Trying to understand your workplace and why things are the way they are? You’re not the first. An entire category of quotes is built around office life, and trying to give both direction and explanation to why things are the way they are.
Humans do not change, and have not changed in thousands of years. While we all have different personality traits, we do all have the same instincts, nature and motivators. To prove my point, here are some quotes by Plato that are applicable today despite being ~2,400 years old
- The measure of a man is what he does with power.
- Those who intend on becoming great should love neither themselves nor their own things, but only what is just, whether it happens to be done by themselves or others.
- In politics we presume that everyone who knows how to get votes knows how to administer a city or a state. When we are ill… we do not ask for the handsomest physician, or the most eloquent one.
Whether you are focused on building/growing/sustaining a business or are pursuing mission objectives in the military or federal agency, human factors dictate how people think and interact.
Who Hires the Best and Who Hires the Worst?
I will start with my favorite business quote. This one explains something that I have come across more than once. No doubt, you have also seen this one, or will see it.
A players hire A players. B players hire C players.
If you love to surround yourself with the best employees, the most skillful, brilliant, etc., then it can be baffling how some people get hired or keep their job. I have even seen B level managers try to get rid of A player subordinates. B players are threatened by A players, so a B level manager loves to surround themselves with C players. By contrast, A players have no (or fewer) ego concerns and are more focused on results. In researching the origins of this quote, I found that it has been recognized and used by many successful people such as Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Jack Welch, among others. This is truly an example where human motivators directly affect business decisions and ultimately, business capabilities and outcomes. In the intelligence community, this impacts how effective we are in achieving mission goals.
The Peter Principle of managerial incompetence
This is an old favorite and is attributed to Dr. Lawrence J. Peter who made this observation in his 1969 book, ‘The Peter Principle.’
Managers rise to their level of incompetence.
BusinessDictionary.com has a concise definition. “…as people are promoted, they become progressively less-effective because good performance in one job does not guarantee similar performance in another.”
It is simple enough to see how this principle can negatively impact an organization or unit. And we’ve probably all run into it at least once.
More Quotes to Consider
As you go through your career, you will come across some great business and mission quotes. Write them down and reflect on them from time to time. No doubt, there are business quotes that specifically resonate with you and your industry, use them to draw inspiration – or to send a hint to your coworkers. Here are a few more quotes that really bring things into perspective.
No enterprise is more likely to succeed than one concealed from the enemy until it is ripe for execution. -Niccolo Machiavelli
Almost all quality improvement comes via simplification of design, manufacturing, layout, processes, and procedures. -Tom Peters
In the business world, everyone is paid in two coins: cash and experience. Take the experience first; the cash will come later. -Harold S. Geneen
It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt. – derived from Proverbs 17:28
The way to get things done is not to mind who gets the credit for doing them. – Benjamin Jowett
Successful leaders see the opportunity in every difficulty rather than the difficulty in every opportunity. -Reed Markum
Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier. -Colin Powell
Leadership is taking responsibility while others are making excuses. -John C. Maxwell
You will learn more in a day of talking to customers than a week of brainstorming, a month of watching the competition, or a year of market research. -Aaron Levie
Success is not owned, it is leased…and rent is due every day. -J. J. Watt
Standing on Shoulders
In technology and science we continue to advance our capabilities by standing on the shoulders of those who have gone before us. These quotes about human nature and their implication in the business and mission arenas should not be ignored. We need to learn from and make use of the wisdom of those who have gone before. Understand how we work as individuals and what motivates us. Realize how these motivational factors can impact the business, the agency section, the military unit, and achieving objectives and goals.
