Stanley A. McChrystal Quotes

FCA is a culture of leaders and employees that were born out of adversity and who operate without sheet music.

Effective leaders know that resources are never the problem; it's always a matter or resourcefulness.

An open-minded person running a business might catch a problem faster than a closed-minded person. And when they identify a problem, they can fix it much faster.

Some people revel in getting their hands dirty. These are the people that make startups grow wildly. People with hustle also tend to be much more agile - they're the water that goes around the rock. These are the people you want around when everything goes wrong. They're also the people you want beside you when everything goes right.

While I'm leader, nothing will be off limits - there will not be one policy, one rule, one way of working which cannot be changed.

What we need to do is always lean into the future; when the world changes around you and when it changes against you - what used to be a tail wind is now a head wind - you have to lean into that and figure out what to do because complaining isn't a strategy.

I think it is quite dangerous for an organisation to think they can predict where they are going to need leadership. It needs to be something that people are willing to assume if it feels relevant, given the context of any situation.

Moving with the times is an important idea for strategy today.

Evolving our culture to operate and think differently is no small task. We are challenging our employees to be the best of both small and big companies - they should operate with the soul and spirit of a startup, while leveraging the scale, resources and capabilities of Campbell - with the goal of ultimately becoming the biggest small company.

A leader has to find opportunities in any environment.

That may be one of the qualities a lot of owners have. They thrive on times that are challenging and changing because you have to grasp the big picture.

Government tends to stifle innovation, and it abhors improvisation. Any good military strategist will tell you that a battle plan rarely survives past the first engagement. After that, you have to improvise to survive and to win.

Leaders have to be intensely aware and be bold and flexible enough to adjust course ahead of impending changes.

In an age of exponential change, we need the power of diverse thinking, and we cannot afford to leave any talent untapped.

The entrepreneurs that really make it are the ones that start with an idea but are ready to change it at a moment's notice.

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.

The virtue of small-to-midsize companies is that they tend to be more flexible and it is easier to experiment with new ways of working. So just try to tackle one problem you're really struggling with, together with your team. Get started and see what happens. Chances are you will be happy with the outcome.

You can't just keep doing what works one time, everything around you is changing. To succeed, stay out in front of change.

A leader is a man who can adapt principles to circumstances.

I used to think that running an organization was equivalent to conducting a symphony orchestra. But I don't think that's quite it; it's more like jazz. There is more improvisation. Someone once wrote that the sound of surprise is jazz, and if there's any one thing that we must try to get used to in this world, it's surprise and the unexpected. Truly, we are living in world where the only thing that's constant is change.

Like many of my fellow entrepreneurs, I didn't create Hearsay Social with my co-founder Steve Garrity because it would be fun and easy, but because we're at our best when faced with enormous challenges.

Architecture and building is about how you get around the obstacles that are presented to you. That sometimes determines how successful you'll be: How good are you at going around obstacles?

It's not the style that motivates me, as much as an attitude of openness that I have when I go into a project.

It's amazing what ordinary people can do if they set out without preconceived notions.

Different times need different types of leadership.