--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have never issued an order since I have…" description: "\"I have never issued an order since I have been the operating head of the corporation.\" — Alfred P. Sloan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/282/alfred-p-sloan-22832_corporation_i-have-never-issued-an-order-since-i-hav_2147857.png" --- # I have never issued an order since I have been the… ![“I have never issued an order since I have been the operating head of the corporation.” quote by Alfred P. Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/282/alfred-p-sloan-22832_corporation_i-have-never-issued-an-order-since-i-hav_2147857.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/282/alfred-p-sloan-22832_corporation_i-have-never-issued-an-order-since-i-hav_2147857.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/282/alfred-p-sloan-22832_corporation_i-have-never-issued-an-order-since-i-hav_2147857.png) > “I have never issued an order since I have been the operating head of the corporation.” [Alfred P. Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-p-sloan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He never gave direct orders because he led by example and delegated authority. **In simple terms:** Leadership through influence, not command. Key Takeaway Lead by example and empower others. Themes leadership delegation corporate culture Mood reflective professional Type business leadership When to use this quote - executive meetings - team projects - organizational change Key Concepts Management theory empowerment Questions to Reflect On - How does delegating authority affect team morale? - When is direct instruction necessary? A Different Perspective May be seen as passive; can blur accountability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Corporation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corporation/) [Corporations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corporations/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) ## Related quotes > [It makes no sense to talk of the social obligations of the corporation without reference to its economic obligations. The two are intertwined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-r-raymond/it-makes-no-sense-to-talk-of-the-social-obligations-of-the/) [Lee R. Raymond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-r-raymond/) > [The biggest thing that has happened to hip-hop is the clinging on to the corporation as the all-mighty hub of the music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-d/the-biggest-thing-that-has-happened-to-hip-hop-is-the-clinging-on-to/) [Chuck D](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-d/) > [“The legal system has been designed by governments and corporations to protect them from the common people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-legal-system-has-been-designed-by-governments-and-corporations-to/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [A corporation has all the powers and privileges of an individual: all it lacks is a conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-esar/a-corporation-has-all-the-powers-and-privileges-of-an-individual-all/) [Evan Esar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-esar/) > [“Her crime cost nobody their life, but she famously was escorted off to a women’s prison. Had she been a corporation instead of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-hartmann/her-crime-cost-nobody-their-life-but-she-famously-was-escorted-off-to/) [Thom Hartmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-hartmann/) > [The blanket assertion that corporations are people obfuscates the complex issues at play in the changing business world. Corporation are institutions. People are people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-tapscott/the-blanket-assertion-that-corporations-are-people-obfuscates-the/) [Don Tapscott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-tapscott/) > [Thirty years after drafting the US Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson warned of the dangers posed by the corporation, writing of the need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-manski/thirty-years-after-drafting-the-us-declaration-of-independence-thomas/) [Ben Manski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-manski/) > [For better or for worse, our company (The News Corporation Ltd.) is a reflection of my thinking, my character, my values.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/for-better-or-for-worse-our-company-the-news-corporation-ltd-is-a/) [Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/) > [The definition of fascism is The marriage of corporation and state](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benito-mussolini/the-definition-of-fascism-is-the-marriage-of-corporation-and-state/) [Benito Mussolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benito-mussolini/) > [A record company used to be a very good thing, but they ended up soul-destroyingly trapping people in the accounting department. And you couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lydon/a-record-company-used-to-be-a-very-good-thing-but-they-ended-up-soul/) [John Lydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lydon/) > [A corporation has no soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-coke/a-corporation-has-no-soul/) [Edward Coke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-coke/) > [Did you ever expect a corporation to have a conscience, when it has no soul to be damned, and nobody to be kicked?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thurlow-1st-baron-thurlow/did-you-ever-expect-a-corporation-to-have-a-conscience-when-it-has-no/) [Edward Thurlow, 1st Baron Thurlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thurlow-1st-baron-thurlow/) > [To equate a corporation with a person is a travesty of justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-m-kunin/to-equate-a-corporation-with-a-person-is-a-travesty-of-justice/) [Madeleine M. Kunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-m-kunin/) > [The corporation is not an independent "person" with its own rights, needs, and desires that regulators must respect. It is a state created tool…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-bakan/the-corporation-is-not-an-independent-person-with-its-own-rights/) [Joel Bakan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-bakan/) > [The corporation is the dominant and dominating institution of our time. Governments identify growth and development with commercial corporations and shower them with subsidies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-kierans/the-corporation-is-the-dominant-and-dominating-institution-of-our/) [Eric Kierans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-kierans/) ## More by Alfred P. Sloan > [The business of business is business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-p-sloan/the-business-of-business-is-business/) [Alfred P. Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-p-sloan/) > [Never inject a man into the top, if it can be avoided. In a big organization, to have to do that, I think, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-p-sloan/never-inject-a-man-into-the-top-if-it-can-be-avoided-in-a-big/) [Alfred P. Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-p-sloan/) > [There is no resting place for an enterprise in a competitive economy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-p-sloan/there-is-no-resting-place-for-an-enterprise-in-a-competitive-economy/) [Alfred P. Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-p-sloan/) > [Only in more production and in new production can the American standard of living be increased and the economy be sound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-p-sloan/only-in-more-production-and-in-new-production-can-the-american/) [Alfred P. Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-p-sloan/) > [Give a man a clear-cut job and let him do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-p-sloan/give-a-man-a-clear-cut-job-and-let-him-do-it/) [Alfred P. Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-p-sloan/) > [ \[Could\] motor cars could be produced \[in a country like Germany\] and sold in competition in the American market . . . .In my… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-p-sloan/could-motor-cars-could-be-produced-in-a-country-like-germany-and-sold/) [Alfred P. Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-p-sloan/) > [If we are all in agreement on the decision - then I propose we postpone further discussion of this matter until our next meeting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-p-sloan/if-we-are-all-in-agreement-on-the-decision-then-i-propose-we-postpone/) [Alfred P. Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-p-sloan/) > [Advanced engineering always, like advanced everything else, brings down upon it the discredit of ridicule of minds who cannot see so far.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-p-sloan/advanced-engineering-always-like-advanced-everything-else-brings-down/) [Alfred P. Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-p-sloan/) > [Take my assets - but leave me my organization and in five years I'll have it all back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-p-sloan/take-my-assets-but-leave-me-my-organization-and-in-five-years-i-ll/) [Alfred P. Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-p-sloan/) > [There has to be this pioneer, the individual who has the courage, the ambition to overcome the obstacles that always develop when one tries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-p-sloan/there-has-to-be-this-pioneer-the-individual-who-has-the-courage-the/) [Alfred P. Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-p-sloan/) > [Competition is the final price determinant and competitive prices may result in profits which force you to accept a rate of return less than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-p-sloan/competition-is-the-final-price-determinant-and-competitive-prices-may/) [Alfred P. Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-p-sloan/) > [The final act of business judgment is intuitive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-p-sloan/the-final-act-of-business-judgment-is-intuitive/) [Alfred P. Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-p-sloan/) > [I see no reason why 1931 should not be an extremely good year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-p-sloan/i-see-no-reason-why-1931-should-not-be-an-extremely-good-year/) [Alfred P. Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-p-sloan/) > [Work hard. There is no short cut.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-p-sloan/work-hard-there-is-no-short-cut/) [Alfred P. Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-p-sloan/) > [In any organization men would move up form the bottom to the top. That develops loyalty, ambition and talent, because there is a chance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-p-sloan/in-any-organization-men-would-move-up-form-the-bottom-to-the-top-that/) [Alfred P. Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-p-sloan/) [Explore all 27 Alfred P. Sloan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-p-sloan/) ## More Corporation quotes > [It makes no sense to talk of the social obligations of the corporation without reference to its economic obligations. The two are intertwined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-r-raymond/it-makes-no-sense-to-talk-of-the-social-obligations-of-the/) [Lee R. Raymond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-r-raymond/) > [The corporation is not an independent "person" with its own rights, needs, and desires that regulators must respect. It is a state created tool…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-bakan/the-corporation-is-not-an-independent-person-with-its-own-rights/) [Joel Bakan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-bakan/) > [The 'Occupy' movement seems to have found a central theme to its 2012 movement around overturning 'the corporation as a person,' and some legislators…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-battelle/the-occupy-movement-seems-to-have-found-a-central-theme-to-its-2012/) [John Battelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-battelle/) > [“It’s so easy to lose faith and become lost in all of the politics of the world. That’s why we need the arts. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/it-s-so-easy-to-lose-faith-and-become-lost-in-all-of-the-politics-of/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [To equate a corporation with a person is a travesty of justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-m-kunin/to-equate-a-corporation-with-a-person-is-a-travesty-of-justice/) [Madeleine M. Kunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-m-kunin/) > [Did you ever expect a corporation to have a conscience, when it has no soul to be damned, and nobody to be kicked?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-thurlow-1st-baron-thurlow/did-you-ever-expect-a-corporation-to-have-a-conscience-when-it-has-no/) [Edward Thurlow, 1st Baron Thurlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-thurlow-1st-baron-thurlow/) > [“a big corporation will destroy your life, your hopes and your dreams accidentally, without even noticing, and still won’t give a damn afterwards.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-h-thomson/a-big-corporation-will-destroy-your-life-your-hopes-and-your-dreams/) [L.H. Thomson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-h-thomson/) > [A corporation has no soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-coke/a-corporation-has-no-soul/) [Edward Coke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-coke/) > [A record company used to be a very good thing, but they ended up soul-destroyingly trapping people in the accounting department. And you couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lydon/a-record-company-used-to-be-a-very-good-thing-but-they-ended-up-soul/) [John Lydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lydon/) > [I used the aspects of being a woman to my advantage, but I worked for myself, not a big corporation, so I was lucky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-von-furstenberg/i-used-the-aspects-of-being-a-woman-to-my-advantage-but-i-worked-for/) [Diane von Furstenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-von-furstenberg/) > [I don't think any business has to give up legal protections in order to simplify. The main consideration is that whatever protection, rights and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-siegel/i-don-t-think-any-business-has-to-give-up-legal-protections-in-order/) [Alan Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-siegel/) > [The definition of fascism is The marriage of corporation and state](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benito-mussolini/the-definition-of-fascism-is-the-marriage-of-corporation-and-state/) [Benito Mussolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benito-mussolini/) > [For better or for worse, our company (The News Corporation Ltd.) is a reflection of my thinking, my character, my values.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/for-better-or-for-worse-our-company-the-news-corporation-ltd-is-a/) [Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/) > [I've been working with them for a couple years and a couple of projects. Essentially Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is the chief litigator for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dean-anderson/i-ve-been-working-with-them-for-a-couple-years-and-a-couple-of/) [Richard Dean Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dean-anderson/) > [I've always found a way to make my way, and now I've had the fortune of being hired by a great company - Chrysler…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-wurzelbacher/i-ve-always-found-a-way-to-make-my-way-and-now-i-ve-had-the-fortune/) [Joe Wurzelbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-wurzelbacher/) [Browse all 205 Corporation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corporation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have never issued an order since I have been the operating head of the corporation.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alfred P. 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