Today’s quotes are a sampling of comments I found in Business Week’s profiles of CEOs Of Tomorrow. Take a moment and click through the whole series, I think you’ll find it interesting.
“Numbers tell only part of the story. People get things done.” –John S. Watson, Vice-Chairman, Chevron
“It’s important to have fun as a team. When it is time to hop in the pine box, you’ll wish you had high-fived more people and taken more risks.” –Tim Armstrong, Chairman and CEO, AOL
“Revenue is important, but customer satisfaction is even more crucial. I’ve always believed that it’s not just what you do …read more

I care not what others think of what I do, but I care very much about what I think of what I do.  That is character!
            —- Theodore Roosevelt
Action Plan:  When did it happen that ethics, and doing the right thing, became negotiable?   When did we start admiring businesses and business leaders who didn’t do the right thing, yet made tons of money?  Has earning lots of money now become the new “doing the right thing?”
This week I urge you to take a look at how your work behavior is consistent (or inconsistent) with ethical principles.   Do you live and …read more

You have to have confidence in your ability, and then be tough enough to follow through.
                                    — Rosalyn Carter
This week’s action plan:  It’s easy to believe in yourself, when everyone around you believes in you as well.  But how often is this the case? 
Sometimes the people around us are looking to poke holes in our theories, subvert our decisions, and undermine authority.  How easy it is then to question our abilities.
Put a system into place today, so that you have the support you will need tomorrow.  Whether it’s a pep talk that you can give yourself, a series of affirmations …read more

As you go along your road in life, you will, if you aim high enough, also meet resistance. . . but no matter how rough the opposition may seeem, have courage still and persevere.
– Madeleine Albright
 
 

Far away in the sunshine are my highest aspirations.  I may not reach them, but I can look and see the beauty, believe in them and try to follow where they lead.
– Louisa May Alcott

Daring ideas are like chessmen moved forward.  They may be beaten, but they may start a winning game.
 
 

I have never been especially impressed by the heroics of people convinced that they are about to change the world.  I am more awed by those who struggle to make one small difference after another.
 

Most failure is not an end in itself, but a beginning disguised as an end.
 
 

The object is to try to do everything a little better tomorrow than it was today.  Continuous improvement is the path to a higher standard of leadership.
 

The standard of leadership depends not only on the qualities and beliefs of our leaders, but also on the expectations we have of them.