The problem with taking offense is that it's really hard to figure out what to do with it after you're done using it. Better to just leave it on the table and walk away. Umbrage untaken quietly disappears.
Seth GodinRead
I don't like offending people, and it's easy to offend people when you don't know as much as they do. This group knows more about what it takes to lead in this way than I ever will. My goal is to push people, but I need to do it from a place of respect.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Respectful leadership requires understanding and knowledge.
This quote emphasizes the importance of knowledge and respect in leadership. Seth Godin reflects on the necessity of understanding one's audience and approach when attempting to motivate or challenge them, recognizing that true leadership involves a balance of guiding others while valuing their expertise and experiences.
Themes
LeadershipRespectKnowledgeMotivationAudience
In practice
Example use cases
In a team meeting, someone could use this quote to encourage respectful collaboration.
More from Seth Godin
All quotes →Not adding value is the same as taking it away.
Seth GodinRead
Excellence isn’t about meeting the spec, it’s about setting the spec. It defines what the consumer sees as quality right this minute, and tomorrow, if you’re good, you’ll reset that expectation again
Seth GodinRead
Living with doubt ... is almost always more profitable than living with certainty. _x000D_ People don't like doubt, so they pay money and give up opportunities to avoid it. _x000D_ Entrepreneurshi p is largely about living with doubt. If you need reassurance, you're giving up quite a bit to get it. On the other hand, if you can get in the habit of seeking out uncertainty, you'll have developed a great instinct.
Seth GodinRead
The danger of the Web is that you can go from idea to public announcement in under ten minutes.
Seth GodinRead
Art isn't only a painting. Art is anything that is creative, passionate and personal. Art is the unique work of a human being created to touch another. Art is created to have an impact, to change someone else.
Seth GodinRead
Similar quotes
Any great and inspiring leader or organization that ever existed set out to do something completely unrealistic.
Simon SinekRead
As president, I was more successful; I had more opportunity than as prime minister. Why? I didn't have the power to give orders, to command, but I had the opportunity to call people to volunteer. In my period of presidency, I never heard the word 'no.'
Shimon PeresRead
In a free government the demand for moral qualities should be made superior to that of talents.
Andrew JacksonRead
The more I'm pushed in a position of leadership and I know I have to be the mouthpiece for so many other people who can't speak for themselves, the more confidence I'm gaining.
Viola DavisRead
No easy problems ever come to the President of the United States. If they are easy to solve, someone else has solved them.
Dwight D. EisenhowerRead
We haven't always been aware of it, but the 'locker-room bro talk' has long been going on not just in locker rooms but in some corporate conference rooms. Of course, not by all men. But by some - including some who hold positions of power. And that matters in holding women back.
Sallie KrawcheckRead