It only serves to show what sort of person a man must be who can't even get testimonials. No, no; if a man brings references, it proves nothing; but if he can't, it proves a great deal.
Joseph PulitzerRead
Performance is better than promise. Exuberant assurances are cheap.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Actions speak louder than words; it's better to deliver results than simply make promises.
This quote emphasizes the importance of performance over mere promises, suggesting that while it is easy to make grand assurances, true value is found in the actual outcomes of one's efforts. Joseph Pulitzer is reminding us that tangible results carry more weight than lofty claims, encouraging a focus on what can be accomplished rather than what is only said.
Themes
PerformancePromiseResultsActionAssurance
In practice
Example use cases
In a business meeting to emphasize the importance of delivering projects on time.
More from Joseph Pulitzer
All quotes βWhat a newspaper needs in its news, in its headlines, and on its editorial page is terseness, humor, descriptive power, satire, originality, good literary style, clever condensation, and accuracy, accuracy, accuracy!
Joseph PulitzerRead
Put it before them briefly so they will read it, clearly so they will appreciate it, picturesquely so they will remember it and, above all, accurately so they will be guided by its light.
Joseph PulitzerRead
If you will give the matter a moment's thought, you'll see that memory is the highest faculty of the human mind.
Joseph PulitzerRead
An able, disinterested, public-spirited press, with trained intelligence to know the right and courage to do it, can preserve that public virtue without which popular government is a sham and a mockery
Joseph PulitzerRead
The American people want something terse, forcible, picturesque, striking - something that will arrest their attention, enlist their sympathy, arouse their indignation, stimulate their imagination, convince their reason, awaken their conscience.
Joseph PulitzerRead
Similar quotes
Those who turn good organizations into great organizations are motivated by a deep creative urge and an inner compulsion for sheer unadulterated excellence for its own sake.
James C. CollinsRead
Discipline is the foundation upon which all success is built. Lack of discipline inevitably leads to failure.
Jim RohnRead
I couldn't find the sports car of my dreams, so I built it myself.
Ferdinand PorscheRead
The future of America is not an entitlement. We have been given a treasure chest of gifts and opportunities, but some people are being left behind, and success is not sustainable unless it is shared.
Howard SchultzRead
Sometimes you can be one of the best, but you don't accept that if you don't get the ring or win the Super Bowl. There's a lot of good teams between the Super Bowl winner and other teams. Once the Super Bowl is over, we lump everyone into the other 31, and that's not fair.
John MaddenRead
I often say to the athletes, that I know about their 'neon skills' - the ones that light up and make them easily recognizable. The power of a fighter, the finesse, the agility, the legs, the quickness. But what about being steady, or being dependable? These are more important traits.
Teddy AtlasRead