Strategic Direction Quotes

Vision with action is a daydream; action without vision is a nightmare.

Good ideas need good strategy to realize their potential.

As leader of the effort of the Iraqi Survey Group, I spent most of my days not out in the field leading inspections. It's typically what you do at that level. I was trying to motivate, direct, find strategies.

On a good day, I view the job [of president] as directing an orchestra. On the dark days, it is more like that of a clutch -- engaging the engine to effect forward motion, while taking greater friction.

To be excellent when engaged in administration is to be like the North Star. As it remains in its one position, all the other stars surround it.

The last thing IBM needs right now is a vision.

You manage things, you lead people. We went overboard on management and forgot about leadership.

I am the CEO of HCL Corporation, and, of course, a large part of my time does get spent in HCL Corporation, whether it is in actively managing our investments or perhaps even the governance and accountability and really seeing the strategic direction forward for HCL Corporation.

It is very important that the president thematically shows where we're going in terms of the vision and an agenda.

Leadership (according to John Sculley) revolves around vision, ideas, direction, and has more to do with inspiring people as to direction and goals than with day-to-day implementation. A leader must be able to leverage more than his own capabilities. He must be capable of inspiring other people to do things without actually sitting on top of them with a checklist.

I know firsthand the complexities of leading an enterprise through business and technology transformation. It takes intense focus, a strong drive, and a clearly communicated vision to inspire and take an organization from where they are, to where they need to be - or where they want to go.

We have zero strategic thinking out of our White House. And we have a national security structure that has lost its way when it comes to strategic thinking and strategic decision-making.

Strategy is about shaping the future.

There's something unique and different that makes a leader, and it's not about creativity or courage or integrity.... A leader's job is to rally people toward a better future.

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

Execution without a long term strategy leads nowhere. Likewise a long term strategy without execution leads nowhere.

Thus the skilful general conducts his army just as though he were leading a single man, willy-nilly, by the hand.

There is something only a CEO uniquely can do, which is set that tone, which can then capture the soul of the collective.

Realize that agendas drive data, not the other way round

Unity of command is essential to the economy of time. Warfare in the field was like a siege: by directing all one's force to a single point a breach might be made, and the equilibrium of opposition destroyed.

Without a goal [maneuvering is] aimless. You might be a master tactician, but you'll have no sense of strategy.

Apple, at its best, isn't a technology leader.

While I sign off on trades or free agents, I've rarely overruled my basketball people's decisions. But I'm not shy about steering the discussion or pushing deeper if something doesn't make sense to me.

For a firm to be exceptional, it has to be led by purpose. Our purpose is to make an impact that matters.

The leader is the organization's top strategist... systematically envisioning the future and specifically mapping out how to get there.