30 Of The Best Leadership Quotes And Insights You Will Ever Read

The following is Part 2 of the leadership quotes and insights from Captain D. Michael Abrashoff’s great book It’s Your Ship.  To read Part 1, click 45 Of The Best Leadership Quotes And Insights You Will Ever Read.

The applications from these quotes can improve anyone’s leadership.

1. “In the current squeeze on business costs, many companies have cut back so much that they are only one-deep in critical positions, leaving no margin for error.  I saw this as a recipe for disaster.  My goal was to cross-train in every critical area.”
2. “If all you give are orders, than all you will get are order-takers.”
3. “When people don’t agree with you, they slow their actions till you are past the drop-date date.”
4. “Innovation and progress are achieved only by those who venture beyond standard operating procedure.”
5. “I would focus on combat readiness, because without it people could die.”
6. “Our initial reactions can often be the difference between success and failure.”
7. “If you prepare for the most challenging scenarios, chances are good that you will be much better prepared for the unforeseen.”
8. “I didn’t have any rivals.  I was in competition only with myself.”
9. “Don’t be the first to shoot.  Accuracy is more important.  The only thing anyone will remember tomorrow is who hit the target, not who shot first.”
10. “I realized, first-hand, the power of information.  Those that have it prosper.  Those that don’t, wither.”
11. “One-size-fits-all programs tend to fit none.”
12. “When you see a bad trend developing, you need to yell and holler until people pay attention to it.”
13. “There is no downside to having employees who know how every division of an organization functions.  The challenge is finding incentives to motivate them to want to do so.”
14. “Leadership is mostly the art of doing simple things very well.”
15. “I left drill-sergeant bullying to other leaders with other goals.  Running Benfold demanded brains and initiative.”
16. “Show me a manager who ignores the power of praise, and I will show you a lousy manager.”
17. “Never tear them (your bosses) down; help them grow strong…Anticipate what they want before they know they want it…When they can’t get along without you, they will support nearly anything you seek to accomplish.”
18. “Social interaction is getting lost in a digital world that trades more in abstractions than in face-to-face relations.”
19. “You cant’ ‘order’ an outstanding performance.  You have to plan, enable, nurture, and focus on it.”
20. “All too often, a gung-ho newcomer runs smack into a poisoned corporate culture that sucks the enthusiasm right out of her.”
21. “A jealous commander may behave in ways that inhibit and soon paralyze his or her subordinates.”
22. “Every organization’s success is a collective achievement.”
23. “Nothing alienates a boss faster than people who suck up, thirst for his or her job, or both.”
24. “I rarely asked for permission.  I just acted on the theory that my bosses had authorized me to do so in their behalf.  They wanted me to take care of things without being nagged.”
25. “Why not instead assume that everyone is inherently talented, and then spur them to live up to those expectations?”
26. “Anything you can do to understand your people, support them in tough times, and nurture their gifts will pay benefits to your bottom line.”
27. “If you want to climb the ladder, you have to do more than your specific job; you have to do things that affect the lives of others in the organization.”
28. “That’s the key to being a good leader: ongoing counseling and consistent honesty.”
29. “When it is time to inform the bottom performers that, in fact, that’s what they are.  I have found that asking them how they would rate their own performances is effective.”
30. “All managers must be ready to shed poor performers, but only after you have given them a chance; you must be open and honest with them, clarify their deficiencies and how they can overcome them.  And finally, you must spell out the stick: what will happen if they don’t address those problems in a timely manner.”

Leaders, how do you handle poor performers?

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