John T. Chambers Quotes

This country is about, in my judgment, aggressive, open debate. There is an old saying: When everyone is thinking the same thing, no one is thinking very much.

It's important to have people who will question you occasionally.

You can't have 'yes' people around you.

I think it's interesting to me to talk to people who don't agree with me all the time.

You want to come up with your own points of view first and then test them against what you see.

We can be critical of the things that we love. That is possible.

Don't assume that because everyone believes a thing, that it is right or wrong. Reason things out for yourself. Work to get answers on your own. Understand why you believe things.

I like it when someone tells me 'I don't agree.' This is a true collaborator. When they say 'Oh, how great, how great, how great,' that's not useful.

I know that we shall meet problems along the way, but I'd far rather see for myself what's going on in the world outside, than rely on newspapers, television, politicians and religious leaders to tell me what I should be thinking.

I like disagreement because it forces both sides to question their own opinions and why they feel that way.

Listen and watch the world around you. Don't be satisfied with answers others give you.

I'm someone who does not like a bunker mentality and does not like groupthink.

One must dig deeply into opposing points of view in order to know whether your own position remains defensible. Iron sharpens iron.

We need an opposition to remind us if we are making mistakes. When you are not opposed you think everything you do is right.

I don’t attack people. I attack ideas. And some very good people can have some very bad ideas.

My music asks people to think critically, so how can I get upset when people think about me critically?

A good, hard-hitting dissent keeps you honest.

If you're just a follower, you never know why you are doing something. Then you can't know if something is good or not. How would you know that what you thought is right, if you didn't think it?

If you can get really good at destroying your own wrong ideas, that is a great gift.

I'm a fan of robust debate, and I'm not averse to engaging in the odd ad hominem attack myself.

I like reading things where someone's looked at what I do with some honesty, and maybe been challenged by it, and they have something to say that shows they've thought about it, even if they don't necessarily like it.

I spend a lot of time bathing in a glow of consensus, but you have to be willing to say something to people who might not agree with you and take the consequences of what follows.

If you're also in the arena and you're putting your ideas out and you're owning them and you're saying "I disagree with you about this and that, I think you've got this wrong" - then not only do I invite that, I freaking love that. I love that. I'm an academic. I'm hardwired for a good debate.

The biggest gains come from associating with people u DONT agree with!

That's healthy and good for us that there are people who are prepared to question what we are doing.