Louis V. Gerstner Jr. Quotes

One mentor I had taught me that people do what you inspect, not necessarily what you expect. In other words, if nobody is watching, there will be some slack off.

We have a very old saying in our household: 'Inspect what you expect.' You hold people accountable, and I use my business background for finding the most efficient and effective solutions to deliver the result we're looking for.

I learned this early on in the variety business: You've got to give folks responsibility, you've got to trust them, and then you've got to check on them.

You always hear about delegation, but people make the mistake of delegating and not following up. I give authority, but I stay in touch. Otherwise it doesn't work.

What gets measured, gets done.

Promise little and do much.

I'm a person who believes in close monitoring and knowing what everyone on the staff is doing.

Initial reports are encouraging. In the end of the day, it's going to be deeds, not words, that matter.

I have zero tolerance for people who don't come completely prepared. I expect contribution, I expect attendance, and I expect directors to take trips and visit the company's programs.

You can't build a reputation on what you intend to do.

If a guy doesn't work hard and doesn't play well, he can't lead anything. All he is, is a talker.

You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do.

Congress, the press, and the bureaucracy too often focus on how much money or effort is spent, rather than whether the money or effort actually achieves the announced goal.

My job is to build that belief in every coach and every owner, that they can put the franchise in my hands and I can take it uphill from there. Obviously, everyone wants to be No. 1, but I'm not going to campaign. I'm just going to go out and show what I've got.

No expectations, no tension between goals and performance, no outrage, resolve or intention, no action, no results. There's only one way to get a government - and a nation - to stop drifting to low performance. That's to wake up and insist on higher standards.

My strong point, if I have a strong point, is performance. I always do more than I say. I always produce more than I promise.

Managers in all too many American companies do not achieve the desired results because nobody makes them do it.

An ounce of performance is worth pounds of promises.

I wasn’t hired to do well in the polls. I was hired to do a good job.

Support what works and stop supporting what does not work.

There is a fine line between constructive oversight and unconstructive meddling.

I expect you to be a leader, to supervise by example, to lead, not simply order others to do hard jobs. I will hold you personally responsible for the operations under you. If one of your men makes an error, you as well as he will be accountable.

The only way we can do oversight is if people tell the truth.

For too long the federal government has measured quantity, not quality: What it puts in rather than what it gets out.

Whether someone signs something is not what's important. It's what they do and how they do it that matters.