David Maister Quotes

21 quotes in 278 categories

• What you do with your billable time determines your current income, but what you do with your non-billable time determines your future.
• Believe passionately in what you do, and never knowingly compromise your standards and values. Act like a true professional, aiming for true excellence, and the…
• What do I have to do to earn and deserve the key relationships that are going to get me where I want to go?
• Success comes from doing what you enjoy. If you don't enjoy it, how can it be called success?
• A true professional feels no pressure to run up a client's bill, knowing that any reduction in revenues caused by being efficient will be more…
• Professionals have to decide on which subjects they are prepared to give nagging rights
• Truly visionary and successful companies have discovered that there is no conflict between the pursuit of profit and having a pursuit beyond profit.
• Professional is not a label you give yourself - it's a description you hope others will apply to you.
• Stop teaching students that they are the best and the brightest.
• The noble path does win but only if you are prepared to make the investment over a long period of time.
• Focus on being the best you can at what you want to do.
• What is important is what inspires persistence and determination- in other words what you care about.
• When did you feel most fulfilled? When did you impress yourself, or otherwise feel most proud of yourself?
• More than any other factor, it is the people we have to deal with that determine the quality of our work lives.
• No one can manage you if you don't give them permission to do so. But if you are interested in accomplishing as much as you…
• Before a leader can be accepted, let alone succeed, autonomous professionals must agree to be influenced by that person.
• Your task as a leader is to help others to succeed, not to strive only for your own success. If I don't trust your motives,…
• I will accept your influence, guidance and direction if (and only if) I believe that you and I share similar goals.
• I will not accept your guidance and critique unless you are supportive and nurturing. On the other hand, you need to be continually demanding.
• Whether or not your values are operational is crucially determined by whether or not there are consequences for noncompliance.

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