John Lasseter Quotes

A director is a choreographer, both politically and creatively.

As a director, I never feel that I have the answers.

I believe the director's primary role is to create an atmosphere where his company can be created.

Managing is a tough job. When you're young, you just think it's a natural progression - I'm good at this, so I'm going to be good at that - and it's not that way at all.

Being a director, just to begin with, is just, I think, one of the hardest jobs just because you have to work in every way. You have to work with actors, you have to be involved with the producers and the writing and the action. Every department comes to you; you have to deal with everything.

For success of any mission, it is necessary to have creative leadership. Creative leadership is vital for government, non-governmental organisations as well as for industries.

As a director, you have to understand what is happening - if I don't understand it, you can't make changes.

The thing I'm most focused on today is, how am I maximizing the effectiveness of the leadership team, and what am I doing to nurture it?

I didn't set out specifically to be a manager, but once you end up in that role you want to be measured against the best in the profession.

I think it's very important, I think for any leader as you go through a career you have to learn the leadership lessons.

I believe in MWA - management by walking around - so I spend as much time as possible traveling and visiting franchise partners. You only learn by walking around and meeting people.

When I'm working as a director, I might have an idea of my own but I'm also trying to get great ideas out of my actors. Directing is much more psychological - it's a lot like being a general. And you have to be organized. While you're making a film, you have between 2 and 500 people asking you a billion questions.

I was a pretty good coach and working with marketing was like coaching.

There's a conventional wisdom that says that strategic thinking is much more important than relationship building, which doesn't seem to be nearly as highly valued as it should be, based on what some of the leaders that I've spoken with have said to me.

I would have to say the most challenging thing about directing is the sheer stamina because... as a director, you're always doing something. Someone always needs to talk to you. There are always decisions to be made and every day for as long as the movie goes on. So it's a marathon... You don't have to look nice, but it's all day every day.

Rotary provides training at all levels so that those who have been selected for leadership positions have the opportunity to learn and apply leadership principles to their jobs.

I have so much respect for directors. It's a tremendous amount of pressure; you have to keep steadfast and keep what you know is right.

All you can really do as director is sort of set a tone.

If I look myself as a manager, I have lot more to learn.

I love the ability to work with very good managers, and to provide the right incentives for them, and truly become a partner with that management, and make that management take a long view.

As a director, I love being able to really be a contributing factor to the overall vision of a project.

I think directors should be confident in their leadership capabilities. I think directors should be confident in what they want to do.

Leadership means forming a team and working toward common objectives that are tied to time, metrics, and resources.

My definition of an executive's job is brief and to the point. It is simply this: Getting things done through other people.

A director must be a policeman, a midwife, a psychoanalyst, a sycophant and a bastard.