Business Quotes

"There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else."

"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect."

"If you owe the bank $100 that's your problem. If you owe the bank $100 million, that's the bank's problem."

"A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well."

"In the business world, everyone is paid in two coins: cash and experience. Take the experience first; the cash will come later."

"It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest."

"An organization, no matter how well designed, is only as good as the people who live and work in it."

"Making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art."

"If you don't drive your business, you will be driven out of business."

"It's easy to make a buck. It's a lot tougher to make a difference."

"If you're trying to create a company, it's like baking a cake. You have to have all the ingredients in the right proportion."

"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."

"To command is to serve, nothing more and nothing less."

"More business is lost every year through neglect than through any other cause."

"Intellectual property has the shelf life of a banana."

"If you want to kill any idea in the world, get a committee working on it."

"An economist is an expert who will know tomorrow why the things he predicted yesterday didn't happen today."

"It's OK to have your eggs in one basket as long as you control what happens to that basket."

"The meek shall inherit the Earth, but not its mineral rights."

"When in doubt, mumble; when in trouble, delegate; when in charge, ponder."

"Great companies are built on great products."

"Meetings are indispensable when you don't want to do anything."

"Carpe per diem - seize the check."

"The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant."

"Success or failure in business is caused more by the mental attitude even than by mental capacities."

"Effort only fully releases its reward after a person refuses to quit."

"Our work is the presentation of our capabilities."

"The common question that gets asked in business is, 'why?' That's a good question, but an equally valid question is, 'why not?'"

"Almost all quality improvement comes via simplification of design, manufacturing... layout, processes, and procedures."

"Economic depression cannot be cured by legislative action or executive pronouncement. Economic wounds must be healed by the action of the cells of the economic body - the producers and consumers themselves."

"I rate enthusiasm even above professional skill."

"A company is only as good as the people it keeps."

"Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations."