--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are times when even the best…" description: "\"There are times when even the best manager is like the little boy with the big dog, waiting to see where the dog wants to go so he can take him there.\"..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e5/lee-iacocca-3170_animal_there-are-times-when-even-the-best-manag_1627986.png" --- # There are times when even the best manager is like the… ![“There are times when even the best manager is like the little boy with the big dog, waiting to see where the dog wants to go so he can take him there.” quote by Lee Iacocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e5/lee-iacocca-3170_animal_there-are-times-when-even-the-best-manag_1627986.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e5/lee-iacocca-3170_animal_there-are-times-when-even-the-best-manag_1627986.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e5/lee-iacocca-3170_animal_there-are-times-when-even-the-best-manag_1627986.png) > “There are times when even the best manager is like the little boy with the big dog, waiting to see where the dog wants to go so he can take him there.” [Lee Iacocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-iacocca/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A manager must observe and follow the direction of the team’s needs rather than imposing his own agenda. **In simple terms:** Good leadership follows the team’s lead. Key Takeaway Listen first, act accordingly. Themes leadership adaptability teamwork Mood thoughtful strategic Type advice leadership When to use this quote - project planning - team meetings - client negotiations - crisis response Key Concepts management empathy situational awareness Questions to Reflect On - How can you better sense your team’s needs? - When should you assert your own vision? A Different Perspective If the team’s direction is unclear, the manager may stall. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Best man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-man/) [Best manager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-manager/) [Dog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dog/) [Management](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/management/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Why did it happen? The big dog got fed. 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She has heard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-roizen/my-dog-wants-the-entrepreneurial-community-to-know-how-thankful-she/) [Heidi Roizen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-roizen/) > [There is no snooze button on a dog that wants to go out for a piss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azgraybebly-joslan/there-is-no-snooze-button-on-a-dog-that-wants-to-go-out-for-a-piss/) Azgraybebly Joslan > [I'm not trying to be anyone's label or manager or anything like that. 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P. Box](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-e-p-box/) > [I like to play 'Football Manager.' And I like to start in lower teams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diogo-jota/i-like-to-play-football-manager-and-i-like-to-start-in-lower-teams/) [Diogo Jota](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diogo-jota/) > [In England, your manager is like a boss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-wright-phillips/in-england-your-manager-is-like-a-boss/) [Bradley Wright-Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradley-wright-phillips/) ## More by Lee Iacocca > [The right decision is the wrong decision if it's made too late.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/the-right-decision-is-the-wrong-decision-if-it-s-made-too-late/) [Lee Iacocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-iacocca/) > [“Apply yourself. Get all the education you can, but then...do something. Don't just stand there, make it happen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/apply-yourself-get-all-the-education-you-can-but-then-do-something/) [Lee Iacocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-iacocca/) > [The ability to concentrate and to use time well is everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/the-ability-to-concentrate-and-to-use-time-well-is-everything/) [Lee Iacocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-iacocca/) > [There are times in everyone's life when something constructive is born out of adversity... when things seem so bad that you've got to grab…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/there-are-times-in-everyone-s-life-when-something-constructive-is/) [Lee Iacocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-iacocca/) > [In a completely rational society, the best of us would be teachers and the rest of us would have to settle for something else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/in-a-completely-rational-society-the-best-of-us-would-be-teachers-and/) [Lee Iacocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-iacocca/) > [It was emotional when Chrysler sold out to the Germans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/it-was-emotional-when-chrysler-sold-out-to-the-germans/) [Lee Iacocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-iacocca/) > [We are continually faced by great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/we-are-continually-faced-by-great-opportunities-brilliantly-disguised/) [Lee Iacocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-iacocca/) > [The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/the-greatest-discovery-of-my-generation-is-that-human-beings-can/) [Lee Iacocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-iacocca/) > [No matter what you've done for yourself or for humanity, if you can't look back on having given love and attention to your own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/no-matter-what-you-ve-done-for-yourself-or-for-humanity-if-you-can-t/) [Lee Iacocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-iacocca/) > [Be creative. Use unconventional thinking. And have the guts to carry it out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/be-creative-use-unconventional-thinking-and-have-the-guts-to-carry-it/) [Lee Iacocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-iacocca/) > [ They're on you day and night. Their oversight is just too extreme \[. . .\] That's why our 10-year loan, we paid it back… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/they-re-on-you-day-and-night-their-oversight-is-just-too-extreme-that/) [Lee Iacocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-iacocca/) > [I hire people brighter than me and then I get out of their way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/i-hire-people-brighter-than-me-and-then-i-get-out-of-their-way/) [Lee Iacocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-iacocca/) > [I have found that being honest is the best technique I can use. Right up front, tell people what you're trying to accomplish and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/i-have-found-that-being-honest-is-the-best-technique-i-can-use-right/) [Lee Iacocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-iacocca/) > [Your legacy should be that you made it better than it was when you got it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/your-legacy-should-be-that-you-made-it-better-than-it-was-when-you/) [Lee Iacocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-iacocca/) > [Never rest on your oars as a boss. If you do, the whole company starts sinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/never-rest-on-your-oars-as-a-boss-if-you-do-the-whole-company-starts/) [Lee Iacocca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-iacocca/) [Explore all 138 Lee Iacocca quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-iacocca/) ## More Animal quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) Mak\_786 > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/) [Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“it is a federal system of sadistic torture, vivisection, and animal genocide, which has been carried on for decades under the fraudulent guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobias/it-is-a-federal-system-of-sadistic-torture-vivisection-and-animal/) [Michael Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tobias/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/) [Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There are times when even the best manager is like the little boy with the big dog, waiting to see where the dog wants to go so he can take him there.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lee Iacocca" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/there-are-times-when-even-the-best-manager-is-like-the-little-boy/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Animal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/there-are-times-when-even-the-best-manager-is-like-the-little-boy/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e5/lee-iacocca-3170_animal_there-are-times-when-even-the-best-manag_1627986.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e5/lee-iacocca-3170_animal_there-are-times-when-even-the-best-manag_1627986.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e5/lee-iacocca-3170_animal_there-are-times-when-even-the-best-manag_1627986.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There are times when even the best manager is like the little boy with the big dog, waiting to see where the…” — Lee Iacocca", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Lee Iacocca", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-iacocca/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There are times when even the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/there-are-times-when-even-the-best-manager-is-like-the-little-boy/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-iacocca/there-are-times-when-even-the-best-manager-is-like-the-little-boy/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```