Barber Conable's Quotes

Women do two thirds of the world's work. Yet they earn only one tenth of the world's income and own less than one percent of the world's property. They are among the poorest of the world's poor.

Exhaustion and exasperation are frequently the handmaidens of legislative decision.

I don't think it's the function of Congress to function well. It should drag its heels on the way to decision.

Congress is functioning the way the Founding Fathers intended-not very well. They understood that if you move too quickly, our democracy will be less responsible to the majority.

On a personal level, I send out about 20 thank-you notes a day to staffers, on all levels. And every six weeks I have lunch with a group of a dozen or so employees, to get their perspective on the business, to address problems and to get feedback.

People lead complicated lives and aren't hanging on your every word or the company mission statement. You have to become a broken record of your expectations of the organization and show people why it is relevant and how it works in specific ways.

The packaged food business environment is very Darwinian. You're fighting for survival every year; you evolve and grow or you die. It's really that simple.

Today's business leaders increasingly realize that by leveraging both the cash and non-cash resources of their companies toward addressing important societal challenges, they can not only provide vital support to their communities, but also these activities, when done strategically, often lead to competitive advantage and sustainable profitability.

Too many leaders are so caught up in the momentum of work that they lose sight of the opportunity to connect with people. I discovered that the more fully present I was with other people, the more fully present they were with me, and the more productive our relationship became over time.

Trust gives you the permission to give people direction, get everyone aligned, and give them the energy to go get the job done. Trust enables you to execute with excellence and produce extraordinary results. As you execute with excellence and deliver on your commitments, trust becomes easier to inspire, creating a flywheel of performance.

Ultimately as a leader, you're evaluated on how you interact with people. If you do it well, you develop a reputation as effective leader. If you don't, you develop a reputation for being a highly ineffective leader.

When I arrived at Campbell on January 8, 2001, the company had lost half its market value in the prior year. They had to cut costs to the point where they were literally taking the chicken out of chicken noodle soup and the product was no longer competitive.

When providing people with the direction and expected behaviors, you need to be alert to the fact that they will hold you accountable. People want to know if you are walking the talk. They will be watching your every move and you need to be one in the same... every minute of every day.

You have to be a well-rounded leader. You can't fly by the seat of your pants anymore. You have to be incredibly tough-minded about standards of performance, but you also have to be incredibly tenderhearted with the people you're working with.

You have to talk about mistakes and then talk about what you have learned and how to move forward. You acknowledge missteps right away, you deal with them, and you move ahead.

Extroverts may get places faster, but for introverts it's all about working at the pace you need and, at the end of the day, performing at your best.

I have a foundational belief that business results start with culture and your people.

Learning to celebrate success is a key component of learning how to win in the market.

The corporate world has the resources to improve the world. It's where people live and work.

The time to build a network is always before you need one.

There's no evidence that large, diversified food companies win over time.

You can't talk your way out of something you behaved your way into.

You have the opportunity to make a tremendous impact on the lives of the people with whom you work and live. Make the most of it.