Execution Quotes

"He who is always complaining about the lack of time is generally the one who does nothing."

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."

"Pain + Reflection = Progress. Execution involves hitting walls and learning how to get over them."

"I could be counted upon to perform the mission they had assigned me, or, if that was unworkable, to improvise and turn my men's exertions upon a secondary undertaking as good as or better than the first. Richmond Chapman, p. 175, the first criteria for an able commander"

"We are always saying that we are going to do something and then we don't do it. We have to be more disciplined."

"It is better to first get the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats, and then figure out where to drive. p. 41."

"The moment people talk of "implementing" instead of "doing," and of "finalizing" instead of "finishing," the organization is already running a fever. p. 94"

"Don't be a little bitch. Work until it hurts."

"When I ask the classes I teach, “How many of you can cook a better hamburger than McDonald’s?” almost all the students raise their hands. I then ask, “So if most of you can cook a better hamburger, how come McDonald’s makes more money than you?” The answer is obvious: McDonald’s is excellent at business systems. The reason so many talented people are poor is because they focus on building a better hamburger and know little to nothing about business systems."

"The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others."

"A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination."

"Push through to completion. You can have the best plan in the world, but if you don't execute, you have nothing."

"A breakthrough in machine learning would be worth ten Microsofts."

"The art of war is a simple art; everything is in the execution."

"The key to success is to keep moving forward."

"An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching."

"We must use time wisely and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right."

"Look for people who have lots of great questions. They are the ones who will help you execute better."

"Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years."

"Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action has arrived, stop thinking and go in."

"Be obsessed with your goals."

"If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change."

"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it."

"If you’re not failing, you’re not pushing your limits. Execution requires reaching beyond your comfort zone."

"I am an optimist, but I am an optimist who takes a lot of data."

"A leader is a dealer in hope."

"Ideas are cheap. Execution is everything."

"Purity of personal life is the one indispensable condition for building up a sound education."

"A winner is a dreamer who never gives up."

"Identify and don’t tolerate problems. If you tolerate them, you cannot execute on your vision."

"Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose."

"Great ambition is the passion of a great character. Those endowed with it may perform very good or very bad acts. All depends on the principles which direct them."

"If you don't have a plan, you're planning to fail."