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Lee Iacocca

Lee Iacocca Quotes

Businessman

Lee Iacocca was a prominent American businessman recognized for his significant contributions to the automotive industry. Born on October 15, 1924, he is best known for his leadership at Chrysler Corporation in the 1970s and 1980s, where he implemented innovative strategies that led to the company's recovery from financial distress.

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Famous Lee Iacocca Quotes

“If you own up to your mistakes, you don't suffer as much. But that's a tough lesson to learn.”

Ifs Suffering Mistake Lessons Tough

Author:Lee Iacocca

“The right decision is the wrong decision if it's made too late.”

Ifs Made Decision Late Too Late Right Decision Wrong Decision

Author:Lee Iacocca

“What is it that you like doing? If you don't like it, get out of it, because you'll be lousy at it.”

Ifs Careers Choices

Author:Lee Iacocca

“Leadership means setting an example. When you find yourself in a position of leadership, people follow your every move.”

People Mean Moving Leadership Example Position Setting Settings Finding Yourself Setting An Example

Author:Lee Iacocca

“They've got about as many lawyers as we have sumo-wrestlers.”

Lawyer Wrestler

Author:Lee Iacocca

“Why is our free-enterprise system so strong?- Not because it stands still, frozen in the past, but because it has always adapted to changing realities”

Stills Reality Past Strong Enterprise Frozen Adapted Free Enterprise Changing Reality

Book:Iacocca: An Autobiography

Source: Iacocca: An Autobiography

“The only mistake I ever made was not listening to my gut.”

Made Mistake Listening Guts

Author:Lee Iacocca

“Don’t just stand there; make something happen.”

Inspirational Happens Things Happen

Book:Iacocca: An Autobiography

Source: Iacocca: An Autobiography

“Your legacy should be that you made it better than it was when you got it.”

Inspirational Should Made Made It Legacy

Author:Lee Iacocca

“There are times in everyone's life when something constructive is born out of adversity... when things seem so bad that you've got to grab your fate by the shoulders and shake it.”

Seems Born Fate Adversity Shoulders Shakes Constructive Overcoming Adversity Times Of Adversity Inspirational Adversity Adversity In Life Overcoming Hardship

Book:Iacocca: An Autobiography

Source: Iacocca: An Autobiography

“Styling cars sells cars and safety does not.”

Doe Age Dark Car Safety Sells Medical Dark Ages

Author:Lee Iacocca

“Are we going to be a services power? The double-cheeseburger-hold-the-mayo kings of the world?”

World Kings Cheeseburger

Author:Lee Iacocca

“Mistakes are a part of life; you can't avoid them. All you can hope is that they won't be too expensive and that you don't make the same mistake twice.”

Mistake Expensive Parts Of Life Same Mistakes

Book:Iacocca: An Autobiography

Source: Iacocca: An Autobiography

“No matter how I'm doing financially, the Depression has never disappeared from my consciousness. To this day, I hate waste. When neckties went from narrow to wide, I kept all my old ones until the style went back to narrow.”

Matter Hate Consciousness Style Waste I Hate Wide This Day Conservatism Neckties

Book:Iacocca: An Autobiography

Source: Iacocca: An Autobiography

“The cement in our whole democracy today is the worker who makes $ 15 an hour. He's the guy who will buy a house and a car and a refrigerator. He's the oil in the engine.”

Whole Today Guy House Hours Democracy Car Capitalism Workers Oil Engines Refrigerators Cement

Book:Iacocca: An Autobiography

Source: Iacocca: An Autobiography

“A country's competitiveness starts not on the factory floor or in the engineering lab. It starts in the classroom.”

Country Competition Factories Classroom Engineering Labs Competitiveness

Book:I Gotta Tell You: Speeches of Lee Iacocca

Source: I Gotta Tell You: Speeches of Lee Iacocca

“There's a billboard in a little farm town in the Midwest that says: IF YOU COMPLAIN ABOUT FARMERS, DON'T TALK WITH YOUR MOUTH FULL.”

Ifs Littles Mouths Towns Complaining Farms Farmers Midwest Billboards

Author:Lee Iacocca

“I'm still not sure what is meant by good fortune and success. I know fame and power are for the birds. But then life suddenly comes into focus for me. And, ah, there stand my kids.”

Knows Children Stills Kids Focus Fame Bird Fortune Not Sure Good Fortune

Author:Lee Iacocca

“Bad times are indelible. They stay with you forever.”

Forever Economics Bad Times Indelible Good Times Bad Times

Book:Iacocca: An Autobiography

Source: Iacocca: An Autobiography

“Life can be difficult for kids born with a gold spoon in their mouth, because they never really get to find out if they're able to work hard and make it on their own.”

Ifs Hard Kids Able Difficult Born Effort Hard Work Mouths Gold Spoons

Author:Lee Iacocca

“If you make believe that ten guys in pin-striped suits are back in a kindergarten class playing with building blocks, you'll get a rough picture of what life in a corporation is like.”

Ifs Believe Guy Class Building Ten Block Suits Corporations Executives Rough Pins Make Believe Kindergarten Building Blocks

Author:Lee Iacocca

“As you go through life, there are thousands of little forks in the road, and there are a few really big forks-those moments of reckoning, moments of truth.”

Littles Moments Bigs Fate Forks Reckoning Moment Of Truth Fork In The Road

Book:Iacocca: An Autobiography

Source: Iacocca: An Autobiography

“I'd really love to meet the guy I'm supposed to be. I'd hire him in a second.”

Guy Identity Supposed To Be

Author:Lee Iacocca

“In the old days, if a neighbors apples fell into your yard, you worked it out over the back fence or picked them up and made pies. Today, you sue.”

Ifs Made Today Neighbor Apples Pie Yards Fence Old Days

Author:Lee Iacocca

“Greenmail, in case you're wondering, is when a company pays a raider a premium for his holdings-if he'll go away. What I think it really is is blackmail in a pin-striped suit.”

Ifs Thinking Pay Company Wonder Cases Suits Going Away Pins Premium Blackmail Raiders

Author:Lee Iacocca

“The great issues facing us today are not Republican issues or Democratic issues. The political parties can debate the means, but both parties must embrace the end objective, which is to make America great again.”

Mean Ends Today America Political Party Issues Republican Embrace Democratic Debate Objectives Political Parties Partisanship

Book:Iacocca: An Autobiography

Source: Iacocca: An Autobiography

“You can't have a country or a city or a state that's worth a damn unluss you govern within yourself in your day-to-day life.”

Country States Cities Damn Resolution Day To Day Day Life Day To Day Life

Author:Lee Iacocca

“Formal learning can teach you a great deal, but many of the essential skills in life are the ones you have to develop on your own.”

Deals Teach Skills Essentials Formal

Book:Iacocca: An Autobiography

Source: Iacocca: An Autobiography

“There's a world of difference between a strong ego, which is essential, and a large ego-which can be destructive.”

World Strong Differences Ego Essentials Destructive Self-importance

Book:Iacocca: An Autobiography

Source: Iacocca: An Autobiography

“Most people are looking for security, a nice, safe, prosperous future. And there's nothing wrong with that. It's called the American Dream.”

People Dream America Nice Security Safe American Dream Prosperous Prosperous Future

Author:Lee Iacocca

About the Author

Born: October 15, 1924
Known for: Businessman
Quotes: 130

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Ifs People Business Motivational Economy Guy Inspirational Chrysler Decision Littles

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Books & Sources

Iacocca: An AutobiographyRelated source material

I Gotta Tell You: Speeches of Lee IacoccaRelated source material

IACOCCARelated source material

Where Have All the Leaders Gone?Related source material

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