“In order to create a team that can play well together, I try to figure out my players and their motivations. Which guy is a leader? Who can follow effectively—followers are always dissed, but they’re as important as leaders—and who will always rebel against authority? Who is confident and who is cov…”— George Karl, si.com
“But before we got a chance to find out he was accidentally shot by a sentry. Then came Norman Dike. Dike wasn’t a bad leader because he made bad decisions. He was a bad leader because he made no decisions.”— Graham Yost, C. Carwood Lipton, Donnie Wahlberg, imdb.com
“I never wanted to be a leader. But everybody knows my history. It came naturally. All the focus was on me. I just tried to pass on my best to the other players, to tell them what I thought was important in my life.”— Pele, hbr.org
“Ethical leaders do not run from criticism, especially self-criticism, and they don’t hide from uncomfortable questions. They welcome them. All people have flaws and I have many.”— James Comey, amazon.com
“I realize that command does have its fascination, even under circumstances such as these, but I neither enjoy the idea of command nor am I frightened of it. It simply exists, and I will do whatever logically needs to be done.”— Oliver Crawford, Shimon Wincelberg, Spock, Leonard Nimoy, imdb.com
“A symphony conductor knows more about how to lead than most businesspeople.”— Quincy Jones, vulture.com
“Observe calmly; secure our position; cope with affairs calmly; hide our capacities and bide our time; be good at maintaining a low profile; and never claim leadership.”— Deng Xiaoping, amazon.com
“My job is to listen to ideas, maybe cook up a few of my own, and make decisions based on what's good for the shareholders and for the company.”— Phil Knight, inc.com
“Wherefore we must have these mutinies and discords that are grown amongst us redressed, for by the life of God, it doth even take my wits from me to think on it. Here is such controversy between the sailors and gentlemen, and such stomaching between the gentlemen and sailors, it doth make me mad to…”— Francis Drake, amazon.com
“Mr. Musk will be paid only if he reaches a series of jaw-dropping milestones based on the company’s market value and operations. Otherwise, he will be paid nothing.”— Andrew Ross Sorkin, nytimes.com
“A follower is as responsible [as a leader] for allowing a leader to lead them foully.”— John Waters, amazon.com
“The most successful physical communities have engaged leaders, and we've seen the same with online groups as well.”— Mark Zuckerberg, facebook.com
“The words 'law and order' have so frequently been misused as an excuse for oppression that the very phrase has become suspect in countries which have known authoritarian rule.”— Aung San Suu Kyi, amazon.com
“Hope and optimism are irrepressible but there is a deep underlying premonition that the opposition to change is likely to be vicious. Often the anxious question is asked: will such an oppressive regime really give us democracy? And the answer has to be: democracy, like liberty, justice and other soc…”— Aung San Suu Kyi, amazon.com
“People who want the world to be a better place need to accept the painful truth that ‘Truth’ can be quite irrelevant if people do not act upon it.”— Corey Anton, academia.edu
“People who want the world to be a better place need vision, purpose, and a relentless capacity to ask tough questions.”— Corey Anton, academia.edu
“I don't think I'm wired to be the CEO of a public company. That doesn't mean I can't, from an entrepreneurial standpoint, come up with an idea that truly was like a horse that wanted to run and I was the guy holding it back. At a certain point, it's not necessarily responsible to remain an emergency…”— Danny Meyer, forbes.com
“Hillary Clinton's not very bright. Everybody says she's so smart, so much smarter than Donald Trump. She doesn't really have a grasp. She doesn't have a grasp on what's important and what's not, and that’s what’s essential in a leader.”— Steve Bannon, dailycaller.com