Warren Bennis Quotes

Good thinkers are always in demand. A person who knows how may always have a job, but the person who knows why will always be his boss.

The manager does things right; the leader does the right thing.

The manager administers; the leader innovates. The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range perspective. The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why. The manager has his eye on the bottom line; the leader has his eye on the horizon. The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it.

Leaders have followers, managers have employees. Managers make widgets, leaders make change.

Basic philosophy, spirit and drive of an organization have far more to do with its relative achievements than do technological or economic resources, organizational structure, innovation and timing.

The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it.

Create a compelling vision, one that takes people to a new place, and then translate that vision into a reality.

Innovation has nothing to do with how many R & D dollars you have. When Apple came up with the Mac, IBM was spending at least 100 times more on R & D. It's not about money. It's about the people you have, how you're led, and how much you get it.

Leadership requires that we challenge the conventional wisdom.

Leadership is more than just managing economic reforms. Leadership means giving broad direction, take up challenges which other people cannot do.

My job is to not be easy on people. My job is to make them better. My job is to pull things together from different parts of the company and clear the ways and get the resources for the key projects. And to take these great people we have and to push them and make them even better, coming up with more aggressive visions of how it could be.

Flexibility in a time of great change is a vital quality of leadership.

Most people believe that great leaders are distinguished by their ability to give compelling answers. This profound book shatters that assumption, showing that the more vital skill is asking the right questions…. Berger poses many fascinating questions, including this one: What if companies had mission questions rather than mission statements? This is a book everyone ought to read—without question.

A leader without the vision, to strive to improve things, is no good. Then you will just stay put, you won't progress.

Leadership produces change. That is its primary function

There is no perfect fit when you're looking for the next big thing to do. You have to take opportunities and make an opportunity fit for you, rather than the other way around. The ability to learn is the most important quality a leader can have.

Leadership is different from management, but not for the reasons most people think.

Leadership is the art of accomplishing more than the science of management says is possible.

The transformation will come from leadership.

Only great people can make great products.

We started Kotter International to improve leaders' ability to deal with big, important transformations in organizations - and in their lives.

The task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been.

Entrepreneurs almost always have to step out of existing institutions that embody old ways of doing things to build their vision.

The person who knows HOW will always have a job. The person who knows WHY will always be his boss.

To me, success in the job is setting a vision, guiding an organization through change - which is exactly what I did at Digitas, and I'm very proud of that - and bringing people together and with you. That, to me, is what it takes to be successful.