Polite and velvety leaders, who take care to avoid bruising others, are generally not as effective at forcing change.
Interpretation
Gentle leaders may avoid conflict but often struggle to implement necessary changes.
This quote by Walter Isaacson suggests that leaders who prioritize politeness and sensitivity may not be as effective in driving transformational change. While compassion is valuable, it often requires a certain level of assertiveness and willingness to embrace discomfort to achieve meaningful progress.
In practice
In a business meeting focused on strategy, a leader might use this quote to explain the need for a more direct approach in times of organizational change.
I visited Jobs for the last time in his Palo Alto, Calif., home. He had moved to a downstairs bedroom because he was too weak to go up and down stairs. He was curled up in some pain, but his mind was still sharp and his humor vibrant
I've always had an abundance of material about the subjects of my biographies.
for Steve, less is always more, simpler is always better. Therefore, if you can build a glass box with fewer elements, it’s better, it’s simpler, and it’s at the forefront of technology. That’s where Steve likes to be, in both his products and his stores.
What are the five products you want to focus on? Get rid of the rest, because they’re dragging you down. They’re turning you into Microsoft. They’re causing you to turn out products that are adequate but not great.
When there are multiple versions of a story, you really have three ways to go. You can pick the most sensational version. You can try to balance things in your gut to get to what you think is the honest truth. Or you can err on the side of kindness.
The people who invented the twenty-first century were pot-smoking, sandal-wearing hippies from the West Coast like Steve, because they saw differently,” he said. "The hierarchical systems of the East Coast, England, Germany, and Japan do not encourage this different thinking. The sixties produced an anarchic mind-set that is great for imagining a world not yet in existence.
The sole advantage of power is that you can do more good.
I have heard that one can conquer the empire on horseback, but one cannot govern it on horseback.
I always believe that ultimately, if people are paying attention, then we get good government and good leadership. And when we get lazy, as a democracy and civically start taking shortcuts, then it results in bad government and politics.
When we say there's a dearth of women directors, it's not that there's a lack of women who direct: it's a lack of opportunities and access for women to direct and be supported in that.
Leaders don’t complain about what’s not working. Leaders celebrate what is working and work to amplify it.
I shall always think of myself first and foremost... as a hunter.
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