Leadership Essentials by Stephen R. Covey

Author:Stephen R. Covey [Covey, Franklin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-63353-911-2
Publisher: Mango Media
Published: 2006-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 5

Essential Quotations

The following quotations represent key insights into effective execution. Read them, memorize them, and act on them.

Have a good plan, execute it violently, and do it today.

—Dame Marjorie Scardino

Why do organizations fail? It’s bad execution. As simple as that: not getting things done, being indecisive, not delivering on commitments.

—Ram Charon

Losing organizations don’t do anything for anybody.

—Jack Welch

The goal defines the team.

—Jim Stuart

You have to decide what your highest priorities are and must have the courage—pleasantly, smilingly, non-apologetically—to say no to other things. And the way you do that is by having a bigger “yes” burning inside.

—Stephen R. Covey

One of the main things that’s influenced me is [Peter Drucker’s] notion of doing one thing at a time. He pokes fun at people who are executive Mozarts, who think they can do everything at the same time.

—Whit Stillman

The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want and, if they can’t find them, make them.

—George Bernard Shaw

In the absence of clearly defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily acts of trivia.

—Unknown

The nicest thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression.

—Sir John Harvey Jones

Follow-through is the cornerstone of execution and every leader who’s good at executing follows through religiously. Following through ensures that people are doing the things they committed to do.

—Larry Bossidy

Without clear measures, the same goal will mean a hundred different things to a hundred different people.

—Jim Stuart

For the purposes of action, nothing is more useful than narrowness of thought combined with energy of will.

—Henri-Frédéric Amiel

Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus.

—Alexander Graham Bell

Nothing can add more power to your life than concentrating all your energies on a limited set of targets.

—Nido Qubein

The reason most people never reach their goals is that they don’t define them.... Winners can tell you where they are going, what they plan to do along the way, and who will be sharing the adventure with them.

—Dennis Waitley

A “no” uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a “yes” merely uttered to please, or what is worse, to avoid trouble.

—Mahatma Gandhi

All companies have goals. But there is a difference between merely having a goal and becoming committed to a huge, daunting challenge—like a big mountain to climb. Such a goal—a big, hairy, audacious goal—is clear and compelling and serves as a unifying focal point of effort.

—Jim Collins

An “A” execution of a “B” strategy is better than a “B” execution of an “A” strategy.

—Catherine Nelson

You get what you measure for.

—Larry Bossidy

Great minds have purposes, others have wishes.

—Washington Irving

Trivial matters take up more time because we know more about them than important matters.

—Steiner’s Postulate

It is the mark of great people to treat important matters as important and trivial matters as trivialities.

—Doris Lessing

Dithering over tough decisions causes companies to get stuck in adversity and, ultimately, to drift into crisis.

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