The very essence of leadership is that you have to have vision. You can't blow an uncertain trumpet.
Theodore HesburghRead
My basic principle is that you don't make decisions because they are cheap; you make them because they're right.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Make decisions based on what is morally right, not on convenience or cost.
In this quote, Theodore Hesburgh emphasizes that the foundation of decision-making should be rooted in ethical considerations rather than financial incentives or ease. True leadership and integrity demand that we prioritize what is right over what is easy or inexpensive, thereby aligning our actions with our values and principles.
Themes
Decision MakingEthicsIntegrityMoralityLeadership
In practice
Example use cases
During a leadership seminar to emphasize ethical decision-making.
More from Theodore Hesburgh
All quotes βAll of us are experts at practicing virtue at a distance.
Theodore HesburghRead
It is easier to exemplify values than teach them.
Theodore HesburghRead
I can think of no better way of redeeming this tragic world today than love and laughter. Too many of the young have forgotten how to laugh, and too many of the elders have forgotten how to love. Would not our lives be lightened if only we could all learn to laugh more easily at ourselves and to love one another?
Theodore HesburghRead
Anyone who refuses to speak out off campus does not deserve to be listened to on campus.
Theodore HesburghRead
Similar quotes
They mustn't know my despair, I can't let them see the wounds which they have caused, I couldn't bear their sympathy and their kind-hearted jokes, it would only make me want to scream all the more. If I talk, everyone thinks I'm showing off; when I'm silent they think I'm ridiculous; rude if I answer, sly if I get a good idea, lazy if I'm tired, selfish if I eat a mouthful more than I should, stupid, cowardly, crafty, etc. etc.
Anne FrankRead
We must believe in luck. For how else can we explain the success of those we don't like?
Jean CocteauRead
What really counts are good endings, not flawed beginnings.
Ibn TaymiyyahRead
I write from my knowledge not my lack, from my strength not my weakness. I am not interested if anyone knows whether or not I am familiar with big words, I am interested in trying to render big ideas in a simple way. I am interested in being understood not admired.
Lucille CliftonRead
Ignorance is a virus. Once it starts spreading it can only be cured by reason. For the sake of humanity, we must be that cure.
Neil Degrasse TysonRead
Freethinkers are those who are willing to use their minds without prejudice and without fearing to understand things that clash with their own customs, privileges, or beliefs. This state of mind is not common, but it is essential for right thinking.
Leo TolstoyRead