Business Quotes - Page 84

Most of the effort in the software business goes into the maintenance of code that already exists.

Great investment opportunities come around when excellent companies are surrounded by unusual circumstances that cause the stock to be misappraised.

I have pledged - to you, the rating agencies and myself - to always run Berkshire with more than ample cash. We never want to count on the kindness of strangers in order to meet tomorrow's obligations. When forced to choose, I will not trade even a night's sleep for the chance of extra profits.

We enjoy the process far more than the proceeds.

If you want your business to survive for 100 years, you've got to make it through every single day for 100 years. It's not enough to do it 99.9% of the time.

Industry is a better horse to ride than genius.

Money doesn't excite me - my ideas excite me.

There are three cardinal rules - don't take somebody else's boyfriend unless you've been specifically invited to do so, don't take a drink without being asked, and keep a scrupulous accounting in financial matters.

Mental fight means thinking against the current, not with it. It is our business to puncture gas bags and discover seeds of truth.

Yes, business really does change. 400 years ago, corporations were formed by royal decree. 300 years ago, many countries were powered by slave labour, or its closest moral equivalent. 200 years ago, debtors didn't go bankrupt, they went to prison. 100 years ago - well, business is largely the same as it was a century ago. And that's exactly the problem. Business hasn't changed, but today's array of tectonic global shocks demands a different, radically better kind of business. Yesterday's corporations visibly cannot meet today's economic challenges.

One doesn't accept bad challenges. Part of it is always the risk-taking without seeing that the risks are rational and the rewards are commensurate.. are more than commensurate.. with the risks.

Your needs will be met once you can find a way of projecting energy and fulfilling someone else's need.

You know, there's a big lie in this business. The lie is that it's okay to go out in flames. But that doesn't do anybody much good. I may be wrong, but I think Hendrix was trying to come around.

Understand that relationships are more important than contracts. Business deals are relationships between people. The signed piece of paper is important, but it's merely the result of the relationship, not the cause. If the relationship crumbles, the contract won't save you, although it could be very lucrative for your lawyer.

One can often trace the sources of a brand personality - here it is the advertising, there the pack, somewhere else some physical element of the product. Of course, the personality is clearest and strongest when all the elements are consistent.

An empowered organization is one in which individuals have the knowledge, skill, desire, and opportunity to personally succeed in a way that leads to collective organizational success.

Actually I did not invent the seven habits, they are universal principles and most of what I wrote about is just common sense. I am embarrassed when people talk about the Covey Habits, and dislike the idea of being some sort of guru.

Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.

Do not trust people. They are capable of greatness.

I have never had anything done. I've been asked if I had breast implants. Whether I did or not, it's nobody's business but my own.

I don't care about awards and public image. We know the business of entertainment. We worship our work, we worship our clients and we worship profitability.

Successful people are the ones who are breaking the rules.

Change is not a threat, it's an opportunity. Survival is not the goal, transformative success is.

The best time to do great customer service is when a customer is upset.

It is not the man who has little, but he who desires more, that is poor.