Henry Mintzberg Quotes

In sports and in business, the greatest leaders are those who make the best decisions in the most crucial of situations. They are the ones who focus their energy on turning tough decisions into winning decisions.

To succeed in business it is necessary to make others see things as you see them.

There are people who are really good managers, people who can manage a big organization, and then there are people who are very analytic or focused on strategy. Those two types don't usually tend to be in the same person. I would put myself much more in the latter camp.

I'm a businessman. I'm a former legislator, and I'm an executive. And I've been very effective in each one of those positions.

Leadership is all about emotional intelligence. Management is taught, while leadership is experienced.

Harry Redknapp is a fantastic manager. He knows how to talk to players. You need that belief from your own manager. He tells you just to go out there and do your thing. That is what Harry has got more than anyone else.

I had my first flower stall when I was seven, at the end of the drive in Minehead, Somerset. Nobody was stopping so I moved it to my neighbour's drive, because I thought: 'Location, location, location.' It worked.

Leadership ability determines a person's level of effectiveness.

All good management is the expression of one great idea

Strategic quitting is the secret of successful organizations

I can turn an idea into a business before you know it's going to be important. My first step will blow by you.

Any fact becomes important when it's connected to another.

The secret of rulership is to combine a belief in one’s own infallibility with a power to learn from past mistakes.

The thinking that guides your intelligence is much more important than how much intelligence you may have.

I think that being in politics, being in leadership should be as much about listening as talking. That's how I think you can get the information and sort of pick up the nuance that will enable you to do the best possible job.

Realism is important in foreign policy. You have to be realistic about what you can achieve, and about the pitfalls, and problems along the way, of which there are plenty. Nothing is easy. It's always rough.

Obviously, as secretary of state, I had some of the most important secrets that we possess, such as going after bin Laden. So I am very committed to taking classified information seriously.

Strategy is not the consequence of planning, but the opposite: its starting point.

Being an entrepreneur isn't really about starting a business. It's a way of looking at the world: seeing opportunity where others see obstacles, taking risks when others take refuge.

Small can beat big, but you must have a plan.

Psychology is the most important factor in chess.

The entrepreneurial mind-set is that risk is the heightened probability that there is a big range of possible outcomes.

The customer is usually wrong, but statistics indicate that it doesn't pay to tell him so

To know in war how to recognize an opportunity and seize it is better than anything else.

I fear a Man of frugal speech - I fear a Silent Man - Haranguer - I can overtake - Or Babbler - entertain - But He who weigheth - While the Rest - Expend their furthest pound - Of this Man - I am wary - I fear that He is Grand -