You've got to eat while you dream. You've got to deliver on short-range commitments, while you develop a long-range strategy and vision and implement it. The success of doing both. Walking and chewing gum if you will. Getting it done in the short-range, and delivering a long-range plan, and executing on that.
As leaders, we owe it to every employee to let them know where they stand in the organization.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Leaders have a responsibility to communicate transparently with employees about their status and role within the organization.
This quote emphasizes the vital role of communication in leadership. Jack Welch suggests that effective leaders must ensure that every employee understands their position within the organization, fostering a sense of clarity and belonging. This transparency not only boosts morale but also enhances productivity, as employees are more likely to feel valued and understand their contributions to the team's overall success.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a team meeting, to encourage open dialogue, a manager could use this quote to highlight the importance of employee feedback.
More from Jack Welch
All quotes βI wanted to change the rules of engagement, asking for more- from fewer. I was insisting that we had to have only the best people...If you wanted excellence, at a minimum, the ambience had to reflect excellence.
A leader's role is not to control people or stay on top of things, but rather to guide, energize and excite.
Control your own destiny or someone else will.
The idea flow from the human spirit is absolutely unlimited. All you have to do is tap into that well. I don't like to use the word efficiency. It's creativity. It's a belief that every person counts.
An overburdened, overstretched executive is the best executive, because he or she doesn't have the time to meddle, to deal in trivia, to bother people.
Similar quotes
As I have always said, those closest to the pain should be closest to the power.
Strong leaders equal strong organizations.
He walked down the corridor, lined with his soldiers, who looked at him with love, with awe, with trust. Except Bean, who looked at him with anguish. Ender Wiggin was not larger than life, Bean knew. He was exactly life-sized, and so his larger-than-life burden was too much for him. And yet he was bearing it. So far.
We wish nothing more, but we will accept nothing less. Masters in our own house we must be, but our house is the whole of Canada.
If people aren't clear on what business you're in, what you're trying to accomplish, your values, your goals, then shame on you. It doesn't mean you shouldn't involve them. It's just your responsibility to make sure that that's clear.
I will have here but one mistress and no master.