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Quote by Charles Koch

“Years later, when I asked my father, I said 'Pop, why were you so much harder on me than my younger brothers?' he said, son, you plum wore me out.”

Quote by Charles Koch

Author

Charles Koch is an American businessman, born on November 1, 1935. He is the founder and CEO of Koch Industries, one of the largest private companies in the United States. Koch Industries operates in various industries, including oil, chemicals, and forest products, and is one of the largest private companies in the world. Koch has achieved great success in the business world, but is also a controversial political donor. more

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“First word [of my father] when I arrived [as a CEO] is, 'Son, i hope your first deal is a loser, otherwise, you'll think you're a lot smarter than you are.' But he had tremendous values, tremendous integrity, humility, work ethic and terrific thirst for knowledge.”

Thinking Firsts Values Father Deals Humility Son Integrity Ethics Loser Smarter Thirst Ceo Work Ethic Terrific Thirst For Knowledge

Author:Charles Koch

“Hubris, arrogance, is just one step ahead of loss of integrity, because if you think you're better than other people, you know more, then you're going to think, as many leaders have, that the rules don't apply to them - so they lose their integrity.”

People Ifs Thinking Knows Loses Loss Leader Steps Integrity Arrogance Just One Hubris

Author:Charles Koch

“Do you want to have your feelings hurt a little bit because you have some negative feedback, or do you want to continue down the disastrous track you're on and have a huge disaster? Talk about a bruised ego. It may ruin your career.”

Want May Littles Feelings Bits Hurt Careers Huge Ego Little Bit Negative Track Disaster Ruins Feedback Hurt Feelings Bruised Negative Feedback

Author:Charles Koch

“We try to reward people according to the value they create, value they create in society and for the company.”

People Trying Values Company Rewards

Author:Charles Koch

“I try to build on our management philosophy. I try to understand what the threats and opportunities are for us. Uh, I try to make sure that we're driving innovation and creative destruction hard enough so we're not blindsided, and that our attitude is to, in starting any initiative, any business, is to focus on how we can create value for others, rather than how we maximize profit, because you can make money focusing on, "How do I maximize profit?"”

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Author:Charles Koch

“To make a quick buck, but over time, if you're not creating value for others, customers, society, isn't going to let you be around.”

Ifs Values Creating Customers Bucks Creating Value

Author:Charles Koch

“Economy is so riddled with corporate welfare and anti-competitive regulations, anti-innovation regulations. Regulations that are destroying opportunities for the disadvantaged, which is creating this two-tiered system we're headed for which has which is destroying opportunities for the disadvantaged and creating welfare for the wealthy.”

Two Opportunity Economy Creating Innovation Corporate Welfare Wealthy Destroying Regulation Disadvantaged

Author:Charles Koch

“So to the best we can, what we do is focus on creating value for others, and how do we do that? We do it by trying to produce products and services that our customers will value more than their alternatives, and not just their alternatives today, but what the alternatives will be in the future. We try to more efficiently use resources than our competitors, and constantly improve in that, and we try to do the best job we can in creating a safe environment, and environmental excellence, and constantly improve at that.”

“Most companies want free enterprise in general because that produces better goods and services and makes people's lives better, but they don't want it in their business. They want protection from competition, they want subsidies, they want the government to pick winners and losers, and they want to be picked as winners, and that's what we're opposing, and that's what drives my whole efforts in policy, and in the political arena.”

“For business to survive over a long period, it needs to be contributing to society and people's well-being. Otherwise, who's going to want it? Otherwise you end up like Enron or some of these other companies.”

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Author:Charles Koch