Jeff Smisek Quotes

The United States is like a big company, and we need a CEO to run it.

The operational tail will wag the intelligence dog. The top people will be forced to take up all their time in the direction of operations and will neglect intelligence.

I think there is a big and significant difference between being a leader and being a manager-leaders lead from the heart. You have to be analytical and flexible. Flexibility is one of the key ingredients to being successful. If you feel like it's difficult to change, you will probably have a harder time succeeding.

If I Had To Sum Up In One Word The Qualities That Make Up A Good Manager, I'd Say Decisiveness.

I never got many questions about my managing. I tried to get twenty-five guys who didn't ask questions.

Divide and command, a wise maxim; Unite and guide, a better.

As with all catalysts, the manager's function is to speed up the reaction between two substances, thus creating the desired end product. Specifically, the manager creates performance in each employee by speeding up the reaction between the employee's talent and the company's goals, and between the employee's talent and the customer's needs.

When I give a minister an order, I leave it to him to find the means to carry it out.

I finished reading High Output Management by Andrew Grove, which had such valuable insights for leaders that I've been forcing managers at Duolingo to read the book.

I don't think I was talking specifically about Steve Jobs. It was just a general philosophy about one person grows up and he's kind of managing companies and every day he's working making sure this is in place and that's in place.

All good management is the expression of one great idea

Command is often not what you do but the way you do it.

A leader is a coach, not a judge.

Transformation al leaders pick the right people, match them to the right jobs, achieve mutual clarity on the desired results, and then they get out of the way and leave the individual with maximum freedom to perform.

Leaders have followers, managers have employees. Managers make widgets, leaders make change.

The Presidents job, is not to wield power himself, but to lead attention away from it.

The boss inspires fear; the leader inspires enthusiasm.

Good leaders don't tell people what to do, they give teams capability and inspiration.

Good leadership means leading the way, not hectoring other people to do things your way.

Being a visionary leader is not about giving speeches and inspiring the troops. How I spend my day is pretty much the same as how any executive spends his day. Being a visionary leader is about solving day-to-day problems with my vision in mind.

The important word there is inspire. The key difference between managers and leaders is that managers tell people what to do, while leaders inspire them to do it. Inspiration comes from three things: clarity of one's vision, courage of their conviction and the ability to effectively communicate both of those things.

Some in management positions operate as if they are in a tree of monkeys. They make sure that everyone at the top of the tree looking down sees only smiles. But all too often, those at the bottom looking up see only asses.

No job is more vital to our society than that of the manager. It is the manager who determines whether our social institutions serve us well or whether they squander our talents and resources.

Management is a far more homely business than its would be scientists suggest, more closely allied to cookery than any other human activity. Like cooking, it rests on a degree of organisation and on adequate resources. But just as no two chefs run their kitchens the same way, so no two managements are the same.

I would love to be a corporate leader.