Quotable Quotes: he who thinks acts
September 14, 2008 by Miki Saxon
A great barometer with which to evaluate your company’s culture and your boss’ skill is to get conscious about just how much you’re encouraged to think. That’s right, think.Most employees say that they’re encouraged to take the initiative, but not necessarily to think.
Hello, how do you do the former if you haven’t done the latter?
“A company will get nowhere if all of the thinking is left to management.” – Akio Morita (And it’s good to practice before you’re promoted.)
“You can’t always wait for the guys at the top. Every manager at every level in the organization has an opportunity, big or small, to do something. Every manager’s got some sphere of autonomy. Don’t pass the buck up the line.” – Bob Anderson, GE’s former CEO (Don’t pass it down, either; whatever your position be the place that it stops.)
“Solve it. Solve it quickly, solve it right or wrong. If you solve it wrong, it will come back and slap you in the face, and then you can solve it right. Lying dead in the water and doing nothing is a comfortable alternative because it is without risk, but it is an absolutely fatal way to manage a business.” –Thomas J. Watson, Jr. (Or as Nike says, “Just do it!”)
How often do you think?
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Hello Miki,
This is a great post – the three quotes in combination are very effective. Morita’s is the classic basis for Toyota’s management system. Anderson’s is the converse of Morita’s – don’t just award authority from above, seize it where reasonable from below – and Watson’s integrates action with reflection – he’s not saying to just flail around, but to pay attention to the consequences of your actions, and then reinforce success.
Great stuff – thanks!
HI Jim, Thank you, compliments from you always pump up my day!
I’ve always found it more interesting to group quotes, either because they work well together or because they poke holes in each other:)