Top CEOs & Business Gurus

A list of top CEOs and business gurus with a variety of information about each.  This is just the start and much more is to come.

Here is a wide assortment of quotes from top CEOs.  These top CEOs include Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, Steve Jobs, Jack Welch, Sam Walton and …..

Jeff Bezos – Amazon CEO

• Founder of Amazon
• Jeff Bezos Wikipedia
• Jeff Bezos Videos/Information
• Amazon Videos
• If you never want to be criticized, for goodness’ sake don’t do anything new. ~Jeff Bezos
• All businesses need to be young forever. If your customer base ages with you, you’re Woolworth’s. ~Jeff Bezos

Richard Branson – Virgin CEO

• Richard Branson is the founder of the Virgin Group which has over 400 companies.  He is a billionaire and a great person to research for entrepreneurs.
• Richard Branson Wikipedia
• Richard Branson Videos/Information
• Richard Branson’s Blog
• Virgin Videos
• You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over. ~Richard Branson
• Ridiculous yachts, private planes, and big limousines won’t make people enjoy life more, and it sends out terrible messages to the people who work for them. It would be so much better if that money was spent in Africa – and it’s about getting a balance. ~Richard Branson
• Business opportunities are like buses, there’s always another one coming. ~Richard Branson
• Feedback and Discussion about Richard Branson

John Chambers – Cisco CEO

• John Chambers joined Cisco as a start-up in 1983.  He took over as CEO in 1995.
• John Chambers Wikipedia
• John Chambers Videos/Information
• Cisco Videos

Stephen Covey – business guru

• Stephen Covey seems to be most well known of his book “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.”
• Stephen Covey Wikipedia
• Stephen Covey Videos/Information
• There are three constants in life… change, choice and principles. ~Stephen Covey
  
• Trust is the glue of life. It’s the most essential ingredient in effective communication.  It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships. ~Stephen Covey

Michael Dell – Dell CEO

• Michael Dell turned the computer world upside down.  Dell did some amazing innovations with the supply chain in order to reduce costs.
• Michael Dell Wikipedia
• Michael Dell Videos/Information
• Dell Videos
• I started the business with a simple question: How can we make the process of buying a computer better? The answer was: Sell computers directly to the end customer. Eliminate the reseller’s markup and pass those savings on to the customer. ~Michael Dell
• Sometimes it’s better not to ask-or to listen-when tell you something can’t be done. I didn’t ask for permission or approval. I just went ahead and did it. ~Michael Dell

Peter Drucker – business guru.

• Considered the father of modern management and has been around since the 1950s.  Many of the top gurus of today borrow from Peter Drucker’s work.
• Peter Drucker Wikipedia
• Peter Drucker Videos/Information
• The best way to predict your future is to create it. ~Peter Drucker
• Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes; but no plans. ~Peter Drucker

Larry Ellison – Oracle CEO

• One of the wealthiest people in the world.  In regards to technology he is up there with Bill Gates and Steve Jobs.  Many people visiting EverythingSupplyChain.com will want to do research into Oracle because of their ERP platform.
• Larry Ellison Wikipedia
• Larry Ellison Videos/Informatoin
• Oracle Videos
• When you innovate, you’ve got to be prepared for everyone telling you you’re nuts. ~Larry Ellison
  
• What is Oracle? It’s people. We rely on our HR department to build this organization, to help find those people, to help grow those people. ~Larry Ellison
  
• To model yourself after Steve Jobs is like, ‘I’d like to paint like Picasso, what should I do? Should I use more red? ~Larry Ellison

Henry Ford – Ford CEO

• Came up with the Model-T and the assembly line.  The assembly line changed business all together.
• Henry Ford Wikipedia
• Henry Ford Videos/Information
• Ford Videos
• Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. ~Henry Ford
• Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t–you’re right. ~Henry Ford
• You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do. ~Henry Ford
  

Bill Gates – Microsoft CEO

• What more can I say, it is Bill Gates.
• Bill Gates Wikipedia
• Bill Gates Videos
• Microsoft Videos
• I choose a lazy person to do a hard job. Because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it. ~Bill Gates
• Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning. ~Bill Gates
• If you give people tools, and they use their natural abilities and their curiosity, they will develop things in ways that will surprise you very much beyond what you might have expected. ~Bill Gates 

Steve Jobs – Apple CEO

• So many stories about Steve Jobs.  A true visionary.
• Steve Jobs Wikipedia
• Steve Jobs Videos
• Apple Videos
• Technology is nothing. What’s important is that you have a faith in people, that they’re basically good and smart, and if you give them tools, they’ll do wonderful things with them. ~Steve Jobs
• Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. ~Steve Jobs
  
• Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.
• Discussion about Steve Jobs and Apple

Guy Kawasaki – Marketing guru.

• Work for Steve Jobs twice.  Great stories and well known for his marketing advice.
• Guy Kawasaki Wikipedia
• Guy Kawasaki Videos
• Want to change the world? Upset the status quo? This takes more than run-of-the-mill relationships. You need to make people dream the same dream that you do. ~Guy Kawasaki
• the first follower is what transforms the lone nut into a leader. ~Guy Kawasaki

Tom Peters – business guru

• Wrote “In Search of Excellence” and has done so much for the business world.
• Tom Peters Wikipedia
• Tom Peters Videos/Information
• Almost all quality improvement comes via simplification of design, manufacturing… layout, processes, and procedures. ~Tom Peters
• The simple act of paying positive attention to people has a great deal to do with productivity. ~Tom Peters

Michael Porter – business guru

• Developed Porter’s Five forces and well known throughout the business world.
• Michael Porter Wikipedia
• Michael Porter Videos/Information
• The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do. ~Michael Porter
  
• The best CEOs I know are teachers, and at the core of what they teach is strategy. ~Michael Porter

Fred Smith – FedEx CEO

• Great entrepreneur and heads up an amazing company that is all about supply chain.
• Frederick W. Smith Wikipedia
• Fred Smith Videos/Information
• FedEx Videos/Information
• A manager is not a person who can do the work better than his men; he is a person who can get his men to do the work better than he can. ~Frederick W. Smith
  
• Fear of failure must never be a reason not to try something. ~Frederick W. Smith
  
• Information about the package is as important as the package itself. ~Frederick W. Smith

Sam Walton – Walmart CEO

• Started Walmart from the ground up.
• Sam Walton Wikipedia
• Sam Walton Videos
• Walmart Videos
• Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves it s amazing what they can accomplish. ~Sam Walton
• I have always been driven to buck the system, to innovate, to take things beyond where they’ve been. ~Sam Walton
• High expectations are the key to everything. ~Sam Walton
• More Sam Walton Quotes
• Discussion about Sam Walton, Walmart and Retail.

Jack Welch – GE CEO

• Considered one of the best CEOs of all times.  Numerous books are available on his work.
• Jack Welch Wikipedia
• Jack Welch Videos
• GE Videos
• An organization’s ability to learn, and translate that learning into action rapidly, is the ultimate competitive advantage. ~Jack Welch
  
• If you pick the right people and give them the opportunity to spread their wings and put compensation as a carrier behind it you almost don’t have to manage them.  ~Jack Welch
  
• When you become a leader success is all about growing others. ~Jack Welch

Mark Zuckerberg – Facebook CEO

• Started Facebook at Harvard and look where it is now.
• Mark Zuckerberg Wikipedia
• Mark Zuckerberg Videos
• Facebook Videos
• The biggest risk is not taking any risk… In a world that changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks. ~Mark Zuckerberg
  
• Facebook was not originally created to be a company. It was built to accomplish a social mission – to make the world more open and connected. ~Mark Zuckerberg
  
• Move fast and break things. Unless you are breaking stuff, you are not moving fast enough. ~Mark Zuckerberg
  
• At Facebook, we build tools to help people connect with the people they want and share what they want, and by doing this we are extending people’s capacity to build and maintain relationships. ~Mark Zuckerberg
  

 

What are your favorite quotes from top CEOs?