One of the things that I did before I ran for president is I was a professional speaker. Not a motivational speaker - an inspirational speaker. Motivation comes from within. You have to be inspired. That's what I do. I inspire people, I inspire the public, I inspire my staff. I inspired the organizations I took over to want to succeed."

- Herman Cain

"You may look around and see two groups here: white collar, blue collar. But I don’t see it that way, and you know why not? Because I am collar-blind."

- Michael Scott

"Fool me once, strike one. Fool me twice, strike three."

- Michael Scott

"Would I rather be feared or loved? Easy – both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me."

- Michael Scott

"The most sacred thing I do is care and provide for my workers, my family. I give them money. I give them food. Not directly, but through the money. I heal them."

- Michael Scott

"Granted, maybe this was not the best idea, but at least we care enough about our employees that we are willing to fight for them."

- Michael Scott

"He’s not the worst. OK? He’s not the worst. You know who’s the worst? That intern we had a few years ago. That guy. Remember? That face, how ugly he was? He was the worst. Good worker, though."

- Michael Scott

"Do I have a special someone? Well, yeah, of course. A bunch of ’em. My employees."

- Michael Scott

"I guess the attitude that I’ve tried to create here is that I’m a friend first and a boss second and probably an entertainer third."

- Michael Scott

"I don’t go by the rule book…I lead from the heart, not the head."

- Princess Diana

"Taking initiative pays off. It is hard to visualize someone as a leader if she is always waiting to be told what to do."

- Sheryl Sandberg