James C. Collins Quotes

Companies become what they want to become.

My own view is that every company requires a long-term view.

My advice to fledgling entrepreneurs is always the same: build a company that you plan to be with for the next 10 years - that is the best way to increase your chances of success.

I'm fascinated by management and organizations: how organizations get things done and how successful organizations are built and maintained, how they evolve as they grow from start-ups to small companies to medium companies to big companies.

The essence of business to me is great people run great companies. Mediocre people don't do a very good job.

If you want to change the culture, you will have to start by changing the organization.

If the culture you have is radically different from an 'experiment and take-risk' culture, then you have a big change you going to have to make - and no little gimmicks are going to do it for you.

Everyone has an idea over time of what the business should be, and during the formative period, too many opinions could be disruptive.

We need investors who plant and grow, not reap and run.

You need a commitment which is long term and a commitment to leadership, because that's the only way you build excellence.

Challenges need to be given to an organization.

Punjab is central to our business strategy, and we are an active partner in the state's growth.

As chief of staff, I was responsible for running a multibillion-dollar organization with over 34,000 employees, and working on everything from health care to transportation.

I've never said I didn't want to manage a big team. I've never had that dream - that's different.

Because entrepreneurship is so hard and does take so long to build something great, you do have to build an environment that you yourself as an entrepreneur want to work in for the next 20 years.

Sometimes, you do need different leaders for different stages of the company.

Our job and commitment is to rebuild Ericsson to be successful long-term.

More and more, our clients expect not only relevant advice, not only setting a road map or helping them plan, but being committed to business results.

I think it's extremely important to think of your company as a series of chapters.

My goal is to create one of the greatest companies that's ever existed, and that has everything to do with the people, the culture, and what our core values are versus what we build or how we're perceived out in the market.

I live, breathe, and die by what kind of company we're creating.

When I go into management, I want to do so with 100 per cent commitment.

Management is the set of skills that can help get things done. Unfortunately, its practice is too often a bag of manipulative tricks to advance someone's own interests, which creates cynicism.

At the end of the day, you want to do what's best for your organization, present and future.

Every organization is looking for... a guy who can be the coach for the next 10, 15 years. That's what they want. I get that.