Joe Bastianich Quotes

I've never isolated role models based on gender. I have more male role models due to the mere fact that I've done business with more of them and they're leaders within the verticals I work. Of those, Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.com, is an entrepreneur and personal friend that I have a great deal of respect for.

Anita Roddick was amazing. Her presence in a room was full of light, and everything she worked to achieve still resonates now.

I'm not a TV guy. I'm a restaurant chef and a businessman.

During one of his uncannily well-timed impromptu visits to my restaurant, Union Square Cafe, Pat Cetta taught me how to manage people. Pat was the owner of a storied New York City steakhouse called Sparks, and by that time, he was an old pro at running a fine restaurant.

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.

The restaurant business had a profound effect on my future and that of my two brothers. When we were able to stand on a stool to reach the sink, we washed dishes, and later, when we could see over the counter, we waited tables and managed the cash register.

The genius of a good leader is to leave behind him a situation which common sense, without the grace of genius, can deal with successfully.

What's great about my father is that, because we've been involved in the business from such a young age, he's given us - and we've earned - autonomy, and he's given us the rope to go out and grow the brand.

I had a relationship with John Wooden. I spoke at his memorial service.

I think Steve Wynn, who was like my mentor and a second father, has been a great inspiration. He's a great mentor because he's a guy who's had great business success but also has always been driven by creativity - and inspired creativity.

Man, Dr. Dre just inspired me so much. Just him personally, outside of music, too. You know, him doing the whole Beats thing... People like him, they set the bar high for me to set the bar even higher, you know? It's more than just music when it comes to building a foundation and building your empire.

Steve Jobs was a great friend as well as a trusted advisor. His legacy will extend far beyond the products he created or the businesses he built. It will be the millions of people he inspired, the lives he changed, and the culture he defined.

A lot of people say Michael Jordan and all of that. But Magic Johnson and my dad were my role models.

My father has never influenced the strategy anywhere.

One day, I'll open my own restaurant or do something related to food, though I can't cook to save my life.

I grew up in the restaurant business, and that's always something I wanted to do.

The successful entrepreneurs that I see have two characteristics: self-awareness and persistence. They're able to see problems in their companies through their self-awareness and be persistent enough to solve them.

Sir Alex Ferguson has been a massive influence on me.

See, my philosophy is had Beyonce or Solange came to me and said Dad, I want to be a doctor. My personality is how do I buy a hospital? And that has nothing to do with stage. That has to do with the entrepreneurial inside of me.

All my career I've been like a leader, and a lot of people followed what I did.

I want people to see me as the entrepreneur, the boss, the public figure, the person who motivates.

Vince McMahon is not a human being. They don't make people like Vince. Vince is Vince. I can't even describe to you what it's like being in a room with Vince McMahon. He is above man. That's the best way I can put it. Like-minded people take over the world, so I've always had a great rapport with him.

Taking on a leadership role doesn't mean that you only have to be personally ambitious.

If it hadn't been for Paul Bearer, there would not have been a Kane. For that, I'm forever grateful.

I don't subscribe to, 'Here are the top ten tips to successful leadership,' or, 'How to learn leadership in ten minutes.' A leader is someone who gives positive energy to others which then results in a better change than would have happened. I think everyone is a leader.