Leadership Quotes
from Christos Kartalis

 

  • Don’t look to dunk the ball every time. Simple layups will give you the same two points and are almost always easier to achieve.
  • A star will always find a way to shine no matter what the circumstances, but it shines especially brightly in times of crisis and change.
  • It is true that the shortest distance between two points is the direct line. The speed at which we travel, however, is equally important to a successful trip.

More Leadership Quotes

  • The tougher you are the fairer you should be. This pushes performance and credibility simultaneously into the lap of a leader.
  • For prioritization to be effective, it must be discriminatory towards the big ticket items.
  • Performance is limited when people set low targets… and achieve them.
  • There is more glory in getting to the top than in being there.
  • The further away from headquarters you operate, the louder your voice should be.
  • When you jump into an issue for the first time, have big ears and eyes and a small mouth. Then change as your knowledge and decision-making ability increase.
  • Leadership cannot be assigned, appointed, or assumed. It must be earned.
  • Leadership is a privilege, not a title or position profile.
  • When you are in front as a leader, it’s good to make a reality check to see if anyone is following you or if you are just in front.
  • When something does not look right, try changing the angle from which you look at it; it might change your overall view.
  • No one goes directly to Gold. You first go to Bronze and Silver, and only then to Gold.
  • Big ideas must be simple if they are going to be understood, conceptualized, and strategized. Any complicated idea must first be simplified before it can become big.
  • A glorious past gives us only a ticket to qualify for the race. You still need to run the race going on right now.
  • Avoid lowering the bar so you can just go over it.
  • I need only to see how you play the game once. Next time, I will play almost as well as you.  The time after that, I will beat.
  • Don’t set targets as ceilings. Most ceilings are someone else’s floors.
  • You cannot act like a dolphin in a sea full of sharks.
  • Leadership is a domain for sharks, not for whales or dolphins.
  • Don’t stop your dreams short. Once you start, commit and go…all the way.
  • Make decisions based on elephant years, not human years.
  • Don’t leave things in limbo.  A “no” is as clear as a “yes.”
  • “I” is not a leadership word. “We” is.
  • Yes it’s true: in the book it’s always simpler…
  • Don’t aspire to be the “standard,” gold or other; aim to be the “benchmark.”
  • Successes can come only from “first try” efforts, rarely from “do-overs”; let’s make sure we get it right on the “first try.”
  • When you win a game, let the other side score a point or two. The series has many more games ahead and you don’t want to have angry competitors seeking revenge.
  • Don’t stop when you get a “no” when you knock at only one door. This is too easy and, in most cases, a good excuse to stop in your tracks. Keep knocking on all doors, then go for the windows…till you get a reply or you hear glass breaking.
  • Be a daydreamer.
  • Companies should act their size, in all areas and all the time.
  • When highest in dominance, have the highest in humbleness.
  • “Opinions” should be muscular; they should have balls.
  • Leaders, like lawyers, are hired to win cases. Administrative managers, like Judges, are hired to interpret and apply the law.
  • To “unleash” is main objectives of leadership; capabilities, energy, etc.
  • Walking fast is not the same as moving fast.
  • Leaders get energized through problems. The tougher the challenge, the more energy is created.
  • The worst thing than a sore loser…is a sore winner.
  • The focus should be on winning, not on winners. Victories go to teams, not individuals.
  • The unknown is not to be feared. It is simply somewhere others have not gone to before. The sooner you go, the bigger the mark you can leave there.
  • When you win, win softly. When you lose, when you are going down, everybody needs to feel it. Go down with a bang, and try everything before you fall.
  • Whether you win or lose, don’t show extreme emotions to the other party. Things have a funny way of coming back in circles.
  • Some advice for bad leaders: whatever you do, don’t destroy a good working environment.
  • If you believe in the strategy  of “management from 20,000 feet,” be careful. The higher you strive to manage, the farther and harder you can fall.
  • The “unknown” should not scare you. It means that others have not been there before, but it also presents you with unsurpassed opportunities.
  • Senior Managers should know the power of their words. When they open their mouth, they should realize that what they say has impacts on people in terms of their morale and workload.
  • Some managers breathe strategy, others breathe survival. Then there is a third kind that breathes strategy or survival according to whichever way the wind is blowing! Watch out for the third kind.
  • The problem in today’s leadership world is that there are too many soldiers and not enough rebels. It is an unproductive balance.
  • Challenge the obvious–this is where most of the opportunity lies.
  • I like hanging around smart people. Even if the subject is dull, you still learn. With average people, the opposite happens.
  • “Ceiling” is the difference between managers and leaders. Leaders are ceilingless.
  • There are 15 seconds left in the championship basketball game; we are down by one point and have only one chance to score. The player who gets the ball to score is the Leader; the player who will ask to make this last shot is the ultimate leader.
  • For every problem within the system, an opportunity of similar size is simultaneously created in the system.
  • Contrary to popular belief, not acting or deciding is the decision itself.
  • Don’t look for the next opportunity. The one you have in front of you is the opportunity.
  • You can out-perform me, out-edge me, or out-power me, but to out-smart me is not one of the options on the menu.
  • If you go through your career and never make a mistake, you have never tried anything worthwhile.