Quotessence
Home / Authors / Jeffrey Pfeffer
Jeffrey Pfeffer

Jeffrey Pfeffer Quotes

Professor

Filter quotes by topic

AllPeopleThinkingDoneSuccessfulWorldNeedsLeaderStrategyBelieveEmployee

Famous Jeffrey Pfeffer Quotes

“People, to maintain their self-esteem, tend to believe they are above average on all positive qualities - height, income, intelligence, sense of humor, negotiating ability, you name it. The problem is that if we are going to really build our skills, we need to know which skills are most deficient. So, I advise people to find confidantes to tell them the truth. And then act on that knowledge to build the abilities they need to be more successful.”

PeopleBelieveProblemAbilityQualitySuccessfulSense Of HumorAdvise
Author:Jeffrey Pfeffer
Create image

“Nothing comes without trade-offs. Do you want to spend time with people who like, or with people who might be useful to you? Do you really want to put in the long hours and constant attention required to be successful in your quest for power? Do you really want to be under the microscope on a daily basis, with people commenting on the car you drive, where you live, where you go on vacation, and so forth? There is no way to avoid the price of power. It's up to you to decide if it is worth it, and to change course when it isn't.”

PeopleLongHoursAttentionSuccessfulCarBeing SuccessfulVacationWorth ItEnd TimesSpend Time
Author:Jeffrey Pfeffer
Create image

“Doing the right thing is important, which is where strategy comes in. But doing that thing well—execution—is what sets companies apart. After all, every football play is designed to go for a huge gain. The reason it doesn’t is because of execution—people drop balls, miss blocks, go to the wrong place, and so forth. So, success depends on execution—on the ability to get things done.”

PeopleWellsImportantReasonDonePlayAbilityCompanyMissingFootballHugeDependsGainsBallsStrategyBlockRight ThingExecutionThings DoneDoing The Right Thing
Author:Jeffrey Pfeffer
Create image

“Possibly the biggest issue, however, is that performance appraisals focus managers attention on precisely the wrong thing: individual people. As W. Edwards Deming, the father of the quality movement, taught a long time ago, company performance often results more from variations in systems than from the individuals doing the work.”

PeopleLongFatherIndividualResultsAttentionQualityCompanyIssuesFocusRiskMovementTaughtLong TimePerformancesManagementManagersLong Time AgoVariationWrong ThingsRisk ManagementAppraisal
Author:Jeffrey Pfeffer
Create image

“Typical pay increases are not enough to motivate employees, but they are enough to irritate them. … Even when companies create seemingly significant pay differentiation between low and high performers, the actual cash increase is insufficient to sustain performance – or it drives the wrong behaviors. … Effective management is a system, not a pay plan. The mistake is that companies try to solve all their problems with pay.”

TryingEnoughProblemPayMistakeCompanyPlansBehaviorLowsPerformancesIncreaseManagementSolveSignificantEmployeePerformersCashTypicalInsufficientDifferentiationMotivate Employees
Author:Jeffrey Pfeffer
Create image