--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The more I move among workers and…" description: "\"The more I move among workers and factories and other plants, the stronger I become convinced that it is advisable to have as [a company] president a p..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f4/b-c-forbes-2124_advisable_the-more-i-move-among-workers-and-factor_2194902.jpg" --- # The more I move among workers and factories and other… ![“The more I move among workers and factories and other plants, the stronger I become convinced that it is advisable to have as [a company] president a practical man, preferably one who has risen from the very bottom of the ladder. Workmen, I find, have far more respect for such men than for…” quote by B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f4/b-c-forbes-2124_advisable_the-more-i-move-among-workers-and-factor_2194902.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f4/b-c-forbes-2124_advisable_the-more-i-move-among-workers-and-factor_2194902.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f4/b-c-forbes-2124_advisable_the-more-i-move-among-workers-and-factor_2194902.jpg) > “The more I move among workers and factories and other plants, the stronger I become convinced that it is advisable to have as \[a company\] president a practical man, preferably one who has risen from the very bottom of the ladder. Workmen, I find, have far more respect for such men than for collar-and-cuff executives knowing little or nothing about the different kinds of work which have to be done by the workers. Wherever circumstances call for placing a financier or lawyer or a papa's son at the head of a large organization, he should be made chairman or some other title, but not president.” [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Leaders who rose from the ground floor earn genuine respect, unlike detached executives. **In simple terms:** Leaders with hands‑on experience command respect. Key Takeaway Promote from within. Themes leadership respect authenticity Mood pragmatic inspirational Type business motivational When to use this quote - company management - career advancement - employee morale - succession planning Key Concepts organizational behavior social hierarchy Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance insider knowledge with external innovation? - What systems ensure merit‑based promotion? A Different Perspective Promoting insiders may limit fresh perspectives from external expertise. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Company](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/company/) [Executives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/executives/) [Lawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lawyer/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Organization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organization/) [Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plant/) [President](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/president/) [Son](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/son/) [Workers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/workers/) ## Related quotes > [“You keep the title of 'president' even if you served only one term. The same goes for rapists.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christy-leigh-stewart/you-keep-the-title-of-president-even-if-you-served-only-one-term-the/) [Christy Leigh Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christy-leigh-stewart/) > [Our co-founder and company president, Jim Levy, came from a record industry background and understood the marketing and promotion of artists as well as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-crane/our-co-founder-and-company-president-jim-levy-came-from-a-record/) [David Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-crane/) > [Never pay the slightest attention to what a company president ever says about his stock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-baruch/never-pay-the-slightest-attention-to-what-a-company-president-ever/) [Bernard Baruch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-baruch/) > [The world belongs to who doesn't feel. The primary condition to be a practical man is the absence of sensitivity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/the-world-belongs-to-who-doesn-t-feel-the-primary-condition-to-be-a/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [The practical man is the adventurer, the investigator, the believer in research, the asker of questions, the man who refuses to believe that perfection…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-harrower/the-practical-man-is-the-adventurer-the-investigator-the-believer-in/) Henry Harrower > [I came here as a practical man, to talk, not simply on the question of peace and war, but to treat another question which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cobden/i-came-here-as-a-practical-man-to-talk-not-simply-on-the-question-of/) [Richard Cobden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cobden/) > [“Here there is no doubt that timidity and a total lack of personal initiative have always been regarded among us as the chiefest and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/here-there-is-no-doubt-that-timidity-and-a-total-lack-of-personal/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [Hopefully, Donald Trump's a very practical man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-beck/hopefully-donald-trump-s-a-very-practical-man/) [Glenn Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-beck/) > [“I'm afraid I'm a practical man,' said the doctor with gruff humour, 'and I don't bother much about religion and philosophy.' 'You'll never be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/i-m-afraid-i-m-a-practical-man-said-the-doctor-with-gruff-humour-and/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [A practical man is a man who practices the errors of his forefathers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/a-practical-man-is-a-man-who-practices-the-errors-of-his-forefathers/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [I am a plain practical man, not one of your theorists and splitters of hairs and choppers of logic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-g-frazer/i-am-a-plain-practical-man-not-one-of-your-theorists-and-splitters-of/) [James G. Frazer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-g-frazer/) > [It must be for truth's sake, and not for the sake of its usefulness to humanity, that the scientific man studies Nature. The application…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-agassiz/it-must-be-for-truth-s-sake-and-not-for-the-sake-of-its-usefulness-to/) [Louis Agassiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-agassiz/) > [“When the eyes say one thing, and the tongue another, a practical man relies on the language of the first.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/when-the-eyes-say-one-thing-and-the-tongue-another-a-practical-man/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In practice, such trifles as contradictions in principle are easily set aside; the faculty of ignoring them makes the practical man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/in-practice-such-trifles-as-contradictions-in-principle-are-easily/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [“One nation, under God, with consciousness – the practical man serves the highest abstraction with juggling training.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bauvard/one-nation-under-god-with-consciousness-the-practical-man-serves-the/) [Bauvard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bauvard/) ## More by B. C. Forbes > [Our future and our fate lie in our wills more than in our hands, for our hands are but the instruments of our wills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/our-future-and-our-fate-lie-in-our-wills-more-than-in-our-hands-for/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [What one thing does the world need most today-apart, that is, from the all-inclusive thing we call righteousness? Aren't you inclined to agree that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/what-one-thing-does-the-world-need-most-today-apart-that-is-from-the/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [Are soft-hearted people handicapped in business? You have heard a businessman say of someone else, He's all right, but he's too soft-hearted… To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/are-soft-hearted-people-handicapped-in-business-you-have-heard-a/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [Search and you will find that at the base and birth of every great business organization was an enthusiast, man consumed with earnestness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/search-and-you-will-find-that-at-the-base-and-birth-of-every-great/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [A big business man was telling Henry Ford about a coach driver of super-expertness with his whip. The driver was telling how he could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/a-big-business-man-was-telling-henry-ford-about-a-coach-driver-of/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [Better to be occasionally cheated than perpetually suspicious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/better-to-be-occasionally-cheated-than-perpetually-suspicious/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [Honesty pays dividends both in dollars and in peace of mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/honesty-pays-dividends-both-in-dollars-and-in-peace-of-mind/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [Timing is everything. Tell me how a young man spends his evenings and I will tell you how far he is likely to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/timing-is-everything-tell-me-how-a-young-man-spends-his-evenings-and/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [To succeed, we must have the will to succeed, we must have stamina, determination, backbone, perseverance, self-reliance, and faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/to-succeed-we-must-have-the-will-to-succeed-we-must-have-stamina/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [There are two brands of discontent: the brand that merely fosters greed and snarling and back-biting, and the brand that inspires greater and greater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/there-are-two-brands-of-discontent-the-brand-that-merely-fosters/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [Which class is happiest, the rich, the middle class or the poor? A very successful executive of a large organization touches upon this vital…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/which-class-is-happiest-the-rich-the-middle-class-or-the-poor-a-very/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [Are your desires purely selfish? Do your tastes run to a grand home, automobiles, fine clothes, an abundance of amusements, and so forth? If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/are-your-desires-purely-selfish-do-your-tastes-run-to-a-grand-home/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [When you delve deep enough, you find that practically every great fortune and great enterprise in America have sprung from the courageous enterprise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/when-you-delve-deep-enough-you-find-that-practically-every-great/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [It can be set down as a broad, general principle that we cannot indulge in idleness and abundance during both the first and second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/it-can-be-set-down-as-a-broad-general-principle-that-we-cannot/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [The Christmas spirit brings home to us-or should bring home to us-the profound Biblical truth that it is more blessed to give than to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/the-christmas-spirit-brings-home-to-us-or-should-bring-home-to-us-the/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) [Explore all 184 B. C. Forbes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) ## More Advisable quotes > [Where large sums of money are concerned, it is advisable to trust nobody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/where-large-sums-of-money-are-concerned-it-is-advisable-to-trust/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [These are the experiences I wish to record in this book, which should really be called The Diary of a Palaeontologist. But in committing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-heinrich-ralph-von-koenigswald/these-are-the-experiences-i-wish-to-record-in-this-book-which-should/) Gustav Heinrich Ralph von Koenigswald > [Marriage is like a three-speed gearbox - affection, friendship, love. It is not advisable to crash your gears and go right through to love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-ustinov/marriage-is-like-a-three-speed-gearbox-affection-friendship-love-it/) [Peter Ustinov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-ustinov/) > [It was under a solemn consciousness of the dangers from ecclesiastical ambition, the bigotry of spiritual pride, and the intolerance of sects... that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-story/it-was-under-a-solemn-consciousness-of-the-dangers-from/) [Joseph Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-story/) > [I believe if you want to convey a complex philosophy, it's advisable to keep it simple: day-to-day lingo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amish-tripathi/i-believe-if-you-want-to-convey-a-complex-philosophy-it-s-advisable/) [Amish Tripathi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amish-tripathi/) > [In the present state of human society, however, We deem it advisable that the wage-contract should, when possible, be modified somewhat by a contract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-pius-xi/in-the-present-state-of-human-society-however-we-deem-it-advisable/) [Pope Pius XI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-pius-xi/) > [When you live with a woman you learn something every day. So far I have learned that long hair will clog up the shower…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-niffenegger/when-you-live-with-a-woman-you-learn-something-every-day-so-far-i/) [Audrey Niffenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-niffenegger/) > [I know we promised Haymitch, we'd do exactly what they said, but I don't think he considered this angle.' 'Where is Haymitch, anyway? Isn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/i-know-we-promised-haymitch-we-d-do-exactly-what-they-said-but-i-don/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [Vast quantities of U.S. bombers, tanks and guns have been sent against Ho Chi Minh and his freedom-fighters; and now we are told that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-robeson/vast-quantities-of-u-s-bombers-tanks-and-guns-have-been-sent-against/) [Paul Robeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-robeson/) > [The only thing that it is advisable to know in any language is the numerals; and even there, you can do a lot with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/the-only-thing-that-it-is-advisable-to-know-in-any-language-is-the/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [One had better put on gloves before handling the New Testament. 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