“One of my favorite stories is about a newly hired traveling salesman who sent his first sales report to the home office. It stunned the brass in the sales department because it was obvious that the new salesman was ignorant! This is what he wrote: “I seen this outfit which they ain’t never bot a dim’s worth of nothin from us and I sole them some goods. I’m now goin to Chicawgo.” Before the man could be given the heave-ho by the sales manager, along came this letter from Chicago: “I cum hear and sole them haff a millyon.” Fearful if he did, and afraid if he didn’t fire the ignorant salesman, the sales manager dumped the problem in the lap of the president. The following morning, the ivory-towered sales department members were amazed to see posted on the bulletin board above the two letters written by the ignorant salesman this memo from the president: “We ben spendin two much time trying to spel instead of trying to sel. Let’s watch those sails. I want everybody should read these letters from Gooch who is on the rode doin a grate job for us and you should go out and do like he done.”
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John C. Maxwell
“When you like people and treat them like individuals who have value, you begin to develop influence with them. You develop trust.”
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John C. Maxwell
“One of the quickest ways to gain credibility with an individual, a group, or an audience is to borrow it from someone who already has credibility with them.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Occasionally someone will ask me about how ego fits into the leadership equation. They’ll want to know what keeps a leader from having a huge ego. I think the answer lies in each leader’s pathway to leadership. If people paid their dues and gave their best in obscurity, ego is usually not a problem.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Improving your abilities in high-priority areas is always a good investment in yourself that will pay off in the long run.”
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John C. Maxwell
“You can’t take the team to the next level when you haven’t mastered the skills it takes to succeed on a personal level.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Until thought is linked with purpose there is no intelligent accomplishment.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Experience isn’t the best teacher—evaluated experience is.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Recently I took my daughter Elizabeth out to a restaurant for lunch. The waitress, whose job it was to take care of people, made us feel that we were really inconveniencing her. She was grumpy, negative, and unhelpful. All of her customers were aware of the fact that she was having a bad day. Elizabeth looked up at me and said, “Dad, she’s a grump, isn’t she?” I could only agree with a look of disdain. Halfway through our experience I tried to change this woman’s negative attitude. Pulling out a $10 bill, I said, “Could you do me a favor? I’d like some change for this $10 bill because I want to give you a good tip today.” She looked at me, did a double take, and then ran to the cash register. After changing the money, she spent the next fifteen minutes hovering over us. I thanked her for her service, told her how important and helpful she was, and left a good tip. As we left, Elizabeth said, “Daddy, did you see how that lady changed?” Seizing this golden opportunity, I said, “Elizabeth, if you want people to act right toward you, you act right toward them. And many times you’ll change them.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Success comes to those who have an entire mountain of gold that they continually mine, not those who find one nugget and try to live on it for fifty years. To become someone who can mine a lot of gold, you need to keep repeating the process of good thinking.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Management is the process of assuring that the program and objectives of the organization are implemented. Leadership, on the other hand, has to do with casting vision and motivating people.”
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John C. Maxwell
“many people are more comfortable with old problems than with new solutions.
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John C. Maxwell
“Don’t settle for poor performers. Keep in mind that one great person will always out-produce and out-perform two mediocre people.”
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John C. Maxwell
“We cannot become what we need by remaining what we are.”
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John C. Maxwell
“If you do not connect with others, influence is out of the question.”
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John C. Maxwell
