The IT organization can't drive or lead a digital transformation. It has to come from the business and the business strategy, because they're fundamental to how a company or an organization evolves.
Michael DellRead
Try never to be the smartest person in the room. And if you are, I suggest you invite smarter people... or find a different room. In professional circles it's called networking. In organizations it's called team building. And in life it's called family, friends, and community. We are all gifts to each other, and my own growth as a leader has shown me again and again that the most rewarding experiences come from my relationships.
Interpretation
Surrounding yourself with smarter individuals fosters growth and learning.
This quote emphasizes the importance of being surrounded by those who are more knowledgeable or skilled than yourself as a means to enhance personal and professional growth. It highlights that networking, team building, and nurturing relationships are essential for mutual development and enriching life experiences.
In practice
During a leadership seminar, I would quote this to emphasize the importance of collaboration.
The IT organization can't drive or lead a digital transformation. It has to come from the business and the business strategy, because they're fundamental to how a company or an organization evolves.
If you want to sustain excellence over a long time, you'd better come up with a system that works well. Anyone can sprint for a little while, but you can't sprint for forty years.
The key is to listen to your heart and let it carry you in the direction of your dreams. I've learned that it's possible to set your sights high and achieve your dreams and do it with integrity, character, and love. And each day that you're moving toward your dreams without compromising who you are, you're winning.
When you found a company, you feel a deep sense of responsibility for it. I'll care about Dell even after I'm dead. So this is a pretty personal process. And when you're doing what you love, and it's working, you don't get tired working what other people might consider long hours or crazy schedules. It's just fun. It's energizing.
I believe that you have to understand the economics of a business before you have a strategy, and you have to understand your strategy before you have a structure. If you get these in the wrong order, you will probably fail.
Try never to be the smartest person in the room. And if you are, I suggest you invite smarter people... or find a different room.
A competent leader can get efficient service from poor troops, while on the contrary an incapable leader can demoralize the best of troops.
The functions of the president are prescribed by the Constitution, but his real achievements are not set by the letter of the law. They are determined rather by his personality, the weight of his influence, his capacity for managing men, and the strength and effectiveness of the party forces behind him.
As long as there is no trust and confidence that there will be justice and fairness in resource distribution, political positioning will remain more important than service
Never ask anyone to do what you haven't done before and wouldn't do again. That's a pretty fundamental rule in leadership... treat them like you treat yourself. Things you don't like, they don't like.
When we say that leadership is a choice, it basically means you can choose the level of initiative you want to exercise in response to the question, ‘What is the best I can do under the given circumstances?’
There has to be a way to redirect employee's driving ambition and to channel it more productively. There is. Create heroes in every role. Make every role, performed at excellence, a respected profession.
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