Warren Bennis's Quotes

I wanted the influence. In the end I wasn't very good at being a president. I looked out of the window and thought that the man cutting the lawn actually seemed to have more control over what he was doing.

Leadership has become a heavy industry. Concern and interest about leadership development is no longer an American phenomenon. It is truly global. Though I will probably be in less demand, I wanted to move on.

Excellence is a better teacher than mediocrity. The lessons of the ordinary are everywhere. Truly profound and original insights are to be found only in studying the exemplary.

Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.

The factory of the future will have only two employees, a man and a dog. The man will be there to feed the dog. The dog will be there to keep the man from touching the equipment.

Leaders are people who do the right thing; managers are people who do things right.

People who cannot invent and reinvent themselves must be content with borrowed postures, secondhand ideas, fitting in instead of standing out.

Leaders must encourage their organizations to dance to forms of music yet to be heard.

Becoming a leader is synonymous with becoming yourself. It is precisely that simple, and it is also that difficult.

Good leaders make people feel that they're at the very heart of things, not at the periphery.

The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it.

Failing organizations are usually over-managed and under-led.

Leaders keep their eyes on the horizon, not just on the bottom line.

Taking charge of your own learning is a part of taking charge of your life, which is the sine qua non in becoming an integrated person.

There are two ways of being creative. One can sing and dance. Or one can create an environment in which singers and dancers flourish.

Create a compelling vision, one that takes people to a new place, and then translate that vision into a reality.

Leaders know the importance of having someone in their lives who will unfailingly and fearlessly tell them the truth.

Trust is the lubrication that makes it possible for organizations to work.

The most dangerous leadership myth is that leaders are born-that there is a genetic factor to leadership. This myth asserts that people simply either have certain charismatic qualities or not. That's nonsense; in fact, the opposite is true. Leaders are made rather than born.

Great things are accomplished by talented people who believe they will accomplish them.

The manager has his eye on the bottom line; the leader has his eye on the horizon.

Leaders should always expect the very best of those around them. They know that people can change and grow.

The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why.

The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range perspective.

There is a profound difference between information and meaning.

You need people who can walk their companies into the future rather than back them into the future.