Edward Whitacre Jr. Quotes

I think that I've learned to relax, and trust in and hire very talented people, and trust in their abilities a little more.

The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why.

Management is getting people together to figure out how to transform inputs into outputs. In the process of figuring out the process of how people work together, you've got to figure out who's got what responsibilities, and how do they work together.

I think that in any group activity - whether it be business, sports, or family - there has to be leadership or it won't be successful.

The problem with communicating without a coordinator is that everyone has to read everyone else's mind.

A good leader has to at some point trust those around him; otherwise, nothing constructive is going to get done.

One thing that we've invested a lot of in, that we all live by, is the power of the commissioner.

In business, there's a saying: 'Disagree and commit.' It means that everyone should speak up before a decision is made. But once the boss has decided, you all get behind it to make it happen.

I've always tried to be a leader.

I think it's a requirement that the general manager and the coach are communicating with each other on a regular basis, and it's unacceptable if they're not.

I'm very much a leader in a lot of the work that I do or that I've done in my career.

Collaboration is just, really, a group of people getting in a room with their eye on a very similar prize and wanting to come out with the same show. The director, ultimately, is the guy in front of whom the buck stops. So, he has to have the courage to prevail. But, he has got to have a huge amount of respect for his collaborators.

What I've learned is that unless it's an emergency, like a fire or brain surgery, hierarchy is not necessary and may be damaging. If you have a hierarchy, you're repeating the strengths and weaknesses of one person without allowing for the accumulative strength of a group.

Well, the first quality of being a good leader is you have to be able to follow. See, a good leader can't just be the leader all the time, I have to be able to follow.

There is no better way to manage than by walking around. Autocracy doesn't work. Talk to people in their offices, find out what's on their minds.

People and organizations don't grow much without delegation and completed staff work because they are confined to the capacities of the boss and reflect both personal strengths and weaknesses.

A good leader should focus on making sure everyone is being given the tools to do their job, not just expecting - poof! - that they're going to produce great work.

The best executive is one who has sense enough to pick good people to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.

Delegating doesn't mean passing off work you don't enjoy, but letting your employees stretch their skills and judgment.

The speed of the boss is the speed of the team.

The reason I've been able to maintain my position of chairman of CBS in addition to all the Viacom stuff is my team.

Anytime you get an idea, you need people to help you put it together. That is the beginning of an institution. When you create an institution, levels of authority and boundaries need to be established. If everybody owns it, nobody owns it. If everybody is responsible for it, nobody will be responsible.

What I have found is that, in a family business structure, sometimes what is needed is a sense of discipline rather than creativity. You have to take everyone's ideas and make it work. When you are dealing with money, there is a limitation on how creative you can be.

The great irony of management is that the higher up you go, the less actual control you have. When you are but a humble coder, you make the computer do exactly what you want; when you're a manager, you only hope that people understand what you want, and then trust/pray that they do it both correctly and in a timely manner.

In politics, as in business, leadership is crucial.