Chip Conley Quotes

All of us might wish at times that we lived in a more tranquil world, but we don't. And if our times are difficult and perplexing, so are they challenging and filled with opportunity.

Uncertainty is not an indication of poor leadership; it underscores the need for leadership.

You need strong leadership to effectuate change, and the easiest way is to keep everything status quo. And sometimes changes are necessary. If not, you build up too much potential energy.

When written in Chinese, the word 'crisis' is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity.

Uncertainty is a permanent part of the leadership landscape. It never goes away.

Never waste a crisis.

The highest calling of leadership is to challenge the status quo and unlock the potential of others. We need a leader who will lead the resurgence of this great nation and unlock its potential once again.

Leadership is all about taking people on a journey. The challenge is that most of the time, we are asking people to follow us to places we ourselves have never been.

While I'm leader, nothing will be off limits - there will not be one policy, one rule, one way of working which cannot be changed.

I was obliged to take tough, painful and bold decisions to ensure a manageable tomorrow.

A true leader always keeps an element of surprise up his sleeve, which others cannot grasp but which keeps his public excited and breathless.

Leadership requires that we challenge the conventional wisdom.

There is a difference between bold leadership and nibbling around the edges.

Every crisis has within it, opportunity. Every crisis has within it, danger.

Leaders must go ahead even when moving ahead is controversial. You must be ahead of time, because if you want to represent the status quo, what do you need leaders for?

The problems of a period are the existential crises of what can be but hasn't yet been resolved; and regardless of how seriously we take that word 'resolved,' if there were not some new possibility, there would be no crisis - there would be only despair.

Leaders must invoke an alchemy of great vision.

The ground beneath you is shifting, and either you get sucked in by holding on to old ways, or you take a giant step forward by taking some risks and seeing what happens.

It's unusual for elected officials to step outside of the box.

Let your customers be your partners; let your vendors be your employees. What's necessary in this transformation more than anything else is courage and a willingness to change.

People want bigger, bolder answers to the problems that exist. I felt, as leader, 'My analysis is big; are the answers big enough?'

The challenge is to practice politics as the art of making what appears to be impossible, possible.

Leaders are not dogmatic. They are principled and know that change is never easy, but when it's necessary, they must lead.

That may be one of the qualities a lot of owners have. They thrive on times that are challenging and changing because you have to grasp the big picture.

Leaders who can push themselves beyond their comfort zones and understand how to harness the power of reverse innovation have the chance to become the next great visionaries.