“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
“Crisis doesn’t necessarily make character, but it certainly does reveal it.”
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John C. Maxwell
“It’s a simple thing to offer encouragement, but it can have a tremendous effect on someone’s life.”
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John C. Maxwell
“An intentional life embraces only the things that will add to the mission of significance.”
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John C. Maxwell
“The one thing you need to know about teamwork is that there is more than one thing you need to know about teamwork.”
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John C. Maxwell
“A great dream with a bad team is nothing more than a nightmare.”
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John C. Maxwell
“If you want to win over another person, first win his heart, and the rest of him is likely to follow.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Anytime a relationship is unequal, it cannot last—whether you are giving more than you get or getting more than you deserve.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Your ultimate goal as a leader should be to work hard enough and strategically enough that you have more than enough to give and share with others.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Write down somewhere in the margins on this page your answer to this question: How have you changed . . . lately? In the last week, let’s say? Or in the last month? The last year? Can you be very specific? Or must your answer be incredibly vague? You say you’re growing. Okay . . . how? “Well,” you say, “In all kinds of ways.” Great! Name one. You see, effective teaching comes only through a changed person. The more you change, the more you become an instrument of change in the lives of others. If you want to become a change agent, you also must change.2 Change the leader—change the organization.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Success for the leader is a single victory. However, when the protégé experiences success, it becomes a double win.”
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John C. Maxwell
“What’s worse than training your people and losing them? Not training them and keeping them.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Success is . . . knowing your purpose in life, growing to reach your maximum potential, and sowing seeds that benefit others.”
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John C. Maxwell
