Phil Donahue Quotes

We tend to think of the mind of an organization residing in the CEO and the organization's top managers, perhaps with the help of outside consultants that they call in. But that is not really how an organization thinks.

There are lots of women and lots of men in the business that the powers that be decide are the right people and they'll stand with them for quite a long time.

Every employee in a company depends on the C.E.O. to make fast, high-quality decisions.

In the larger companies, you have this tendency to get top-down direction.

Politics exist in the boardroom, as well.

My predecessor, P. W. Botha, had an inner circle, and I did not like it. I preferred decisions to evolve out of cabinet discussions. That way, we achieved real co-ownership of our policies.

The higher up you go, the more mistakes you are allowed. Right at the top, if you make enough of them, it's considered to be your style.

Policy bubbles up from the bottom. Decisions are made at the top.

A lot of companies have teams, but they are not really independent. They still have to get stuff approved by the boss. You have to change how and where decisions are made. If the hierarchy makes the decision, it will be based on politics.

I understand that bureaucracy, hierarchy and managing politics is not easy.

You don't need a Harvard MBA to know that the bedroom and the boardroom are just two sides of the same ballgame.

There are certainly more people in the business world who would score high in the psychopathic dimension than in the general population. You'll find them in any organization where, by the nature of one's position, you have power and control over other people and the opportunity to get something.

Too many talk about a company's leadership, referring to the senior most executives in the organization. They are just that: senior executives. Leadership doesn't automatically happen when you reach a certain pay grade. Hopefully you find it there, but there are no guarantees.

I've learned from doing my own show with Fox that people are not your partners if they're signing the checks. Whoever signs your paycheck is the boss - no matter what they tell you.

In a corporation, there can only be one guy in the end: the CEO.

Clearly, every company needs a leader. That's an important part of being the CEO of the company.

When the CEO makes a decision, people don't come back on it.

I recognize we will pay more attention when we have different leadership.

When any organizational entity expands beyond 21 members, the real power will be in some smaller body.

If you look at any kind of modern organization and you think, 'What are the foremost tools of power?' You will find that it is information.

You can't build a strong corporation with a lot of committees and a board that has to be consulted every turn. You have to be able to make decisions on your own.

Aggression is the most common behavior used by many organizations, a nearly invisible medium that influences all decisions and actions.

Government and business are simple. It's only people that make them complicated.

The higher rank of a committee member who proposes an amendment, the greater the chances of that amendment getting accepted regardless of its merit.

Reports tell you what your subordinates want you to know.