Creating a strong business and building a better world are not conflicting goals - they are both essential ingredients for long-term success
Bill FordRead
A good company delivers excellent products and services, and a great company does all that and strives to make the world a better place.
Interpretation
A great company goes beyond just providing products and services; it also aims to improve society.
In this quote, Bill Ford emphasizes that while a good company focuses on delivering high-quality products and services, a truly great company seeks to make a positive impact on the world. This involves being socially responsible, addressing broader issues, and contributing to the well-being of the community, which extends the company's value beyond profits.
In practice
In a keynote speech discussing corporate responsibility, one could quote this to emphasize the importance of social impact.
Creating a strong business and building a better world are not conflicting goals - they are both essential ingredients for long-term success
When you factor in population growth, it's clear that the mobility model that we have today simply will not work tomorrow. Four billion clean cars on the road are still four billion cars, and a traffic jam with no emissions is still a traffic jam.
By simply capitalizing on core strengths and knowledge, companies and entrepreneurs can engage in an emerging business model that will enable them to create - and demonstrate - real, sustainable social impact in society.
The NBA is never just a business. It's always business. It's always personal. All good businesses are personal. The best businesses are very personal.
Wherever we are seeing something getting used, that to us is an early indicator that there might be something that people want. And then let's figure out how to make that great. And then let's go figure out monetization.
There are two ways to extend a business. Take inventory of what you're good at and extend out from your skills. Or determine what your customers need and work backward, even if it requires learning new skills. Kindle is an example of working backward.
The goal is not to do business with everybody who needs what you have. The goal is to do business with people who believe what you believe.
The idea that business is strictly a numbers affair has always struck me as preposterous. For one thing, I've never been particularly good at numbers, but I think I've done a reasonable job with feelings. And I'm convinced that it is feelings - and feelings alone - that account for the success of the Virgin brand in all of its myriad forms.
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