Good Business Quotes to Motivate and Inspire
Famous Business Quotes, Quotations, Sayings
Good, timely and timeless quotes about business for motivation and inspiration. Here are a collection of unforgettable business quotations to help focus your business goals. Some of the best business quotes of all time are presented for your needs. You'll see quotes about business success, business leadership, competition, change in business, product quality, life-long learning and money and profit in business.
Good Business Quotes About Success
Failure is just the opportunity to begin again more intelligently. ~ Henry Ford
Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success. ~
Napoleon Hill, Author
Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. ~
Thomas Edison
Failures are divided into two classes – those who thought and never did, and those who did and never thought. ~
John Charles Salak
Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day. ~ Jim Rohn
A man, to carry on a successful business, must have imagination. he must see things as in a vision, a dream of the whole thing. ~ Charles M. Schwab
Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. ~
Seneca, Roman Philosopher
Whom the gods wish to destroy they send 40 years of success. ~
Ancient Proverb
Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there. ~ Will Rogers
The key to success is to keep growing in all areas of life ~ mental, emotional, spiritual, as well as physical. ~ Julius Erving
Confidence is contagious; so is lack of confidence. ~
Vince Lombardi
The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure. ~
Sven Goran Eriksson
I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure, which is: Try to please everybody. ~
Herbert B. Swope, American Journalist
Greatness is won, not awarded. ~
Guy Kawasaki, How To Drive Your Competition Crazy
The secret to success in business is to know something that nobody else knows. ~ Aristotle Onassis
Dictionary is the only place that success comes before work. ~
Vince Lombardi
Good Business Quotes About Change
The things we fear most in organizations – fluctuations, disturbances, imbalances – are the primary sources of creativity.” ~ Margaret J. Wheatley, Management Consultant
We are ready for any unforeseen event that may or may not occur. ~ Dan Quayle
To succeed, or even just to survive, businesses need to be able to change in ways, and at times, determined by business drivers, not by their IT systems. ~
Tony Morgan, Business Rules and Information Systems: Aligning IT with Business Goals
Technological change is like an axe in the hands of a pathological criminal . ~
Albert Einstein
A body in motion stays in motion. A body at rest stays at rest. ~ Newton's First Law of Motion
People get into a rhythm that makes them resistant to change. To understand the mind-set, try switching hands when you brush your teeth in the morning. ~
Gary Gesme, Deere & Co.
Individuals and organizations that are good react quickly to change. Individuals and organizations that are great create change. ~
Robert Kriegel, Sacred Cows Make The Best Burgers
To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often. ~
Winston Churchill
A fanatic is one who can’t change his mind and won’t change the subject. ~
Sir Winston Churchill
The only certain thing about a forecast is that it will be wrong. ~
From Lean Thinking (Womack and Jones)
Change your thoughts and you change your world. ~
Norman Vincent Peale
Without [taking a process perspective of business], business improvement efforts amount to rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. ~
Michael Hammer & James Champy, Reengineering The Corporation
They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself. ~
Andy Warhol
People are the gatekeepers of change. ~
Robert Kriegel, Sacred Cows Make The Best Burgers
How fast you are moving is more important than where you are. ~
Guy Kawasaki, Rules for Revolutionaries
There is a theory that paradigms break through on the fringe of your business before they reach the center. ~
Gary Gesme, Deere & Co.
I am a man of fixed and unbending principles, the first of which is to be flexible at all times. ~
Senator Everett Dirksen
"Everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end. ~ Anonymous
The problem is never how to get new, innovative thoughts into your mind, but how to get old ones out. ~
Dee Hock, Founder of Visa
It doesn’t work to leap a twenty-foot chasm in two ten-foot jumps. ~
American Proverb
Reengineering cannot be entrusted to the semi-competent, the hangers-on with nothing better to do. ~
Michael Hammer & James Champy, Reengineering The Corporation
If you have always done it that way, it is probably wrong. ~
Charles Kettering, Engineer
Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity knows no bounds. ~
Elbert Hubbard, American Philosopher
It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows. ~
Epictetus
If things seem under control, you’re just not going fast enough. ~
Mario Andretti
The first problem for us all, men and women, is not to learn, but to unlearn. ~
Gloria Steinem
When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong. ~
Arthur C. Clarke, Profiles of the Future
Realism is just another name for yesterday's thinking. ~
Robert Kriegel, Sacred Cows Make The Best Burgers
Judge a man by his questions, not by his answers. ~
Voltaire
Some people make things happen, some watch things happen, while others wonder what has happened. ~
Proverb
Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted. ~
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Incrementalism is innovation’s worst enemy. ~
Nicholas Negroponte, MIT Media Lab
Some problems are so complex that you have to be highly intelligent and well informed just to be undecided about them. ~
Laurence J. Peter
They say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself. ~
Andy Warhol
It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change. ~
Charles Darwin
Change is inevitable, except from vending machines. ~
Unknown
I am a man of fixed and unbending principles, the first of which is to be flexible at all times. ~ Everett Dirksen
The best way to predict the future is to invent it. ~
Alan Kay, father of the personal computer
Good Business Quotes About Competition
Pigs get fat, but hogs get slaughtered.
Out there in some garage is an entrepreneur who's forging a bullet with your company's name on it. ~ Gary Hamel, Business Writer
When you compete with a person, you only have to be as good or better than the person to win. If you compete with yourself, there is no limitation to how good you can be. ~
Chu Chin-Ning
Fight fair, but avoid fair fights. ~
John Czepiel
If it ain’t broke, break it (or someone else will break it for you). ~
Tom Peters
Good Business Quotes About Learning
The word ‘Genius’ isn’t applicable in football. A genius is a guy like Norman Einstein. ~
Joe Theisman
’Tis better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt. ~
Attributed to Abraham Lincoln
The true delight is in the finding out rather than in the knowing. ~
Isaac Asimov
Those who do not read are no better off than those who cannot.
Risk comes from not knowing what you are doing. ~ Warren Buffet
Those who do not find time for exercise will have to find time for illness. ~ Earl of Derby, British Prime Minister
No one really listens to anyone else, and if you try it for a while you'll see why. ~
Mignon McLaughlin, US Journalist (1913-1983)
You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus. ~
Mark Twain
If the facts don’t fit the theory, change the facts. ~
Albert Einstein
In times of change, learners inherit the Earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists. ~
Eric Hoffer, American Social Philosopher
A prince who will not undergo the difficulty of understanding must undergo the danger of trusting. ~ Lord Halifax
An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest. ~ Benjamin Franklin
I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it. ~
Pablo Picasso
Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe. ~
Albert Einstein
If you don't make mistakes, you aren't really trying. ~
Coleman Hawkins, Jazz Musician
Good Business Quotes About Leadership
You do not lead by hitting people over the head – that’s assault, not leadership. ~
Dwight D. Eisenhower
A leader is a person you will follow to a place you wouldn’t go by yourself. ~
Joel Barker, Future Edge
A vision without a task is but a dream. A task without a vision is drudgery.
A vision and a task are the hope of the world. From a church in Sussex, England, c. 1730
The thing that impresses me most about America is the way parents obey their children. ~ Duke of Windsor
The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now. ~ Chinese proverb
With ISO 9000 you can still have terrible processes and products. You can certify a manufacturer that makes life jackets out of concrete… ~
Richard Buetow, Motorola
Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare. ~ Japanese proverb
In the long run, you only hit what you aim at. ~ Henry David Thoreau
Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither. ~ C.S. Lewis
Courage is never to let your actions be influenced by your fears. ~ Arthur Koestler
Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter. ~
Mark Twain
Goals determine what you're going to be ~ Julius Erving
Expect the best. Prepare for the worst. Capitalize on what comes. ~
Zig Ziglar
It is better to do the wrong thing than to do nothing. ~ Winston Churchill
To drift is to be in hell; to be in heaven is to steer. ~ George Bernard Shaw
If you come to a fork in the road, take it. ~ Yogi Berra
If you don't know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else. ~ Yogi Berra
An organization becomes bewildered rather than energized when it’s asked to do too much at once. ~
Michael Hammer & James Champy, Reengineering The Corporation
If you try to do something and fail, you are vastly better off than if you had tried nothing and succeeded. ~ Fortune in fortune cookie
No great artist ever sees things as they really are. If he did he would cease to be an artist. ~
Oscar Wilde, Poet
If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe. ~
Dr. Carl Sagan, Astronomer
You can celebrate accomplishments, but after a while, you need to start celebrating the speed at which you’re traveling instead of the destination you’ve reached. ~
Max Guinn, Deere & Co.
If all you have is a hammer in the toolbox, everything looks like a nail. ~
Bernard Baruch, Financial Genius
Those who say it cannot be done should get out of the way of those who are doing it. ~
Anonymous
Successful organizations make habits of things others don’t like to do, or don’t find time to do. ~
Don House
Put it before them briefly so they will read it, clearly so they will appreciate it, picturesquely so they will remember it and, above all, accurately so they will be guided by its light. ~
Joseph Pulitzer, Editor
The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up. ~
Paul Valery, Poet
The only muscle that you’ve got is in between your ears. ~
Ned’s Atomic Dustbin
One never notices what has been done; one can only see what remains to be done. ~
Marie Curie
Nobel Prize Winning Physicist
A good design is not a democratic consensus. ~
Edward de Bono, Six Action Shoes
To accomplish great things, we must dream as well as act. ~ J.A.F. Thibault
If you want a thing well done, do it yourself. ~ Charles Spurgeon
After the ship has sunk, everyone knows how she might have been saved. ~ Italian proverb
Don't wait. The time will never be just right. ~ Napoleon Hill
Experience tells you what to do; confidence allows you to do it. ~
Stan Smith
The higher you go in a company, the less oxygen there is, so supporting intelligent life becomes difficult. ~ Guy Kawasaki, Rules for Revolutionaries
The only thing certain about any negotiation is that it will lead to another negotiation . ~
Leigh Steinberg, Sports Agent
There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all. ~
Peter Drucker
Great ideas often receive violent opposition from mediocre minds. ~
Albert Einstein
There’s something inherently funny about self-reference. ~
Dr. Steven Gimbel, Philosopher, Author
We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations. ~
Charles R. Swindoll, American Writer
If you concede the obvious you’re conceding nothing, but you gain back credibility. That’s a trade you should make every time. ~
Mark Katz, former Clinton Humor Speech Writer
Leadership is the art of mobilizing others to want to struggle for shared aspirations. ~
Jim Kouzes & Barry Posner, The Leadership Challenge
There are two types of people in the world, those who say ‘there are two types of people in the world’ and those who don’t. ~
Gloria Steinham
New opinions are always suspected, and usually opposed, without any other reason but because they are not already common. ~
John Locke
The best presenters have conversations with their audiences. ~
Robert Bly
Become a Recognized Authority in Your Field in 60 Days or Less!
Speed is useful only if you are running in the right direction. ~
Joel Barker
Future Edge
If you’re not confused, you’re not paying attention. ~
Tom Peters
Good Business Quotes About Quality
That which is measured improves. ~ Old Business Adage
The customer is a rear-view mirror, not a guide to the future. ~
George Colony, Forrester Research
When cost is number one in importance, you’ve already lost. ~
Jim Rembach, Six Sigma Consultant
Not doing more than the average is what keeps the average down. ~
William Lyon Phelps, American Author
We must not be hampered by yesterday's myths in concentrating on today's needs. ~ Harold S. Geneen
All work is creative work if done by a thinking mind. ~
Ayn Rand, From Atlas Shrugged
A process cannot be understood by stopping it. Understanding must move with the flow of the process, must join it and flow with it. ~
Frank Herbert in Dune
The minute you’re satisfied with where you are, you aren’t there anymore. ~
Tony Gwynn, Hall of Fame Baseball player
Uncertainty will always be part of the taking charge process. ~
Harold Geneen
You can’t improve anything if you can’t define it. ~
Max Guinn, Deere & Co.
If you can't describe what you are doing as a process, you don't know what you're doing. ~
W. Edwards Deming
Without customers, you don't have a business. You have a hobby. ~
Don Peppers & Martha Rogers, Return on Customer
Without caring there can be no quality. ~
Joel Barker, Future Edge
It isn’t uncommon for managers at senior levels of large organizations to be so out of touch with customer or production reality that they don’t know just how broken some of their business processes are. ~
Michael Hammer & James Champy, Reengineering The Corporation
Hanging a sign on a cow that says ‘I am a horse’ does not make it a horse. ~
Unknown
Customers, I realized, don’t care about functions or specific activities that occur within our organization. The end game is whether they are getting the right product at the right time at a competitive price. ~
Max Guinn, Deere & Co.
The quickest way to kill the human spirit is to ask someone to do mediocre work. ~
Ayn Rand
If I had nine hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend the first six sharpening my ax. ~
Abraham Lincoln
You can’t blame the pen or the paper if you write a lousy essay, right? ~
Laura Bergells, Presentation Consultant
Good Business Quotes About Money and Profit
The one absolute requirement of a money manager is emotional maturity. If you don't know who you are, the stock market is an expensive place to find out. ~ Adam Smith
The highest use of capital is not to make more money, but to make money do more for the betterment of life. ~ Henry Ford
Money is a kind of poetry. ~ Wallace Stevens
Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons. ~ Woody Allen
A small debt produced a debtor; a large one, an enemy. ~ Publius Syrus
Little by little you can safely stack up a strong reserve here, but not until after you start. ~ Sign in a bank window
There is a certain Buddhistic calm that comes from having... money in the bank. ~ Tim Robbins
The stock market is people. ~ Bernard Baruch
Having a quote machine on your desk is like having a slot machine there. ~ Ed Seykora
Here's something to think about: How come you never see a headline like "Psychic Wins Lottery"? ~ Jay Leno
Investment performance doesn't determine real-life returns; investor behavior does. ~ Nick Murray
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. ~ Standard disclaimer
A stockbroker is someone who invests other people's money until it is all gone. ~ Woody Allen
Trust everybody, but yourself most of all. ~ Danish proverb
You can shear a sheep many times, but you can only sell it once. ~ Vermont Proverb
People seem to me to be happiest when they are working for nothing and can afford to do so. ~ Robert Lynd
Risk is the chance of loss, and for most of history it was viewed as that. There is a chance I'm going to lose.
But in the capitalist system, risk is also an opportunity. Nothing ventured, nothing gained is as important to keep in mind and the fear that if I don't manage my affairs, I can get wiped out. ~ Peter Bernstein
In investing money, the amount of interest you want should depend on whether you want to eat well or sleep well. ~ J. Kenfield Morley
The only thing that hurts more than paying an income tax is not having to pay an income tax. ~ Lord Dewar
I am proud to be paying taxes in the United States. The only thing is, I could be just as proud for half the money. ~ Arthur Godfrey
It's a great country, but you can't live in it for nothing. ~ Will Rogers
It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him. ~ J.R.R. Tolkien
From fortune to misfortune is but a step; from misfortune to fortune is a long way. ~ Yiddish proverb
I know a baseball star who wouldn't report the theft of his wife's credit cards because the thief spends less than she does. ~ Joe Garagiola
You can get more money, but you cannot get more time. ~ Jim Rohn
No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path. ~ Buddha
I hope life brings you much success.
I wish you a very happy day.
>> Please Return to the Top.
Return to the complete index of good famous quotes.
Return to the complete index of new blogs.
Our Magazine
Blogs, Podcasting
Share this page with someone, by Email, Twitter, Digg, StumbleUpon, and your favorite social site
