55+ Lee Iacocca Quotes About Life And Leadership
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Lee Iacocca was a bold and imaginative leader, who moved up the ranks in Ford Motors to become its President.
He later joined Chrysler Corporation as CEO and saved it from bankruptcy. This turnaround is still considered among the best turnarounds in corporate history.
Some quotes from Lee Iacocca are listed below. For more quotes, please check out these American Dream quotes and Andy Stanley quotes.
Lee Iacocca Quotes On Leadership
Lee Iacocca is an iconic leader who successfully led automobile companies. Here are some inspiring Lee Iacocca quotes.
1."I hire people brighter than me and then I get out of their way."
-Lee Iacocca.
2."Any supervisor worth his salt would rather deal with people who attempt too much than with those who try too little."
-Lee Iacocca.
3. "The speed of the boss is the speed of the team."
-Lee Iacocca.
4."There are times when even the best manager is like the little boy with the big dog, waiting to see where the dog wants to go so he can take him there."
-Lee Iacocca.
5. "The kind of people I look for to fill top management spots are the eager beavers, the mavericks. These are the guys who try to do more than they're expected to do, they always reach."
-Lee Iacocca.
6."I have always found that if I move with seventy-five percent or more of the facts that I usually never regret it. It's the guys who wait to have everything perfect that drives you crazy."
-Lee Iacocca.
7. "Every business and every product has risks. You can't get around it."
-Lee Iacocca.
8. "I forgot to shake hands and be friendly. It was an important lesson about leadership."
-Lee Iacocca.
9."The only mistake I ever made was not listening to my gut."
-Lee Iacocca.
10."If you set a good example you need not worry about setting rules."
-Lee Iacocca.
11."Mistakes are a part of life; you can't avoid them. All you can hope is that they won't be too expensive and that you don't make the same mistake twice."
-Lee Iacocca.
Lee Iacocca Motivational Quotes
Lee Iacocca led by example. Some of his best quotes are listed here to motivate us.
12."Motivation is everything. You can do the work of two people, but you can’t be two people. Instead, you have to inspire the next guy down the line and get him to inspire his people."
-Lee Iacocca.
13. "Boys, there ain't no free lunches in this country. And don't go spending your whole life commiserating that you got the raw deals. You've got to say, 'I think that if I keep working at this and want it bad enough I can have it.' It's called perseverance."
-Lee Iacocca.
14. "The discipline of writing something down is the first step toward making it happen."
-Lee Iacocca.
15. "I have found that being honest is the best technique I can use. Right up front, tell people what you're trying to accomplish and what you're willing to sacrifice to accomplish it."
-Lee Iacocca.
16."In times of great stress or adversity, it's always best to keep busy, to plow your anger and your energy into something positive."
-Lee Iacocca.
17."How to gain, how to keep, how to recover happiness is in fact for most men at all times the secret motive of all they do, and of all, they are willing to endure."
-Lee Iacocca.
18."The thing that lies at the foundation of positive change, the way I see it, is service to a fellow human being."
-Lee Iacocca.
19. "Management is nothing more than motivating other people."
-Lee Iacocca.
20."So what do we do? Anything. Something. So long as we just don’t just sit there."
-Lee Iacocca.
21."To solve big problems you have to be willing to do unpopular things."
-Lee Iacocca.
22."To succeed today, you have to set priorities, decide what you stand for."
-Lee Iacocca.
Good Businessman Quotes By Lee Iacocca
Lee Iacocca was highly regarded for his business acumen. Below are some Lee Iacocca quotes about business.
23."In my book, if you’re not No. 1, you’ve got to innovate."
-Lee Iacocca.
24."The most successful businessman is the man who holds onto the old just as long as it is good, and grabs the new just as soon as it is better."
-Lee Iacocca.
25."We are continually faced by great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems."
-Lee Iacocca.
26."You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can’t get them across, your ideas won’t get you anywhere."
-Lee Iacocca.
27. "When the product is right, you don't have to be a great marketer."
-Lee Iacocca.
28."In the end, all business operations can be reduced to three words; people, product, and profits. Unless you've got a good team, you can't do much with the other two."
-Lee Iacocca.
29."There’s no great mystery to satisfying your customers. Build them a quality product and treat them with respect. It’s that simple."
-Lee Iacocca.
30."Your legacy should be that you made it better than it was when you got it."
-Lee Iacocca.
Lee Iacocca Quotes About Knowledge
These quotes reveal that Lee Iacocca gave importance to knowledge in any form.
31."There is no substitute for accurate knowledge. Know yourself, know your business, know your men."
-Lee Iacocca.
32. "The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind."
-Lee Iacocca.
Decisiveness Quotes
Thee Lee Iacocca quotes on decisiveness are something which we can all agree with.
33."Decisiveness is the one word that makes a good manager."
-Lee Iacocca.
34. "If I had to sum up in a word what makes a good manager, I'd say decisiveness."
-Lee Iacocca.
35."The right decision is the wrong decision if it's made too late."
-Lee Iacocca.
36. "If we screw it up, start over. Try something else. If we wait until we’ve satisfied all the uncertainties, it may be too late."
-Lee Iacocca.
Lee Iacocca Education Quotes
Here are few of his quotes related to education.
37."Apply yourself. Get all the education you can, but then do something. Don't just stand there, make it happen."
-Lee Iacocca.
38. "In a completely rational society, the best of us would be teachers and the rest of us would have to settle for something else."
-Lee Iacocca.
39."Formal learning can teach you a great deal but many of the essential skills in life are the ones you have to develop on your own."
-Lee Iacocca.
Lee Iacocca Quotes About Communication In Business
Communication is an important aspect of business, and Iacocca knew it very well.
40."Start with good people, lay out the rules, communicate with your employees, motivate them, and reward them. If you do all those things effectively, you can’t miss."
-Lee Iacocca.
41."I only wish I could find an institute that teaches people how to listen. After all, a good manager needs to listen at least as much as he needs to talk."
-Lee Iacocca.
42."Listening can make the difference between a mediocre organization and a great one."
-Lee Iacocca.
43."Business people need to listen at least as much as they need to talk."
-Lee Iacocca.
The Best Lee Iacocca Quotes
Iacocca said some very inspirational quotes on family and time.
44."If you want to make good use of your time, you've got to know what's most important and then give it all you've got."
-Lee Iacocca.
45."The ability to concentrate and to use your time well is everything."
-Lee Iacocca.
46."Why is our free-enterprise system so strong? Not because it stands still, frozen in the past, but because it has always adapted to changing realities."
-Lee Iacocca.
47."The affections are like lightning: you cannot tell where they will strike till they have fallen."
-Lee Iacocca.
48. "People want economy and they will pay any price to get it."
-Lee Iacocca.
49."The trick is to make sure you don't die waiting for prosperity to come."
-Lee Iacocca.
50."The only rock I know that stays steady, the only institution I know that works, is the family."
-Lee Iacocca.
51."My father always used to say that when you die, if you've got five real friends, then you've had a great life."
-Lee Iacocca.
52."No matter what you've done for yourself or for humanity if you can't look back on having given love and attention to your own family, what have you really accomplished?"
-Lee Iacocca.
53."Something useful is always born out of happiness."
-Lee Iacocca.
54."How to gain, how to keep, how to recover happiness is in fact for most men at all times the secret motive of all they do, and of all they are willing to endure."
-Lee Iacocca.
55."Don’t just stand there; make something happen. "
-Lee Iacocca.
56."Can use the fanciest computers to gather the numbers, but in the end, you have to set a timetable and act."
-Lee Iacocca.
Lee Iacocca Negotiation Quotes
Lee Iacocca used this tactic of pushing his counterparts to the brink when he was negotiating.
57. "You'll be sorry."
-Lee Iacocca.
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Lee Iacocca quotes about life and leadership, then why not take a look at these Women in Business quotes, or Andrew Jackson quotes for more inspiration?
Main image credit: Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock.com
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Master of Business Administration
Deepthi ReddyMaster of Business Administration
With an MBA under her belt, Deepthi has discovered her true calling in content writing. Her writing repertoire is diverse, covering travel, movies, pet care, parenting, animals and birds, and more. Her joy of learning and creating has helped her craft well-written and engaging articles. When she isn't writing, Deepthi enjoys exploring new cultures, trying different foods, and spending quality time with her two children aged 7 and 12.
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