Dee Hock Quotes

Sometimes you have to make decisions without knowing all that you would like to know That's part of the job.

I think there is a big and significant difference between being a leader and being a manager-leaders lead from the heart. You have to be analytical and flexible. Flexibility is one of the key ingredients to being successful. If you feel like it's difficult to change, you will probably have a harder time succeeding.

If the modern leader doesn't know the facts, he is in grave trouble, but rarely do the facts provide unqualified guidance.

It amazes me how people are often more willing to act based on little or no data than to use data that is a challenge to assemble.

I've always made my decisions based on two factors: intellectual analysis and my gut. And when they meet, that's a go from me. That's when I see the goal.

A president, like a college freshman, can't know in advance which questions he'll have to answer or what topics he'll have to master. He has to be flexible, supple, and responsive. He has to be comfortable with multiple-choice.

Making decisions quickly isn't for everyone, and I've had my disasters, but overall, it works for me.

To be an objective leader means aligning your models with the needs of the organization. There is no question anymore that collaboration, seeking out diverse perspectives and developing new ways to look at challenges and opportunities, is a key leadership competency.

An executive is a person who always decides sometimes he decides correctly, but he always decides.

Organization can never be a substitute for initiative and for judgment.

I have to take decisions—not back hunches.

The statesman must weigh the rewards of success against the penalties of failure. And he is permitted only one guess.

We need to know what are the best jobs for which we can train young people so that the jobs will be available in growing numbers, are not dead end jobs, the jobs will not be obsoleted by automation, and there are no artificial ethnic or racial barriers to employment. Your Bureau of Labor Statistics has been working on this for 8 weeks now, and you come with your staff and say that you do not have sufficient data to make this judgment. Well if there were sufficient data, we could apply it and make the decisions without you. The reason we need your expertise is that your intuition and experience should enable you to make a better guess with the insufficient information than we would make who have no experience.

You can learn more about leadership by reading about Lincoln than you can from most business books.

When it comes to making decisions, I'm not what you'd call a numbers guy.

Truly successful decision-making relies on a balance between deliberate and instinctive thinking.

I'm able to bring business expertise but, more importantly, operating experience. The people here at Google are young. Every day there are lots of new challenges. I keep things focused. The speech I give everyday is: "This is what we do. Is what you are doing consistent with that, and does it change the world?"

To get anywhere, or even to live a long time, a man has to guess, and guess right, over and over again, without enough data for a logical answer.

Leadership ability determines a person's level of effectiveness.

The insight to see possible new paths, the courage to try them, the judgment to measure results - these are the qualities of a leader.

Where there is no uncertainty, there is no longer the need for leadership. The greater the uncertainty, the greater the need for leadership. Your capacity as a leader will be determined by how well you learn to deal with uncertainty.

I see some parallels [with Barack Obama] but I don't see the leadership that this guy [John F.Kennedy] had of other men and women. It's more than being the smartest guy in room.

Opinion is that exercise of the human will which helps us to make a decision without information.

You can use all the quantitative data you can get, but you still have to distrust it and use your own intelligence and judgment.

Decisions! And a general, a commander in chief who has not got the quality of decision, then he is no good.