1. The men who have changed the universe have never gotten there by working on the leaders, but rather by moving the masses. Working on the leaders is the method of intrigue and only leads to secondary results. Working on the masses, however, is the stroke of genius that changes the face of the world.
- Napoleon Bonaparte
2. Superior leaders get things done with very little motion. They impart instruction not through many words, but through a few deeds. They keep informed about everything but interfere hardly at all. They are catalysts, and though things would not get done as well if they were not there, when they succeed they take no credit. And, because they take no credit, credit never leaves them.
- Lao Tzu
3. A leader is a dealer in hope.
- Napoleon
4. Lead by example.
- Napoleon
5. In victory, you deserve Champagne; in defeat, you need it.
- Napoleon
6. If you want a thing done well, do it yourself.
- Napoleon
7. A man will fight harder for his interests than for his rights.
- Napoleon
8. The best way to keep one's word is not to give it.
- Napoleon
9. A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.
- Lao Tzu
10. He who has never learned to obey cannot be a good commander.
- Aristotle
11. The leaders who offer blood, toil, tears and sweat always get more out of their followers than those who offer safety and a good time. When it comes to the pinch, human beings are heroic.
- George Orwell
12. Leadership is lifting a person’s vision to high sights, the raising of a person’s performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations.
- Peter Drucker
13. Not the cry, but the flight of a wild duck, leads the flock to fly and follow.
- Chinese Proverb
14. Those who try to lead the people can only do so by following the mob.
- Oscar Wilde
15. It is absurd that a man should rule others, who cannot rule himself. (Absurdum est ut alios regat, qui seipsum regere nescit.)
- Latin Proverb
16. A ruler should be slow to punish and swift to reward.
- Ovid
17. Be bold.
- Alexander the Great
18. A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow.
- General George S. Patton
19. In War: Resolution. In Defeat: Defiance. In Victory: Magnanimity. In Peace: Good Will.
- Winston Churchill
20. The crowd gives the leader new strength.
- Evenius
21. People want to be part of something larger than themselves. They want to be part of something they’re really proud of, that they’ll fight for, sacrifice for, that they trust.
- Howard Schultz, Starbucks
22. Leaders don’t just make products and make decisions. Leaders make meaning.
- John Sealy Brown, Xerox PARC
23. The leader....is the translator, facilitator, the articulating point between the group's genius, who is doing great things, producing big and innovative ideas, and the public, the market.
- Warren Bennis
24. Three words leaders have trouble dealing with: 'I don't know'. I think good leadership will often start with questions whose answer is, 'I don't know but we are going to find out.
- Warren Bennis
25. A leader is a man who has the ability to get other people to do what they don't want to do and like it.
- Harry Truman
26. There go my people. I must find where they are going so I can lead them.
- Alexandre Ledru-Rollin
27. Remember, the difference between a boss and a leader- a boss says ‘Go!’; a leader says, ‘Let’s Go!’
- K.M. Kelly
28. If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
- The Bible (Mathew 15:14)
29. As for the best leaders, the people do not notice their existence.
The next best, the people honor and praise.
The next, the people fear, and the next the people hate.
When the best leaders' work is done, the people say, 'We did it ourselves!'
- Tao Te Ching / Lao-Tzu
30. Four things belong to a judge: to hear courteously, to answer wisely, to consider soberly, and to decide impartially.
- Socrates
31. You know others and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know others but know yourself, you win one and lose one; if you do not know others and do not know yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle.
- Sun Tzu, The Art of War
32. Risk more than others think is safe.
Care more than others think is wise.
Dream more than others think is practical.
Expect more than others think is possible.
- Cadet Maxim, USMA, West Point, NY
33. The four questions evry leader must ask:
What is our impact?
Who are we impacting?
What opportunities do we have now?
What Problems have we created?
- Ed Brenegar
34. And what makes an ineffective team?
After all is said and done, more is said than done.
- Aesop
35. Don’t persuade, defend or interrupt. Be curious, be conversational, be real. And listen.
- Elizabeth Lesser
36. There is no typical profile of a Navy SEAL; usually, it's the guy who is quiet - who is unassuming but they've got heart inside...the big Rambo guy beating his chest is probably not the one.
- Navy Seal instructor
37. One has to reduce to a minimum all that is unnecessary in one's life.
- Carlos Castaneda, A Separate Reality
38. Basically, be a good man.
- Anon
39. Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.
- Mark Twain
40. Leadership training in Tao Te Ching (6th century BC):
The best rulers are scarcely known by their subjects;
The next best are loved and praised;
The next are feared;
The next despised: they have no faith in their people and their people become unfaithful to them.
When the best rulers achieve their goals their subjects claim 'We did it ourselves!'
41. For things people would like their leaders to say more often:
'I don’t know.'
'Thank you.'
'Do what’s right.'
'It’s my fault.'
- Guy Kawasaki, 'The 16 lies of CEOs'
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