Quote of the day

Price

There is nothing in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and he who considers price only is that man's lawful prey.

John Ruskin (1819 - 1900)  

Quality

Quality is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, severe effort, intelligent direction and skilful execution. It represents the wise choice of many alternatives.

William A Bernhardt

Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of intelligent effort.

John Ruskin (1819 - 1900) 

Thoughts on Value

It's unwise to pay too much, but it's unwise to pay too little. When you pay too much you lose a little money, that is all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing you bought it to do. The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot. It can't be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it's well to add something for the risk you run. And if you do that, you will have enough to pay for something better.

John Ruskin (1819 - 1900)

Add value or get out.

Lord Sheppard (1932 - )  

You've no future unless you add value, create projects.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter (1943 - )

Strategies

Think globally, act locally, think tribally, act universally.

John Naisbitt, futurologist.

Clarity

Man soll alles so einfach wie möglich sehen - aber auch nicht einfacher.

Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)

Do not say a little in many words but a great deal in a few.

Pythagoras (582 - 507 BC)  

The best...

 If you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it.

W Somerset Maugham (1874 - 1965)

Experts

My definition of an expert in any field is a person who knows enough about what's really going on to be scared.

Anon

Marketing

I see that everywhere among the race of men it is the tongue that wins and not the deed.

Socrates

Choosing suppliers

Those who trust to chance must abide by the results of chance.

Calvin Coolidge, American President  (1872 - 1933)

Quality

Quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten.

Gucci advert

Negotiation

Adversarial power relationships only work if you never have to see or work with the bastards again.

Peter Drucker (1909 - )

Never break another man's rice bowl.

Akio Morita, the man behind Sony (1921 - )

Good business should contain something for both parties.

Sir John Harvey-Jones

Missing phrases in languages

It can hardly be an accident that no language on earth has ever produced the expression "as pretty as an airport".

Douglas Adams (`1952 - )

People

If you don't have the best people you hurt everyone.

Larry Bossidy (1935 -)

Originality

The more original a discovery, the more obvious it seems afterwards.

Arthur Koestler

People go through four stages before any revolutionary development:

1. It's nonsense, don't waste my time.

2. It's interesting but not important,

3. I always said it was a good idea.

4. I thought of it first.

 Arthur C Clarke (1917 - 2008)

Reputation

A good reputation is more valuable than money.

Publius Syrus (ca. 42 BC)

Value

Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.

Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)

Time

Time is the measure of business.

Francis Bacon (1561-1626)

Progress

Every company should work hard to obsolete its own product line - before its competitors do.

Philip Kotler

Marketing

Although it takes only a semester to learn marketing, it takes a lifetime to master it.

Philip Kotler

Success

I find the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have.

Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1826)

but also:

Work smarter not harder.

Anon

and:

Work smarter and harder.

Peak Translations

Leadership

When the effective leader is finished with his work, people say it happened naturally.

Lao-Tzu (604 - 531 BC)