17 Leadership Quotes From A Conference Call Between John Maxwell And Microsoft COO Kevin Turner

Tonight I had the privilege of listening to a conference call between my former boss, the legendary John Maxwell and Microsoft COO Kevin Turner.  As you know Microsoft is a global organization with over 43,000 employees with $62B in 2010 revenue. 

Enjoy these key learnings from Kevin:

• “The beautiful about being in the technology field….is the needs change in real time…You can reinvent yourself out of necessity.”
• “Keeping externally focused is paramount…Keep the focus around the customer, the marketplace…This ensures you are being driven by the right things.  Being driven by the competition is like looking out the rearview mirror.”
• “You have to have a balance between innovating for the long-term and executing in the short-term.”
• “Having a willingness to fail gives the ability to innovate in the long-term.”
• “Execution is strategic.”
• “Success stifles innovation.”
• “I get up everyday trying to figure out what I can learn today (insatiable curiosity).”
• “I’m learning more on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis than I ever have in my life.”
• “When you feed learning you want to learn more.”
• “Anywhere you can find positive energy you can continue to improve.”
• “I learn a lot from our critics.  They are a helpful voice because they are unfiltered and tell you where you can improve.”
• “People want to be part of something bigger than themselves.  They will work for money but will give you their heart for meaning.”
• “When our work is done it will be not that different from our personal life.  It will be about relationships.”
• “Feedback is the breakfast of champions.  I call it being coachable.”
• “Negative feedback is some of the most important information you will ever receive in your life.  If you’re passionate it will sting.  But it will help you.”
• “The day you quit getting the feedback is the day you quit learning.  The day you quit learning is the day you are no longer mobile in this company.”
• “We will invest over $9B this year alone in R&D.”

To get information on spending an entire day with John and Kevin at the Microsoft offices this November in an event called Exchange, please visit www.ExchangeGathering.com.

For additional leadership lessons from John, click 50 John Maxwell, Seth Godin, and Dave Ramsey Leadership Quotes From The Chick-Fil-A Leadercast

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