The secret of great people is often conveyed by their words. Here is a great list of inspirational quotes from some of the best CEOs of all time. I trust that you will learn from them and make them a part of you.
The common question that gets asked in business is, ‘why?’ That’s a good question, but an equally valid question is, ‘why not?’ – Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon
It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently. – Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway
In this ever-changing society, the most powerful and enduring brands are built from the heart. They are real and sustainable. Their foundations are stronger because they are built with the strength of the human spirit, not an ad campaign. The companies that are lasting are those that are authentic. – Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks
A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them. – John C. Maxwell, CEO of The John Maxwell Company
Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart. – Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple
The world is changing very fast. Big will not beat small anymore. It will be the fast beating the slow. – Rupert Murdoch, CEO of 21st Century Fox
If you’re changing the world, you’re working on important things. You’re excited to get up in the morning. – Larry Page, CEO of Google
To me, business isn’t about wearing suits or pleasing stockholders. It’s about being true to yourself, your ideas and focusing on the essentials. – Sir Richard Branson, CEO of Virgin Group
The number one benefit of information technology is that it empowers people to do what they want to do. It lets people be creative. It lets people be productive. It lets people learn things they didn’t think they could learn before, and so in a sense it is all about potential. – Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft
I’m responsible for this company. I stand behind the results. I know the details, and I think the CEO has to be the moral leader of the company, … I think high standards are good, but let’s not anybody be confused, it’s about performance with integrity. That’s what you have to do. – Jeffrey Immelt, CEO of General Electric
It’s in our best interest to put some of the old rules aside and create new ones and follow the consumer—what the consumer wants and where the consumer wants to go. – Robert Iger, CEO of Walt Disney
There are a lot of things that go into creating success. I don’t like to do just the things I like to do. I like to do things that cause the company to succeed. I don’t spend a lot of time doing my favorite activities. – Michael Dell, CEO of Dell Computers
Capital isn’t scarce. Vision is. – Sam Walton, CEO of Wal-Mart
I think as a company, if you can get those two things right — having a clear direction on what you are trying to do and bringing in great people who can execute on the stuff — then you can do pretty well. – Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook
We’re living at a time when attention is the new currency: With hundreds of TV channels, billions of Web sites, podcasts, radio shows, music downloads and social networking, our attention is more fragmented than ever before.Those who insert themselves into as many channels as possible look set to capture the most value. They’ll be the richest, the most successful, the most connected, capable and influential among us. We’re all publishers now, and the more we publish, the more valuable connections we’ll make.Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Foursquare, Fitbit and the SenseCam give us a simple choice: participate or fade into a lonely obscurity. – Pete Cashmore, CEO of Mashable
I always did something I was a little not ready to do. I think that’s how you grow. When there’s that moment of ‘Wow, I’m not really sure I can do this,’ and you push through those moments, that’s when you have a breakthrough. – Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo
Show me someone without an ego, and I’ll show you a loser.” – Donald Trump, CEO of Trump Organization
Leaders get out in front and stay there by raising the standards by which they judge themselves—and by which they are willing to be judged. – Frederick W. Smith, CEO of FedEx
We will continue to build on our momentum in this important area of the world…through improved communication of our product quality, brand relevance and commitment to balanced, active lifestyles. – Jim Skinner, CEO of McDonald’s
Smarter is always the answer. – Samuel J. Palmisano, CEO of IBM
I’d highly prefer to settle versus battle … I’ve always hated litigation. We need people to invent their own stuff. – Tim Cook, CEO of Apple
Diversification and globalization are the keys to the future. – Fujio Mitarai, CEO of Canon
I just cannot emphasize enough what a strike would mean to us because we would absolutely be walking away from our commitments to our customers. There’s just no way we would recover. – Alan Mulally, CEO of Ford
Government should support and defend its key industries through good policies, rather than what sometimes makes for good politics. – Gordon Nixon, CEO of Royal Bank of Canada
But as an entrepreneur you have to feel like you can jump out of an aeroplane because you’re confident that you’ll catch a bird flying by. It’s an act of stupidity, and most entrepreneurs go splat because the bird doesn’t come by, but a few times it does. – Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix
When you innovate, you’ve got to be prepared for everyone telling you you’re nuts. – Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle
The term ‘too big to fail’ must be excised from our vocabulary. – Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Chase
Don’t compare yourself with anyone in this world…if you do so, you are insulting yourself. – Bill Gates, CEO of Microsoft
This indicates that employers are hiring on an as-needed basis, but are still not ready to staff up until demand for their business truly requires it. – Jeffrey Joerres, CEO of Manpower
I do not think that there is any other quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of perseverance. It overcomes almost everything, even nature. – John D. Rockefeller, CEO of Standard Oil
