Jeffrey Pfeffer

Being memorable equals getting picked.

— Jeffrey Pfeffer

You can't be normal and expect abnormal returns.

— Jeffrey Pfeffer

Knowledge is only useful if you do something with it.

— Jeffrey Pfeffer

Point at solutions instead of at each other.

— Jeffrey Pfeffer

Most organisations say they want creativity, but really they do not.

— Jeffrey Pfeffer

“When two people always agree, one of them is unnecessary.”

— Jeffrey Pfeffer

“(like the BMW mechanic who handed Robert Sutton a survey and pleaded for a five on a five-point scale, because otherwise he…

— Jeffrey Pfeffer

Take care of your customers, and you will have a successful business. Don't, and you won't. The airlines need to figure this…

— Jeffrey Pfeffer

“Thinking is very hard work. And management fashions are a wonderful substitute for thinking.”

— Jeffrey Pfeffer

The best path to power combines two things: 1) a path that not many are taking and 2) something that you are…

— Jeffrey Pfeffer

“Michael Schrage is right: “A collaboration of incompetents, no matter how diligent or well-meaning, cannot be successful.”

— Jeffrey Pfeffer

“The sun’s rays, focused, are much more powerful than they are without focus. The same is true for people seeking power.”

— Jeffrey Pfeffer

The class focuses intensely on making people more comfortable with doing a wider range of things - such as networking, self-promotion, building…

— Jeffrey Pfeffer

People who don't have as much power as they would like often begin by attributing their difficulties to the environment - competitors,…

— Jeffrey Pfeffer

I don't think eliminating the knowing-doing gap depends on the amount of knowledge around. It depends much more on people's attitudes and…

— Jeffrey Pfeffer

You are more likely to acquire power by narrowing your focus and applying your energies, like the sun's rays, to a limited…

— Jeffrey Pfeffer

Part of strategy is figuring out what you're good at, figuring out what you're not good at, and then getting yourself in…

— Jeffrey Pfeffer

I am increasingly convinced that people who have power are not necessarily smarter than others. Beyond a certain level of intelligence and…

— Jeffrey Pfeffer

We need to reexamine and reassess the purpose of the corporation, and go back to the idea that senior leadership has responsibilities…

— Jeffrey Pfeffer

People will envy you to the extent that you start out with a group of people and you rise up the organization…

— Jeffrey Pfeffer

Consider the many financial industry executives who walked away with many millions as their organizations failed - I think the expression is…

— Jeffrey Pfeffer

Many of our students want to do what they have done and that has made them successful thus far in their lives:…

— Jeffrey Pfeffer

We now live in an era of the permanent campaign - all marketing and messaging all the time. We clearly live in…

— Jeffrey Pfeffer

I completely reject the idea that working adults need to be treated like infants or worse and not told the realities, harsh…

— Jeffrey Pfeffer

The stories leaders and others tell, few of which are true, are a lousy foundation on which to base any sort of…

— Jeffrey Pfeffer

While it is almost certainly true that leaders ought to eat last, the evidence on the ever-widening difference between CEO and average…

— Jeffrey Pfeffer

Doing the right thing is important, which is where strategy comes in. But doing that thing well—execution—is what sets companies apart. After…

— Jeffrey Pfeffer

The single biggest barrier to effective leadership is, in my view, the leadership industry itself. Instead of telling people the skills and…

— Jeffrey Pfeffer

“Between 1999 and 2002, the Yankees paid over three times what the A’s paid for the average player on their roster. The…

— Jeffrey Pfeffer

Volumes in the series on Lyndon Johnson, including Master of the Senate and The Path Power, describe how Johnson created resources out…

— Jeffrey Pfeffer

In any branding strategy, you need to figure out what is the image you want to project. Then behave accordingly. And above…

— Jeffrey Pfeffer

Successful organizations understand the importance of implementation, not just strategy, and, moreover, recognize the crucial role of their people in this process.

— Jeffrey Pfeffer

Career success depends on people's educational credentials, their length of service (job tenure), unfortunately it is still the case on their race,…

— Jeffrey Pfeffer

Lyndon Johnson (with Abraham Lincoln close behind). Johnson was able to get things done, to read other people, and to adjust his…

— Jeffrey Pfeffer

Personal growth and professional development require mostly being treated like an adult, which is pretty much the opposite of what happens in…

— Jeffrey Pfeffer

Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals is instructive in painting a realistic portrayal of Lincoln and his methods for accomplishing his objectives.…

— Jeffrey Pfeffer

Trust is about keeping commitments, but in many instances, circumstances change and organizations therefore shed commitments, things such as retiree medical benefits,…

— Jeffrey Pfeffer

We give up and don't try. We don't take sufficient chances or risks. We aren't resilient in the face of failure. We…

— Jeffrey Pfeffer

The single most significant change has been the globalization of labor markets. Product markets - trade in goods - have been globalizing…

— Jeffrey Pfeffer

Witness Donald Trump's current presidential campaign. So first people need to find the white spaces, the unexploited or underexploited niches where there…

— Jeffrey Pfeffer