Matthew Yglesias Quotes

Managing is getting paid for home runs that someone else hits.

I used to spend my time more on process than strategy. Now, I prioritize my time around strategy, people, and process.

Leaders understand that the real fight is the fight against time. There's so much to achieve in such less time.

There is no real magic to being a good leader. But at the end of every week, you have to spend your time around the things that are really important: setting priorities, measuring outcomes, and rewarding them.

I never thought I was a very good manager.

Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective management is discipline, carrying it out.

Over the past several years, I've been more in a managerial role.

My definition of an executive's job is brief and to the point. It is simply this: Getting things done through other people.

Like most entrepreneurs, getting motivated to work has never been a problem for me; focus comes through delegating tasks to the best people you can find.

Good management has helped me find much of the success I've got.

Promoting is a no-no - that's hard work. Training is a full-time job, but I don't have time to do that full-time. But managing is something I'll be good at.

Ambition is important for any manager or coach, owner or director.

It's extremely instructive to realize that you cannot do everything. You need to delegate, to find experts, to consult with them. A big part of the job of directing is knowing when to take something on and when you shouldn't.

You could be in the United Nations office all night every night and still feel like you were not making a sufficient dent in the world's problems. I think the key is prioritization. But every job presents the tyranny of the inbox, of allowing the urgent to crowd out the important. So we have to have our lodestars.

Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.

I've never seen myself as a manager. As a manager, you have to put all your time into the job, and that would be difficult for me.

The best way to be productive is to have a great team. So I spend more time than most CEOs on human resources. That's 20 percent of my week.

Too many managers manage by what the postgame press conference is going to be.

A manager is responsible for the application and performance of knowledge.

Leadership is working with goals and vision; management is working with objectives.

Of all the things I've done, the most vital is coordinating those who work with me and aiming their efforts at a certain goal.

As all entrepreneurs know, you live and die by your ability to prioritize. You must focus on the most important, mission-critical tasks each day and night, and then share, delegate, delay or skip the rest.

This is the key to time management - to see the value of every moment.

I try to compartmentalize as much as possible, and I have the most amazing team in the world. They really set up my time in a way that is completely efficient all the time.

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