Steve Easterbrook Quotes

The No. 1 criticism most managers get is that they don't ever change or wait too long to make changes... It's very simple: Either things are performing or they're not. And if it's not performing, we have to make changes.

If the culture you have is radically different from an 'experiment and take-risk' culture, then you have a big change you going to have to make - and no little gimmicks are going to do it for you.

In my experience of large enterprises, I have found it is often a mistake to try to settle everything at once.

You have to take calculated risks in life.

You take an educated gamble. If you don't occasionally make a mistake, you're not doing your job.

You need strong leadership to effectuate change, and the easiest way is to keep everything status quo. And sometimes changes are necessary. If not, you build up too much potential energy.

Turning a culture around is very difficult to do because it's based on a series of many, many decisions, and the organization is framed by those decisions.

If you have something at risk, you think differently.

It all sounds almost silly, but the fact is that the only way to change a corporate culture is to just change it.

You can't build an adaptable organization without adaptable people - and individuals change only when they have to, or when they want to.

Take calculated risks. That is quite different from being rash.

Taking risks gives me energy.

I'm just a risk taker. I have gut instincts.

I do think a founder has special permission to make sweeping changes across an organization.

You have to take risks.

I don't think I ever take huge risks, though I'm not scared of doing so.

I think it is quite dangerous for an organisation to think they can predict where they are going to need leadership. It needs to be something that people are willing to assume if it feels relevant, given the context of any situation.

As a first-time CEO, I wasn't sure if I would scale to run IronPort long-term. But I wanted a legitimate shot at it.

The first step in changing a culture, I believe, starts with the senior leadership team - and with the CEO.

What I'm trying to do is teach people how to actually get individuals in organizations to do the kinds of things to make a difference. It starts with not just studying the mechanics but really understanding how people operate.

Let your customers be your partners; let your vendors be your employees. What's necessary in this transformation more than anything else is courage and a willingness to change.

If you give the boss all the decision-making power, they see the world through their eyes. The big innovations are generally such a shift that they won't see it. For a long time, it looked like it was just inevitable that you would get slow and bureaucratic.

Creating organizations that value a growth mindset can create contexts in which more people grow into the knowledgeable, visionary, and responsible leaders we need.

Turner Broadcasting went from a very entrepreneurial, risk-taking company where I had a tremendous amount of freedom and autonomy to a corporate, bureaucratic nightmare.

Truly transformative leaders inspire deep commitment among many and have continued impact long after they are gone.