John C. Maxwell Quotes

The ability to deal with people is as purchasable a commodity as sugar or coffee and I will pay more for that ability than for any other under the sun.

Your people smarts will prove ten times more valuable than all the book smarts you can't get.

Understanding people certainly impacts your ability to communicate with others.

The ability to understand people is one of the greatest assets anyone can ever have.

There is something I call social intelligence. You can do a lot in life on your own and you can do all kinds of stuff, but if you're really bad with people, if you're really naive or aggressive and push people away, if you don't know the political environment you're in, it invalidates all the things you know. You're not going to get anywhere.

Most people that derail as leaders in the corporate world, it's not because they couldn't do the math and calculate return on investment properly. The issues are communication and understanding. All of what typically would've been called the 'soft stuff.' You have to be authentic. You have to be dialed into the soft stuff.

I'm engaged: I'm interested in other people. I think that's just as important as knowing how to do the job.

Indeed, I am repeatedly astonished by the number of really good writers who understand human beings so well on paper but don't know how to deal with them in real life.

In most job interviews, people say they are looking for people skills and emotional intelligence. That's reasonable, but the question is, how do you define what that looks like?

At AT&T, I learned an awful lot about people, and how important it is to have the right people in the right jobs. And when I say 'right people,' I'm not talking about their college degree or work history; I'm talking about things like bearing - How does this person interact with other people? Can he or she talk to you and not tick you off?

I meet people in my business who have this extraordinary ability to understand human nature in their work, but in real life, they don't seem to have the first clue.

If I don't have any other strength, I'm pretty good at building relationships.

When I started losing business to salespeople who were using used-car salesmen kind of tactics, I realized I can't ignore the EQ thing; it's going to kill sales.

I think one of my strengths is kind of knowing people and getting a good read and a feel for what that person's strengths might be.

All my life I have dealt with objective matters; hence I lack both the natural aptitude and the experience to deal properly with people and to carry out official functions.

Life is a matter of dealing with other people, in little matters and cataclysmic ones, and that means a series of conversations.

It's very rare that someone who is so good at the language of numbers, is as good at the language of life. They're two very different worlds.

Connecting is vital for any person who wants to achieve success. It is essential for anyone who wants to build great relationships. You will only be able to reach your potential-regar dless of your profession or chosen path-when you learn to connect with other people.

You think effectiveness with people and efficiency with things.

Empathetic people are superb at recognizing and meeting the needs of clients, customers, or subordinates. They seem approachable, wanting to hear what people have to say. They listen carefully, picking up on what people are truly concerned about, and respond on the mark.

In order to lead people, you have to get to know them.

School doesn't really teach you how to interact with people properly, you learn that outside of school.

I'm a real people person and I'm very sensitive, and I've just noticed how other actors that I've worked with, as an actor, take direction from people.

I have a lot of problems understanding connections between people and how to negotiate that. It makes everything hard offstage.

A major reason capable people fail to advance is that they don't work well with their colleagues.