David Ogilvy Quotes

A leader's job is not to do the work for others, it's to help others figure out how to do it themselves, to get things done, and to succeed beyond what they thought possible.

Organizations that can diminish fear are those that are able to motivate, create, and innovate.

Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.

As the leader, you're empowering talent. Once you've given the direction, it's a joy to see it put into action, to see people on every level of the company carrying out the strategy.

In terms of leadership, you've got to allow for people to be amazing and to contribute in a way that's meaningful. You can't hold on so tight that people don't get a chance to do what they do best.

I don't need a captain's band to lead a team to victory.

I would say a good leader brings results. A great leader writes a new story, it's different. Obviously a new story has to incorporate a lot of results. But a story is a chapter in the life of a company that people want to write and want to remember.

Hire people who are smarter than you, and don't be afraid to work with them as partners. Make it clear that you plan to learn from them, not just the other way around. The right, smart, motivated people respond very well to that approach, particularly coming from a younger manager like I am.

I know of no single formula for success. But over the years I have observed that some attributes of leadership are universal and are often about finding ways of encouraging people to combine their efforts, their talents, their insights, their enthusiasm and their inspiration to work together.

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

Successful people are the ones who think up things for the rest of the world to keep busy at.

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

I think one of the keys to leadership is recognizing that everybody has gifts and talents. A good leader will learn how to harness those gifts toward the same goal.

If you tell people where to go, but not how to get there, you'll be amazed at the results.

True leadership lies in guiding others to success. In ensuring that everyone is performing at their best, doing the work they are pledged to do and doing it well.

Leaders don't create followers, they create more leaders.

I've got to let the people who are in the business run the business. I can help them think through their decisions about products, about partners, about hiring. But in the end, the decisions are theirs, and so is the responsibility.

The essence of competitiveness is liberated when we make people believe that what they think and do is important - and then get out of their way while they do it.

Leadership and partnership go together.

It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do. We hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.

The best thing you can do as a leader when people are pressed is get the obstacles out of their way.

My idea of management is that what your job is as the boss is to find really good people and empower them and leave them alone.

I had to learn to trust people, and I realized that success was going to be born in hiring really bright people - very self-motivated, very able to make good judgment calls day in and day out.

I give people on my team the opportunity to excel as well, and I think that's what continues to keep me ahead. I may not be able to show or do an interview; I give them the opportunity to run the show, and that has been working.

My experience with Epic is handing off more and more power to the point where I can just sit back and look at our strategy or technology. I provide guidance without being responsible for any particular part of the company.