Quotes on Things Done

The only way to get a thing done is to start to do it, then keep on doing it, and finally you'll finish it.

There were so many of us who would have to live with things done and things left undone that day. Things that did not go right, things that seemed okay at the time because we could not see the future. If only we could see the endless string of consequences that result from our smallest actions. But we can't know better until knowing better is useless.

Busyness is not a reason for not getting other things done. It is an excuse for not claiming your true priorities.

The secret of getting ahead is getting started

Look for intelligence and judgment and, most critically, a capacity to anticipate, to see around corners. Also look for loyalty, integrity, a high energy drive, a balanced ego and the drive to get things done.

Great leaders state out loud what they intend to do and in doing so, they get things done.

I don't wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know it has got to get down to work.

Superior leaders get things done with very little motion. They impart instruction not through many words, but through a few deeds. They keep informed about everything but interfere hardly at all. They are catalysts, and though things would not get done as well if they were not there, when they succeed they take no credit. And, because they take no credit, credit never leaves them.

Basically, managing is about influencing action. Managing is about helping organizations and units to get things done, which means action. Sometimes, managers manage actions directly. They fight fires. They manage projects. They negotiate contracts.

You don't actually do a project; you can only do action steps related to it. When enough of the right action steps have been taken, some situation will have been created that matches your initial picture of the outcome closely enough that you can call it "done.

Sitting quietly, doing nothing, Spring comes, and the grass grows, by itself.

If you don't pay appropriate attention to what has your attention, it will take more of your attention than it deserves.

Don't underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering.

I'm always doing things I can't do. That's how I get to do them.

I would say act like a man of thought and think like a man of action.

The whole point of getting things done is knowing what to leave undone.

The hurrier I go, the behinder I get.

There are two kinds of people in this world: those who want to get things done, and those who don't want to make mistakes.

Don't underestimate the value of Doing Nothing

A sense of humor is part of the art of leadership, of getting along with people, of getting things done.

When you hurry you're more apt to make mistakes. But you have to be quick. If you're not quick you can't get things done.