“People buy into the leader before they buy into the vision.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Good thinking will improve your life. It will help you to become an achiever.”
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John C. Maxwell
“NBA superstar David Robinson remarked, “I think any player will tell you that individual accomplishments help your ego, but if you don’t win, it makes for a very, very long season. It counts more that the team has played well.”
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John C. Maxwell
“It's not the position that makes the leader; it's the leader that makes the position. "
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John C. Maxwell
“The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like and do what you'd rather not.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Years ago, I used to tell new leaders I hired that every person in our organization walked around with two buckets. One bucket contained water, and the other gasoline. As leaders, they would continually come across small fires, and they could pour water or gasoline on a fire. It was their choice.”
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John C. Maxwell
“The very essence of all power to influence lies in getting the other person to participate.” Influence is an invitation anyone can make to another person.”
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John C. Maxwell
“The beauty of trust is that it erases worry and frees you to get on with other matters. Trust means confidence.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Great leaders always seem to embody two seemingly disparate qualities. They are both highly visionary and highly practical.”
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John C. Maxwell
“Those who lack humility are dogmatic and egotistical. That masks a deep sense of insecurity.”
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John C. Maxwell
“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
“If you lead a team, start asking questions and really listening. Start valuing the contributions of your teammates ahead of your own. And remember that when the best idea wins, so does the entire team.”
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John C. Maxwell
“A visionary company is like a great work of art. Think of Michelangelo’s scenes from Genesis on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel or his statue of David. Think of a great and enduring novel like Huckleberry Finn or Crime and Punishment. Think of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony or Shakespeare’s Henry V. Think of a beautifully designed building, like the masterpieces of Frank Lloyd Wright or Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. You can’t point to any one single item that makes the whole thing work; it’s the entire work—all the pieces working together to create an overall effect—that leads to enduring greatness.”
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John C. Maxwell
