Louis V. Gerstner Jr. Quotes

I came to see, in my time at IBM, that culture isn't just one aspect of the game; it is the game.

Culture used to be viewed as the 'touchy-feely' side of business, but that's no longer the case. If you don't have a defined culture behind you, then you aren't going to be effective at executing your strategy.

Since most startups operate at a break-neck pace, with a concept to prove or a product to launch within a rapidly shortening runway of financing, company culture often gets shoved aside. This is a big, big mistake: Nobody serious about their business should put culture in the corner.

Ultimately, what any company does when it is successful is merely a lagging indicator of its existing culture.

When a culture is broken, the cracks show - morale is weakened, but so is profit and performance. That's why culture has to be at the core of any business transformation.

The thing I have learned at IBM is that culture is everything.

I have a foundational belief that business results start with culture and your people.

A sour corporate culture can actually make an entire society unhappy. This means that a strong corporate culture can have a positive impact on a society.

An organization, no matter how well designed, is only as good as the people who live and work in it.

Chick-fil-A is what it is today because of its people, purpose and product.

When we began Starbucks, what I wanted to try to do was to create a set of values, guiding principles, and culture.

You won't find a CEO who doesn't talk about a 'powerful culture' as a source of competitive advantage. At the same time, you'd be hard-pressed to find a CEO who has much of a clue about the strength of that culture.

Any good business is a hobby. We have an integrated company culture, and I can honestly say that many people who come here to work make Yandex a central part of their lives.

Microsoft's culture is very strong.

Companies that understand the purpose and philosophy behind the 'why' are usually astute, high-performing organizations that tap directly into the pulse of those they benefit the most.

Our culture is the foundation for our company.

Company culture is my number one priority. It's more important than the team, the product, the business model, or the investors. All of those things can be fixed and made better over time. But culture has to be established on Day 1.

No one gave me a recipe for how to create company culture. I wish I had had one.

Organizational health is the single greatest competitive advantage in any business.

A company is only as good as the people it keeps.

I love being part of a company, and telling a story.

Our company has to be a company that enables its people.

It seems like those of us who run a business can't go five minutes without encountering the term "company culture." The phrase is always uttered with extreme adoration, yet the very concept seems as nebulous as it is elusive.

Prove to yourself that your business, in micro-scale at least, creates value. If you believe it, you'll find it that much easier to convince potential investors, partners and employees, too.

The future of any corporation is as good as the value system of the leaders and followers in the organization.