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Warren G. Bennis

Warren G. Bennis Quotes

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Famous Warren G. Bennis Quotes

“Too many companies believe people are interchangeable. Truly gifted people never are. They have unique talents. Such people cannot be forced into roles they are not suited for, nor should they be. Effective leaders allow great people to do the work they were born to do.”

PeopleShouldBelieveBornLeadershipCompanyLeaderRolesTalentUniqueBossGiftedGreat PeopleUnique Talents
Book:Organizing Genius: The Secrets of Creative Collaboration
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“Good leaders make people feel that they're at the very heart of things, not at the periphery. Everyone feels that he or she makes a difference to the success of the organization. When that happens people feel centered and that gives their work meaning.”

PeopleGivingFeelsHeartHappensLeadershipDifferencesLeaderOrganizationManagementMaking A DifferenceGreat LeaderGood LeaderGreat LeadershipLeadership By Famous LeadersLeadership And ManagementLeadership SkillsGood LeadershipPeripheryGreat PerformanceGreat Organizations
Book:Managing People is Like Herding Cats
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“What makes a good follower? The single most important characteristic may well be a willingness to tell the truth. In a world of growing complexity leaders are increasingly dependent on their subordinates for good information, whether the leaders want to hear it or not. Followers who tell the truth and leaders who listen to it are an unbeatable combination.”

WorldWantWellsMayImportantTruthLeaderGrowingInformationCombinationCharacteristicsComplexityDependentTelling The TruthWillingnessFollowersSubordinatesUnbeatableGood Information
Book:The Essential Bennis
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“Unlike top management at Enron, exemplary leaders reward dissent. They encourage it. They understand that, whatever momentary discomfort they experience as a result of being told they might be wrong, it is more than offset by the fact that the information will help them make better decisions.”

FactsHelpingProblemMightDecisionResultsLeaderInformationManagementRewardsProblem SolvingDiscomfortDissentMomentaryExemplaryEnronTop Management
Book:The Essential Bennis
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“Innovation- any new idea-by definition will not be accepted at first. It takes repeated attempts, endless demonstrations, monotonous rehearsals before innovation can be accepted and internalized by an organization. This requires courageous patience.”

FirstsIdeasCreativityOrganizationInnovationDefinitionsAcceptedEndlessCourageousNew IdeasRehearsalDemonstrationMonotonousBusiness InnovationInnovation And BusinessIdeas And InnovationInnovative Leadership
Book:Leaders: the strategies for taking charge
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“The organizations of the future will increasingly depend on the creativity of their members to survive. Great Groups offer a new model in which the leader is an equal among Titans. In a truly creative collaboration, work is pleasure, and the only rules and procedures are those that advance the common cause.”

CausesPleasureCommonLeaderCreativityCreativeGroupsDependsOffersEqualMembersModelsOrganizationInnovationCollaborationWorkplaceProceduresCreative WorkCreativity And InnovationBusiness InnovationInnovation And BusinessInspiration And CreativityTitansInnovation InspirationCreativity In BusinessCreativity And BusinessInspiration And InnovationCreative Collaboration
Author:Warren G. Bennis
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“This is more than just having a vision. You can see the difference in the often-cited way in which Steve Jobs brought in John Sculley to take over Apple. At the time, Sculley was destined to be the head of Pepsico. The clincher came when Jobs asked him, "How many more years of your life do you want to spend making colored water when you can have an opportunity to come here and change the world?"”

WorldWayWantYearsJobsOpportunityWaterDifferencesVisionApplesChanging The WorldDestined
Author:Warren G. Bennis
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“I used to think that running an organization was equivalent to conducting a symphony orchestra. But I don't think that's quite it; it's more like jazz. There is more improvisation. Someone once wrote that the sound of surprise is jazz, and if there's any one thing that we must try to get used to in this world, it's surprise and the unexpected. Truly, we are living in world where the only thing that's constant is change.”

IfsThinkingWorldTryingRunningUsedSoundLeadershipOne ThingThis WorldOrganizationConstantJazzSurpriseUnexpectedOrchestraSymphonyImprovisationConductingSymphony Orchestras
Author:Warren G. Bennis
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“The leaders I met, whatever walk of life they were from, whatever institutions they were presiding over, always referred back to the same failure something that happened to them that was personally difficult, even traumatic, something that made them feel that desperate sense of hitting bottom-as something they thought was almost a necessity. It's as if at that moment the iron entered their soul; that moment created the resilience that leaders need.”

IfsNeedsFeelsMadeSoulMomentsMotivationalDifficultLeadershipWalksLeaderHappenedMetsInstitutionsBottomResilienceDesperateIronThat MomentHittingWalks Of LifeHitting Bottom
Book:Managing People is Like Herding Cats
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“I'd always rather err on the side of openness. But there's a difference between optimum and maximum openness, and fixing that boundary is a judgment call. The art of leadership is knowing how much information you're going to pass on - to keep people motivated and to be as honest, as upfront, as you can. But, boy, there really are limits to that.”

PeopleArtSidesLeadershipDifferencesBoysKnowingHonestInformationLimitsJudgmentBoundariesMotivatedOpennessMaximumFixingOptimum
Author:Warren G. Bennis
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