Ruth Porat Quotes

Passion provides purpose, but data drives decisions.

There are people who are really good managers, people who can manage a big organization, and then there are people who are very analytic or focused on strategy. Those two types don't usually tend to be in the same person. I would put myself much more in the latter camp.

I want to make smart choices.

Too many managers manage by what the postgame press conference is going to be.

As a director, I never feel that I have the answers.

My dad is a great manager. He's not just competent - he's very clever.

I think in any organization you want your manager to have a strong opinion. You don't want them to just say, 'Yes, sir' to things they don't believe in.

I don't have a particular recommendation other than that we base decisions on as much hard data as possible. We need to carefully look at all the options and all their ramifications in making our decisions.

I think that the best training a top manager can be engaged in is management by example.

I think directors should be confident in their leadership capabilities. I think directors should be confident in what they want to do.

I have never seen myself as a promoter. I always evaluate myself as a manager.

Showing leadership doesn't mean every employee will run the organization; that would lead to chaos. Businesses do need someone to set the vision and then lead the team to it.

My feeling is if you're going to be a leader, you have to carefully assess where people are and where people want to go.

I know how to make decisions, and I know how to lead.

Being a quarterback, the way I believe is there's always so much room to improve. Any little detail. I always cut up the film and try to watch what I can improve on, whatever little detail it is.

The Secret Service today is awash in managers, not leaders.

Debates measure abilities you don't need to govern, like glibness. To govern you should be thoughtful, not glib. A debater has a sense of humor, but what's it got to do with governing? The ability to think on your feet. You make a budget sitting on your tush.

The thing I'm most focused on today is, how am I maximizing the effectiveness of the leadership team, and what am I doing to nurture it?

I was always very detail-oriented, and in the time I spent in different roles - the elected official, the campaign manager - I had a tendency to want to push the creation of the product and really work on the critical path that would get to product.

Good management has helped me find much of the success I've got.

When I was getting my education, I fell in love with the writings of Peter Drucker. He was my hero. I had a naive belief that when I became a manager, it was going to be like Peter Drucker's books. That is, I was going to be the effective executive. I was going to talk to people about their goals. I was going to help them actualize.

I would love to be a general manager just for the challenge.

I'm very confident in my own ability as a manager.

Data is a tool for enhancing intuition.

When you're a leader and a manager, you have to make decisions which are right for your group to achieve the primary objective. Sometimes those decisions will be criticised.