James Sinegal Quotes

As a CEO, you get sucked into dealing with all the tasks of being a CEO. There's a big meeting, a big discussion, and you get into all the big issues, which is your job. But what CEOs often lose sight of is that it's all about the people who work for you. For every 1,000 decisions, 999 were being made when I was not in the room.

People are definitely a company's greatest asset. It doesn't make any difference whether the product is cars or cosmetics. A company is only as good as the people it keeps.

If you're thinking about your brand over your people, you've lost yourself.

You can employ men and hire hands to work for you, but you must win their hearts to have them work with you.

Everyone talks about building a relationship with your customer. I think you build one with your employees first.

Do you have a real interest in people who work for you? Most good leaders have that - it's hard to get someone to follow you if they feel like you hate 'em.

The employer generally gets the employees he deserves.

If you believe, as I do, that your employees truly are your most valuable asset, you will do whatever you can to help them do their jobs as well as possible.

Most people in an organization try very hard to do what the leadership wants them to do. That places a tremendous responsibility on leaders.

I can't tell you how many thousands of small moments that I've had with employees in our company that have been nothing more than a one-on-one. I'll see the baggage-services person, he or she is by himself. I'll pull them off to the side and have a 15-minute conversation about their history, their life, that kind of thing.

Have very frequent talks with employees because they are your best allies.

Your company is a product. Who are its customers? Your employees, who use it to do their jobs.

Delegating doesn't mean passing off work you don't enjoy, but letting your employees stretch their skills and judgment.

I have a foundational belief that business results start with culture and your people.

Building human-centered organizations doesn't imply a return to the paternalistic, corporate welfare practices of the 19th century. Most of us don't want to be nannied.

You really have to understand this isn't a business where you sit in the back room and do calculations - you have to be very concerned about employees and customers, because that's really what's going to bring you success.

Hire the best people, and trust what you hired them to do.

You are only as successful as the people who work for you want you to be.

If you pick the right people and give them the opportunity to spread their wings and put compensation as a carrier behind it you almost don't have to manage them.

It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do. We hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.

When leaders throughout an organization take an active, genuine interest in the people they manage, when they invest real time to understand employees at a fundamental level, they create a climate for greater morale, loyalty, and, yes, growth.

We treat the management-to-workforce relationship as very important and will continue to invest in that relationship.

Bottom line: If you can't spare some time to give your employees the chance to wow you, you'll never get the best from them.

If you hire great people, and they're all self-motivated, then you can get by without a lot of structure.

I try to hire good people and let them do their job and don't question how they do things.