Warren Bennis Quotes

The task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been.

Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.

Nothing happens unless first we dream.

To me, success in the job is setting a vision, guiding an organization through change - which is exactly what I did at Digitas, and I'm very proud of that - and bringing people together and with you. That, to me, is what it takes to be successful.

Once an organization has a strong sense of mission, leaders can focus on trying new things.

Dreams are the seeds of change. Nothing ever grows without a seed, and nothing ever changes without a dream.

A leader who confines his role to his people's experience dooms himself to stagnation; a leader who outstrips his people's experience runs the risk of not being understood.

You've got to have a vision. You've got to have a message.

Leaders create a sense of urgency. And along with that you have to create a sense of hope and a direction.

See things not as they are but as they might be.

Our next CEO needs to thrive in a highly dynamic environment, to be capable of accelerating what is working very well for Cisco and disrupting what needs to change.

What I've learned is the power of a compelling vision.

Leaders establish the vision for the future and set the strategy for getting there; they cause change. They motivate and inspire others to go in the right direction and they, along with everyone else, sacrifice to get there.

A new leader has to be able to change an organization that is dreamless, soulless and visionless... someone's got to make a wake up call.

Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood and probably themselves will not be realized.

If you're doing something new you've got to have a vision. You've got to have a perspective. You've got to have some north star you're aiming for, and you just believe somehow you'll get there, which kind of gets to the passion point.

Dream no small dream; it lacks magic. Dream large. Then make the dream real.

We started Kotter International to improve leaders' ability to deal with big, important transformations in organizations - and in their lives.

Even in an organization that's doing something big and bold, there's the mundane, day-to-day execution work of keeping it going. But people need to stay connected to the boldness, to the vision, and stay plugged in to the main vein of the dream.

Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will.

You've got to have a dream... if you don't have any big dreams, nothing happens.

As an owner, you have a choice. Do you want to adopt a vision that you think is real sharp and real cutting edge and could get you from good to great - has a chance - or do you want to just say the organization is not about that, and we're not going to try to adopt a new coaching philosophy and vision.

I need an inspiration that is grounded in reality while thoroughly transcendent.

True leadership isn't about having an idea. It's about having an idea and recruiting other people to execute on this vision.

Leadership is the key to 99 percent of all successful efforts.