Quotessence
Home / Authors / James C. Collins
James C. Collins

James C. Collins Quotes

Author

Filter quotes by topic

AllCompanyGood To GreatPeopleIfsBusinessLeaderGreat CompanyGreatnessOrganizationDecisionDisciplineNeedsImportantLeadershipShouldTurnsWayEnemyEnoughFirsts

Famous James C. Collins Quotes

“The most effective leaders of companies in transition are the quiet, unassuming people whose inner wiring is such that the worst circumstances bring out their best. They're unflappable, they're ready to die if they have to. But you can trust that, when bad things are happening, they will become clearheaded and focused.”

PeopleIfsDiesCompanyLeaderWorstReadyCircumstancesQuietHappeningsManagementFocusedBad ThingsTransitionReady To DieWiringUnassuming
Author:James C. Collins
Create image

“You must ask, "What do we mean by great results?" Your goals don't have to be quantifiable, but they do have to be describable. Some leaders try to insist, "The only acceptable goals are measurable," but that's actually an undisciplined statement. Lots of goals-beauty, quality, life change, love-are worthy but not quantifiable. But you do have to be able to tell if you're making progress.”

IfsTryingMeanAbleAsksGoalResultsQualityLeaderProgressWorthyStatementsLife ChangingAcceptableQuality Of LifeUndisciplinedGreat Results
Author:James C. Collins
Create image

“If I were running a company today, I would have one priority above all others: to acquire as many of the best people as I could. I'd put off everything else to fill my bus. Because things are going to come back. My flywheel is going to start to turn. And the single biggest constraint on the success of my organization is the ability to get and to hang on to enough of the right people.”

PeopleIfsEnoughRunningTodayTurnsAbilityBusinessCompanyOrganizationPrioritiesAcquireBusConstraints
Author:James C. Collins
Create image

“For no matter what we achieve, if we don't spend the vast majority of our time with people we love and respect, we cannot possibly have a great life. But if we spend the vast majority of our time with people we love and respect - people we really enjoy being on the bus with and who will never disappoint us - then we will almost certainly have a great life, no matter where the bus goes. The people we interviewed from the good-to-great companies clearly loved what they did, largely because they loved who they did it with.”

PeopleIfsMatterEnjoyWorkBusinessCompanyAchieveNo Matter WhatMajorityOur TimeBusDisappointLove And RespectGreat CompanyRespect PeopleGood To Great
Author:James C. Collins
Create image

“Level 5 leaders are differentiated from other levels of leaders in that they have a wonderful blend of personal humility combined with extraordinary professional will. Understand that they are very ambitious; but their ambition, first and foremost, is for the company's success. They realize that the most important step they must make to become a Level 5 leader is to subjugate their ego to the company's performance. When asked for interviews, these leaders will agree only if it's about the company and not about them.”

IfsFirstsImportantRealizingLeadershipLevelsBusinessCompanyLeaderStepsWonderfulHumilityEgoAmbitionPerformancesAgreeExtraordinaryInterviewsAmbitious
Author:James C. Collins
Create image

“Perhaps your quest to be part of building something great will not fall in your business life. But find it somewhere. If not in corporate life, then perhaps in making your church great. If not there, then perhaps a nonprofit, or a community organization, or a class you teach. Get involved in something that you care so much about that you want to make it the greatest it can possibly be, not because of what you will get, but just because it can be done.”

IfsWantDoneCareFallCommunityChurchClassTeachBuildingInvolvedOrganizationCorporateQuestsGet InvolvedNonprofitsBusiness LifeBuilding Something
Author:James C. Collins
Create image