There are countless ways of achieving greatness, but any road to achieving one's maximum potential must be built on a bedrock of respect for the individual, a commitment to excellence, and a rejection of mediocrity.
You can't talk about leadership without talking about responsibility and accountability...you can't separate the two. A leader must delegate responsibility and provide the freedom to make decisions, and then be held accountable for the results.
A real leader has the ability to motivate others to their highest level of achievement; then gives them the opportunity and the freedom to grow.
The ultimate compliment a customer can make to an organization about one of its marketing people is: "I'm not sure whether your sales rep works for me or for you."
. . . top management should spend 40 to 50 percent of its time educating and motivating its people . . .
At IBM everybody sells! Every employee has been trained to think that the customer comes first - everybody from the CEO, to the people in finance, to the receptionists, to those who work in manufacturing.
. . . the world is filled with the kind of customers who deserve the care and attention I advocate, and I'd be willing to jump through hoops to win and keep them.
Leadership is the ability of a single individual through his or her actions to motivate others to higher levels of achievement.
Don't make misrepresentations to anyone you deal with. If you believe the other person may have misunderstood you, correct any misunderstanding you find exists. Honesty is integral to ethical behavior, and trustworthiness is essential for good, lasting relationships.
Sometimes the manager must perform with the courage and agility of a circus performer, carefully crossing the highwire between short-term problems and long-term objectives.
First, there is the law. It must be obeyed. But the law is the minimum. You must act ethically.
People buy products for what they can do, not for what they are.
IBM doesn't want its people to get frustrated and restless because it has them reaching for carrots they can't quit
While every body wants it, most don't want to give it.
We depend on you to do the right thing; right for both you and the company. It is no exaggeration to say that IBM's reputation is in your hands.
Good people need room to develop. They have to find their own voice . . . each IBMer is a businessperson working within the framework of the company structure.
