Tim Johnson Quotes

Leaders make things happen. Leaders will take a situation and try and figure out what is it that we're trying to do, what is the problem, what kind of priorities and resources do we need, what kind of people do I need to bring to bear on this problem, what kind of plans do we need to succeed.

There is a common and persistent belief out there that entrepreneurship is about creativity - that it's about having a great idea. But it's not, really. Entrepreneurship isn't about creativity. It's about organization-building - which, in turn, is about people.

We need to have a plan equal to the challenge.

There are many elements to a campaign. Leadership is number one. Everything else is number two.

One of the things Mr. Kennedy taught me was that in laying out a new project, you shouldn't try to cope with every little problem.

I need to build my team around my weaknesses.

I don't create companies for the sake of creating companies, but to get things done.

The role of leadership is to transform the complex situation into small pieces and prioritize them.

What gets left out is the narrative between the bullets, which would tell us who's going to do what and how we're going to achieve the generic goals on the list.

Innovation has nothing to do with how many R & D dollars you have. When Apple came up with the Mac, IBM was spending at least 100 times more on R & D. It's not about money. It's about the people you have, how you're led, and how much you get it.

What I learned at LucasArts was, you don't make your bets on ideas: ideas are cheap. You make your bets on people.

Management is defense. You basically say, 'This is the direction; this is where we're heading,' and then it's my job to get everything else out of the way. All the other things that can become a distraction keep us from executing well. Get those out of the way, because the team ultimately needs to run in that direction and execute well.

A strong team can take any crazy vision and turn it into reality.

Leaders tend to focus on 'what to do,' but the real issue is more often 'how to do it.'

I have to put people in the right spot so that if they execute, we win.

As a mayor, my instinct is to really think about how to get something done and not to make the promise unless you have some view of the pathway. You don't have to have it all figured out, but you have to have a pathway there.

The biggest problem I see with early-stage entrepreneurs is they get the idea in their head, and they leave it in their head. And they begin embellishing it in their head, making it more ornate. They add on the second story to their dream house - then add the tennis court and the turrets and the gargoyles.

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

Everything in strategy is very simple, but that does not mean everything is very easy.

People with military experience seem to do very well in these situations. They've been taught that they can control their destiny, which is half the battle. They also have some experience in getting out of bad situations even if just through training. They know they have to make a plan and follow it and execute it.

Leadership means bringing people together in pursuit of a common cause, developing a plan to achieve it, and staying with it until the goal is achieved.

Plans must be simple and flexible....They must be made by the people who execute them.

When companies fail, or fail to grow, it's almost always because they don't invest in the people, the systems, and the processes they need.

Great vision without great people is irrelevant.

Our focus was directed at developing the best possible and easiest to use product, and this is where we invested our time. Realize that you won't be able to bring the same focus to everything in the beginning. There won't be enough people or enough hours in the day. So, focus on the 20 percent that makes 80 percent of the difference.