Mike McCarthy Quotes

I believe the director's primary role is to create an atmosphere where his company can be created.

And I'd say one of the great lessons I've learned over the past couple of decades, from a management perspective, is that really when you come down to it, it really is all about people and all about leadership.

Microsoft's culture is very strong.

The organization reflects the behavior and characteristics of the CEO, and that establishes the culture. Foster an environment of open communication, and the organization inherits a culture of open communication.

Most management systems have to do with establishing trust and getting people to cooperate. They're not really about expertise or science.

Teamwork makes the dream work, but a vision becomes a nightmare when the leader has a big dream and a bad team.

Great leaders help their people see how they can directly impact the company's objectives and their own personal goals.

The most challenging part of being CEO is communicating to 200,000 people what you want done.

The most important thing is that you treat everybody incredibly well and lead with a bit of humility. I've found that when I go into a company to lead, it's important to have a plan and to make that plan a simple one that everybody can understand.

Just about anyone can make a good product, but it's the people that count. In the end, it's the employees who will take it from a kitchen-table idea to the next level. There are a lot of important things in business, but the people portion comes first.

I try to motivate people and align our individual incentives with organizational incentives. And then let people do their best.

I think that the CEO is responsible for setting the vision, for articulating the mission, and for building a team of powerful evangelists that share that mission and that passion, because no one person can do anything by themselves.

First of all, you've got to have a vision of 'What kind of program do I want to have?' Then you've got to have a plan to implement it. Then you've got to set the example that you want, develop the principles and values that are important, and get people to buy into it.

The most important thing is culture.

My belief is that a positive culture works best because people want to meet or exceed expectations, not demands.

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.

The right people don't care about a corner office - they care about the culture, if you're mission-driven, what you're going to do to make the world a better place.

To build a winning culture, you are going to have to prove yourself.

It doesn't matter what's written on a coffee mug or on a 'culture' slide; what you do as a CEO, day in and day out, and how you behave will define your company's culture.

I believe in MWA - management by walking around - so I spend as much time as possible traveling and visiting franchise partners. You only learn by walking around and meeting people.

You need to make sure you hire people who are capable of being strong team players. Team members should fit the company's culture, be committed to the team, and be capable of being genuinely vulnerable and selfless.

A single person doesn't change an organization, but culture and good people do.

I really want to institute a culture that has nothing to do with shots or minutes or anything like that. It starts with a foundation of service.

As a manager, you manage a team and there are good periods where there are good feelings in the group.

With the right people, culture, and values, you can accomplish great things.