20th-century Businessman Quotes

Walt Disney

Steve Jobs

Bill Gates

Warren Buffett

Richard Branson

Mitt Romney

Mark Zuckerberg

When I started Virgin from a basement in west London, there was no great plan or strategy. I didn't set out to build a business empire... For me, building a business is all about doing something to be proud of, bringing talented people together and creating something that's going to make a real difference to other people's lives

Richard Branson

There is seldom just one cockroach in the kitchen. You know, you turn on the light and, all of sudden, they all start scurrying around.

I just make what I like - warm and human stories, ones about historic characters and events, and about animals. If there is a secret, I guess it's that I never make the pictures too childish, but always try to get in a little satire of adult foibles.

When you lose a customer, it can be tempting to tell each other, "That customer's not very sharp. They just made the wrong decision".

There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home.

Success is more a function of consistent common sense than it is of genius.

Recruiting is hard. It's just finding the needles in the haystack. You can't know enough in a one-hour interview. So, in the end, it's ultimately based on your gut. How do I feel about this person? What are they like when they're challenged? I ask everybody that: 'Why are you here?' The answers themselves are not what you're looking for. It's the meta-data.

In the factory we make cosmetics; in the store we sell hope.

The world is changing.... I don't, as a consumer, want advertising that's not relevant. If we're going to take a side let's take the side of the consumer.

Negotiations are a euphemism for capitulation if the shadow of power is not cast across the bargaining table.

George P. Shultz

If this planet lasts for another thousand years people will still be talking about the terrible event we are now living through.

Mohamed Al-Fayed

I'm here to say there is a choice. If you want to stick to the status quo, pick the Republicans or Democrats, but don't complain. Nobody can do a better job than I can.

When we tell the story about what's happening today with browsers ten years from now, I want the thing that replaces Windows to be Windows. I don't want to wake up in a position one day where the guys at Netscape say, "Isn't Windows just that little thing that we use to put up menus and draw lines? Let's just write our own and suck it up into our client."

While Apple's attempt to control the ecosystem and maintain a closed platform may be good for Apple, developers want more options and customers want to fully access the overwhelming majority of Web sites that use Flash. We think many customers are getting tired of being told what to think by Apple. … even people inside the distortion field [at Apple] will begin to resent being told half a story.

The key to success is to risk thinking unconventional thoughts. Convention is the enemy of progress. As long as you've got slightly more perception that the average wrapped loaf, you could invent something.

One problem we discovered, for example, was that our "create a new account" button was in the wrong place...By simply moving it to the left side, mirroring the way people read, we saw a huge improvement in the way people used the site.

Cleverness is a gift, kindness is a choice. Gifts are easy — they're given after all. Choices can be hard. You can seduce yourself with your gifts if you're not careful, and if you do, it'll probably be to the detriment of your choices.

What you've got to do is be honest. Say what you believe. Give it to them straight. Just don't wuss out.

Michael Bloomberg

Surprise! The returns reported by mutual funds aren't actually earned by mutual fund investors.

When it's too easy to get money, then you get a lot of noise mixed in with the real innovation and entrepreneurship. Tough times bring out the best parts of Silicon Valley.

Grief is like the wake behind a boat. It starts out as a huge wave that follows close behind you and is big enough to swamp and drown you if you suddenly stop moving forward. But if you do keep moving, the big wake will eventually dissipate. And after a long time, the waters of your life get calm again, and that is when the memories of those who have left begin to shine as bright and as enduring as the stars above.

Engage the people. Don't try to pass a 2,700 page bill — and even they didn't read it! You and I didn't have time to read it. We're too busy trying to live — send our kids to school. That's why I am only going to allow small bills — three pages. You'll have time to read that one over the dinner table. What does Herman Cain, President Cain talking about in this particular bill?

Principle is okay up to a certain point, but principle doesn't do any good if you lose.

The first rule of luck in business is that you should persevere in doing the right thing. Opportunities will come your way if you do.

If you don't choose to do it in leadership time up front, you do it in crisis management time down the road.