16 Management Quotes from The Top Managers in The World

One of the most simplest and perhaps all-inclusive definition of management comes from BusinessDictionary.com, which says that management is the organization and coordination of the activities of a business in order to achieve defined objectives.

A manager leads a department in an organization. He controls any and all resources in that department. He is tasked with the responsibility to steer the department in the direction defined by the organization’s mission, vision, goals and objectives. He has short-term and long-term targets to achieve, and he is answerable for them.

Any person working in a managerial capacity of some sort is required to put on many different hats. For instance he is required to plan the operations and functions within his department and organize tasks and assignments by delegating them to people who are most capable of carrying them out.

He must provide direction and guidance so each individual – as well as the department as a whole – can accomplish their tasks and achieve their goals.

A manager is therefore an integral cog in any companies' machinery!

From Steve Jobs to Donald Trump, Richard Branson to Howard Schultz, from Bill Gates to Ralph Lauren – we have had the privilege to see and learn from some brilliant minds and great managers!

People who came from nothing, and went on to become billionaires, people who combined book smarts with street smarts, managers who were great with people, and managers who had natural leadership skills!

Here’s what some of them say about management, leadership and being a great manager:

“The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it.” – Theodore Roosevelt

“Focus on a few key objectives … I only have three things to do. I have to choose the right people, allocate the right number of dollars, and transmit ideas from one division to another with the speed of light. So I’m really in the business of being the gatekeeper and the transmitter of ideas.” – Jack Welch

“Hire people who are better than you are, then leave them to get on with it. Look for people who will aim for the remarkable, who will not settle for the routine.” – David Ogilvy

“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

“Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don’t interfere as long as the policy you’ve decided upon is being carried out.” – Ronald Reagan

“Hiring people is an art, not a science, and resumes can’t tell you whether someone will fit into a company’s culture. When you realize you’ve made a mistake, you need to cut your losses and move on.” – Howard Schultz

” A leader is the one who can outline the broad vision and the direction, and say here’s where we are going to go, here’s why we need to go there, and here’s how we are going to get there. A manager is the one who actually gets up under the hood and tunes the carburetor.” – Mike Huckabee

“Good management is the art of making problems so interesting and their solutions so constructive that everyone wants to get to work and deal with them.” – Paul Hawken.

“The conventional definition of management is getting work done through people, but real management is developing people through work.” – Agha Hasan Abedi

“The Four Keys of Great Managers: (1) When selecting someone, they select for talent … not simply experience, intelligence or determination. (2) When setting expectations, they define the right outcomes … not the right steps. (3) When motivating someone, they focus on strengths … not on weaknesses. and (4) When developing someone, they help him find the right fit … not simply the next rung on the ladder.” -Marcus Buckingham

Feel free to share your management gems in the comments section below!