10 Best Quotes About Business

If you are unsure if you have what it takes to succeed in business, how about some sage advice in the form of these 10 best quotes about business? Who better to learn from than those who have been successful in business?

1. "We are constantly amazed by how much people will do when they are not told what to do by management." Jack Welch This quote by former General Electric CEO Welch is meant to convey the message that managing less is managing better. Don’t hold the reins too tightly on your employees. Let them be creative and you’ll be amazed at what they can accomplish on their own.
2. “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” Bill Gates Founder and CEO of Microsoft, Gates let's it be known that your customers and their complaints shouldn’t be dismissed, like so many other companies do, but should be embraced as a learning tool to improve your products. You need a thick skin to make a successful business and many times your customers turn out to have better ideas than your skilled design teams.
3. “Do something you love and you will never work a day in your life.” Harvey MacKay The businessman and author offered this gem and who can argue with it? If you don’t like your job, it’s a long, daily grind, but if you love what you do, you won’t even consider it a job. You'll just happen to get paid for doing what you love as a bonus. Don’t ever get stuck in a job or career that you don’t like or you will be unhappy without a doubt.
4. “You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.” Albert Einstein Einstein is perhaps the most well-known scientist and inventor of the 20th century. Whatever field you enter into, learn everything there is to know about it. Then master the field.
5. “Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.” Steve Jobs Here Jobs, the CEO and co-founder of Apple, tells us that a product can look great (which, ironically, all Apple products do), but they must also work great. Here Jobs says that function is paramount. Perhaps that’s why Apple has such a devoted following of customers; their products just feel right and are easily accessible.
6. “Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it's amazing what they can accomplish.” Sam Walton This quote from the founder of Wal-Mart is another of from the it’s-not-about-you-it’s-about-the-employees category. Let good ideas percolate upwards from those who work for you. Don’t be a slave to the past formula for success.
7. “The two most important requirements for major success are: first, being in the right place at the right time, and second, doing something about it." Ray Kroc Kroc built McDonald’s built into the most successful fast food operation in the world and is telling us that there is some luck involved in business. You may have a great idea, but the timing may not be right. However, if you do recognize an area of business that exists, act on it!
8. “A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business.” Henry Ford In this era of outsourcing and people making ungodly amounts of money for doing nothing but moving around paper, Ford’s comment seems especially prophetic. Build things!
9. “Whatever you fear most has no power. It is your fear that has the power.” Oprah Winfrey Perhaps the most powerful woman in America, Winfrey is saying that the fear of failing in business is worse than actually failing. Don’t be afraid of failure and take your chance!
10. “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” Charles Darwin What is Darwin doing on this list? Well, this statement can apply to business as much as to evolution. Embrace change, don’t fight it.