James Sinegal Quotes

Men who think in lifetimes are of little use to statesmanship.

The one characteristic more essential than any other is foresight... It should be the growing nation with a future which takes the long look ahead.

The Congress is not willing to think about the long term. They act like activist shareholders, to use that phrase again. They're not thinking about what can we do that will make us richer, safer, and stronger next year, and the year after, and five and 10 years out.

Leadership is about making decisions with the information you have, not the information people will have 12 years later, i kind of feel sorry for my friend Jeb Bush.

There is only one conflict, and that’s between short-term and long-term thinking.

I understand that fans think short-term, and there's nothing wrong with that. You live or you die in the short term. But I believe in our system, and when you do that, you don't make knee-jerk decisions.

The ablest administrators do not merely draw logical conclusions from the array of facts of the past which their expert assistants bring to them, they have a vision of the future.

The point is to explore whatever may be helpful for thinking, understanding, and acting responsibly over long periods of time.

The man of action has the present, but the thinker controls the future.

The most challenging thing for a young entrepreneur is to think long-term. When you are 22 years old, it’s hard to think in 22-year increments since that’s as long as you’ve been alive. But it’s really important to view your life as an entrepreneur as a long journey that consists of many short-term cycles.

The opportunist thinks of me and today. The statesman thinks of us and tomorrow.

I think somehow people should be encouraged to think about a very long time horizon and I think this is true for businesses, it's true for governments and it's true for people doing things in the non-profit sector.

A short term view will lead to a partial and perhaps twisted view of the whole picture. A crucial element may be missing. We may not be running the entire race. A friend of mine described a colleague as great at running the "ninety-five yard dash." That is a distinction I can do without. Lacking the last five yards makes the first ninety-five pointless. In fact, serious runners thing of it as a 110 yard dash so that no one will best them in the last few yards. You've got to think beyond the whole.

Deciding to commit yourself to long term results rather than short term fixes is as important as any decision you'll make in your lifetime.

Personal Vision is often the catalyst for wise decisions.

I am a coach who thinks always in the long term.

I'd rather get past the tyranny of now, where you get judged for something based on what's happening at the moment.

Long term thinking is so rare anywhere, but especially in startups. This is a huge advantage if you do it.

When I first got into business, I made a lot of bad decisions.

You make the right decision for the long run. You manage for the long run, and you continue to move to higher value. That's what I think my job is.

Business, more than any other occupation, is a continual dealing with the future; it is a continual calculation, an instinctive exercise in foresight.

Do, What you're going to do in longevity. Not just what happens tomorrow.

I must analyze, from what I do now, what will be the impact two or three or five years in the future. What is the statement I want to make?

In order to have your short term policies accepted, you have to have your long term policies understood.

The long view counts.