Michael Spence Quotes

It is often said by reformers that government should be conducted upon business principles.

For society to progress, we should not only move forward but also clean up after ourselves.

Financial institutions, the corporate world and civil society - all must uphold high standards of probity in their working. Only a genuine partnership between the Government and its people can bring about positive change to create a just society.

The idea that you can create a template that will work forever doesn't happen in any business. There's some really, really bright people in this business. You can't do the same thing the same way and be successful for a long period of time.

A business of high principle generates greater drive and effectiveness because people know that they can do the right thing decisively and with confidence.

Mexico established a unique three-part governing system shared by the government, the information commission and civil society organisations.

I will work in partnership with the Government, all political parties, and civil society to safeguard and advance the future of all Singaporeans.

A healthy society rests on three pillars: business, government and civil society, or non-profits. Each has a distinct and important role to play, and all three need to work together synergistically to create the most value for society.

Any government that has a sincere desire for reform and progress should understand the benefit of objective and constructive criticism.

One of the main lessons I have learned the last five years as Secretary-General is that the United Nations cannot function properly without the support of the business community and civil society. We need to have tripartite support - the governments, the business communities and the civil society.

No person will make a great business who wants to do it all himself or get all the credit.

Sam Walton's values are: treat the customer right, take care of your people, be honest in your dealings, pass savings along to the customer, keep things simple, think small, control costs and continuously improve operations.

Everybody who goes through the business will make mistakes. The big question is how big will the mistakes be? How fast will they learn from the mistakes, and how quickly will they get the business in the correct direction?

There's a lot of pride that business owners have. It's actually really critical that pride and ownership extends to everyone in the organization. I think of everyone is in the same boat in driving the company forward.

Democracy needs support, and the best support for democracy comes from other democracies.

Good government only happens when the people working in it do their jobs, and do them well.

Transparency, honesty, kindness, good stewardship, even humor, work in businesses at all times.

Trust is the lubrication that makes it possible for organizations to work.

It's time to fundamentally change the way that we do business in Washington. To help build a new foundation for the 21st century, we need to reform our government so that it is more efficient, more transparent, and more creative. That will demand new thinking and a new sense of responsibility for every dollar that is spent.

Well, you could take several stories off the buildings of most U.S. government agencies and we'd all probably be better for it too.

When scrutiny is lacking, tyranny, corruption and man's baser qualities have a better chance of entering into the public business of any government.

In government institutions and in teaching, you need to inspire confidence. To achieve credibility, you have to very clearly explain what you are doing and why. The same principles apply to businesses.

Being a good leader requires remembering that you're there for a reason, and the reason certainly isn't to have your way. High-integrity leaders not only welcome questioning and criticism - they insist on it.

Certainly accountability of government is what people are clamoring for; they want to know that when lawmakers make a promise or a proposal, you can actually accomplish it.

The State of Virginia is similar to a great business corporation... and should be conducted with the same efficiency and economy as any private business.