Ryan Holmes Quotes

I think a CEO lives or dies in whether he's been able to hold on to elements of culture that are needed in the company.

If you go through some big corporate change, it's just not going to be the same. If we sold to Yahoo, they would have done something different; if you want to continue your vision of the company, then don't sell because there's inevitably going to be some change.

Great companies in the way they work, start with great leaders.

It all sounds almost silly, but the fact is that the only way to change a corporate culture is to just change it.

I recognize we will pay more attention when we have different leadership.

Change in leadership does not only come in a pin stripe suit with a bald spot on its head.

Companies become what they want to become.

When a culture is broken, the cracks show - morale is weakened, but so is profit and performance. That's why culture has to be at the core of any business transformation.

There has been only one manager, and his name is John McGraw.

Many corporate leaders and employees have the right intentions, but it can be overwhelming when you consider how everything is affected from leadership styles, to organizational structure, to employee engagement, to customer service an marketplace.

There are no managers like there used to be managers.

Too many talk about a company's leadership, referring to the senior most executives in the organization. They are just that: senior executives. Leadership doesn't automatically happen when you reach a certain pay grade. Hopefully you find it there, but there are no guarantees.

Most leadership strategies are doomed to failure from the outset. As people have been noting for years, the majority of strategic initiatives that are driven from the top are marginally effective - at best.

I described the CEO job as knowing what to do and getting the company to do what you want. Designing a proper company culture will help you get your company to do what you want in certain important areas for a very long time.

An organization, no matter how well designed, is only as good as the people who live and work in it.

I've said I will be CEO as long as my colleagues want me.

People have come to me over the years and said to me: 'I admire the culture of Starbucks. Can you come give a speech and help us turn our culture around?' I wish it were that easy. Turning a culture around is very difficult to do because it's based on a series of many, many decisions, and the organization is framed by those decisions.

Management's job is to convey leadership's message in a compelling and inspiring way. Not just in meetings, but also by example.

When we began Starbucks, what I wanted to try to do was to create a set of values, guiding principles, and culture.

I think we're ready for succession. We just must try to do it right.

The first step in changing a culture, I believe, starts with the senior leadership team - and with the CEO.

Deciding whether or not to bring in an outside CEO is one of the most gut-wrenching decisions that a founder will ever need to make.

Turner Broadcasting went from a very entrepreneurial, risk-taking company where I had a tremendous amount of freedom and autonomy to a corporate, bureaucratic nightmare.

As a former CEO and senior executive, there was a time when I did not quite understand the profound impact a CEO has on the culture of a company, even though I always knew culture was important.

Strong succession planning is a critical element of all the Johnson enterprises.