Whitney MacMillan Quotes

An entrepreneur never thinks of quarter-on-quarter; he thinks for 25 years, 50 years.

Our goal is not to produce immediate results. We've been tasked with producing long-term results. That means that there's more risk in any individual thing we take on. But we still aspire to a strong return on investment.

My own view is that every company requires a long-term view.

You just can't get too focused on worrying about what's going to happen in the next quarter. You have to worry about where the business is headed long-term.

If progress is to be steady we must have long term guides extending far ahead.

I think in terms of 20-year horizons.

If you're long-term oriented, customer interests and shareholder interests are aligned.

Strategy is about shaping the future.

Develop a clear vision for your organization. Where do you want to be in five years?

Good decisions can have bad short-term outcomes but be great for the business long-term.

If we look at pricing holistically, we'll create a more solid business.

I think three-to-five years ahead minimum. I have a short-term plan, a five-year plan and a decade plan.

Follow sound business trends, not fashion trends.

Companies that grow for the sake of growth or that expand into areas outside their core business strategy often stumble. On the other hand, companies that build scale for the benefit of their customers and shareholders more often succeed over time.

I look three to five years ahead, not 10 years behind.

The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range perspective.

You can't base an industry solely on one person. That's a very vulnerable business strategy.

Our ultimate goal is to stay in business. We are not here with a specific plan. That's kind of how our entire career has evolved. We will figure things out as we go along.

We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten. Don't let yourself be lulled into inaction.

Business is a sprint until you find an opportunity, then it's the patience of a marathon runner.

Business, more than any other occupation, is a continual dealing with the future; it is a continual calculation, an instinctive exercise in foresight.

I never had a plan. I have to say, I'm very shocked when people start a company and say, 'In five years I want to launch a perfume, or in 10 years I want to have this.' How can you know?

I've worked in the business world and, as a futurist, the whole 20 years that I've led at Mosaic.

To be a consistent winner means preparing not just one day, one month or even one year - but for a lifetime.

Many business leaders are seeing the relationship between long term success and sustainability, and that's very heartening.