--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As my great friend Aristotle said, 'If…" description: "\"As my great friend Aristotle said, 'If you cannot command, you must learn to listen.' I'm not the hierarchy here. I am a worker bee.\" — Shaquille O'Neal" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/213/shaquille-o-neal-659_basketball_as-my-great-friend-aristotle-said-if-you_2725076.jpg" --- # As my great friend Aristotle said, 'If you cannot command… ![“As my great friend Aristotle said, 'If you cannot command, you must learn to listen.' I'm not the hierarchy here. I am a worker bee.” quote by Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/213/shaquille-o-neal-659_basketball_as-my-great-friend-aristotle-said-if-you_2725076.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/213/shaquille-o-neal-659_basketball_as-my-great-friend-aristotle-said-if-you_2725076.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/213/shaquille-o-neal-659_basketball_as-my-great-friend-aristotle-said-if-you_2725076.jpg) > “As my great friend Aristotle said, 'If you cannot command, you must learn to listen.' I'm not the hierarchy here. I am a worker bee.” [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Leadership requires listening when you cannot command; humility over hierarchy. **In simple terms:** Listen if you cannot lead. Key Takeaway Practice active listening. Themes leadership humility learning Mood thoughtful instructive Type advisory philosophical When to use this quote - team projects - management training - conflict resolution Key Concepts communication power dynamics Questions to Reflect On - When have you listened to lead? - What does listening achieve? A Different Perspective Listening alone may not solve authority issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aristotle Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aristotle-said-299559/) [Basketball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/basketball/) [Bees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bees/) [Command](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/command/) [Friend Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friend-aristotle-2910968/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Great friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-friend/) [Here i am](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/here-i-am/) [Hierarchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hierarchy/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Leader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leader/) [Learn Listen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learn-listen/) [Listen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/listen/) [Listen Hierarchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/listen-hierarchy-2910969/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Worker bees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worker-bees-208785/) [Workers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/workers/) ## Related quotes > [I'm just getting better and better. It's just like a bunch of worker bees protecting the king bee, because I'm not a queen bee.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/i-m-just-getting-better-and-better-it-s-just-like-a-bunch-of-worker/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [Plato is my friend, Aristotle is my friend, but my greatest friend is truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/plato-is-my-friend-aristotle-is-my-friend-but-my-greatest-friend-is/) [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) > [“Amicus Plato — amicus Aristoteles — magis amica veritas. ( Plato is my friend — Aristotle is my friend — but my greatest friend is truth .)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/amicus-plato-amicus-aristoteles-magis-amica-veritas-plato-is-my/) [Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/) > [For all my friends in the media who like quotes, mark this quote down. From this day on I'd like to be known as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/for-all-my-friends-in-the-media-who-like-quotes-mark-this-quote-down/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [Liberals, communists, socialists, look at people as workers. They look at 'em as ants, worker ants, worker bees and so forth, and they just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/liberals-communists-socialists-look-at-people-as-workers-they-look-at/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [“Reading shows us how to be better human beings, not just successful worker bees.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donalyn-miller/reading-shows-us-how-to-be-better-human-beings-not-just-successful/) [Donalyn Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donalyn-miller/) > [I have a real worker-bee mentality. Just show up, just do it. 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The Queen is their slave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/worker-bees-can-leave-even-drones-can-fly-away-the-queen-is-their/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“...Aristotle said I am a rational animal; I say I am an angel with an incredible capacity for beer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-held-evans/aristotle-said-i-am-a-rational-animal-i-say-i-am-an-angel-with-an/) [Rachel Held Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-held-evans/) > [“No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness,” Aristotle said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susannah-cahalan/no-great-mind-has-ever-existed-without-a-touch-of-madness-aristotle/) [Susannah Cahalan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susannah-cahalan/) > [As Aristotle said, 'Excellence is a habit.' I would say furthermore that excellence is made constant through the feeling that comes right after one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/as-aristotle-said-excellence-is-a-habit-i-would-say-furthermore-that/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [Was it Aristotle who said the human soul is composed of reason, will, and desire?” “No, that was Plato. Aristotle and Plato were as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/was-it-aristotle-who-said-the-human-soul-is-composed-of-reason-will/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“When I get honest I admit that I am a bundle of paradoxes. I believe and I doubt, I hope and I get discouraged.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brennan-manning/when-i-get-honest-i-admit-that-i-am-a-bundle-of-paradoxes-i-believe/) [Brennan Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brennan-manning/) > [Being reproached for giving to an unworthy person, Aristotle said, I did not give it to the man, but to humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/being-reproached-for-giving-to-an-unworthy-person-aristotle-said-i/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## More by Shaquille O'Neal > [ I failed, I think, seven \[or\] eight times before I finally got my first \[championship\]. It was just, you know, just about me growing… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/i-failed-i-think-seven-or-eight-times-before-i-finally-got-my-first/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [And if the big dog ain't me, then the house won't get guarded - period.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/and-if-the-big-dog-ain-t-me-then-the-house-won-t-get-guarded-period/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [And I want to do it the right way, like everybody else, not just a famous figurehead that gets a job because he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/and-i-want-to-do-it-the-right-way-like-everybody-else-not-just-a/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [I don't send messages, I'm not a fax machine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/i-don-t-send-messages-i-m-not-a-fax-machine/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [I told our guys they must not have cable because Antoine Walker knows how to play, Derek Anderson can play, Shandon Anderson knows how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/i-told-our-guys-they-must-not-have-cable-because-antoine-walker-knows/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [I was really upset. I felt like they tried to limit me, whoever 'they' may be. So I just said to myself third quarter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/i-was-really-upset-i-felt-like-they-tried-to-limit-me-whoever-they/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [Keep in mind, I'm not allowed to be tough. I'm tamed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/keep-in-mind-i-m-not-allowed-to-be-tough-i-m-tamed/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [I'm still the baddest expletive in the world. Yeah, I'm getting older, but Kareem got older. Hakeem got older. I don't need Earthlings' respect.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/i-m-still-the-baddest-expletive-in-the-world-yeah-i-m-getting-older/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [Write this: Since my boy is the coach, I'm going to try out for the Dolphins next year. Tight end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/write-this-since-my-boy-is-the-coach-i-m-going-to-try-out-for-the/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [Everybody talks about being a role model. But if you look up the word 'role' in a dictionary, it describes playing a part. Everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/everybody-talks-about-being-a-role-model-but-if-you-look-up-the-word/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [Why don't you bring your face up here and let me punch it? Then you can tell me (if I'm stronger).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/why-don-t-you-bring-your-face-up-here-and-let-me-punch-it-then-you/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [I'm known as The Big Baryshnikov.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/i-m-known-as-the-big-baryshnikov/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [Enunciation, diction, all that stuff. None of that is in my personality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/enunciation-diction-all-that-stuff-none-of-that-is-in-my-personality/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [I told Leonard, in the immortal words of Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible 2, 'I'm going on vacation. If I tell you where I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/i-told-leonard-in-the-immortal-words-of-tom-cruise-in-mission/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [Stats don't matter. I care about winning, not stats. If I score 0 points and we win I'm happy. If I score 50, 60…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/stats-don-t-matter-i-care-about-winning-not-stats-if-i-score-0-points/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) [Explore all 422 Shaquille O'Neal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) ## More Basketball quotes > [We love playing together and we love adversity. You know, back-to-back, the two best teams in the East.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-nash/we-love-playing-together-and-we-love-adversity-you-know-back-to-back/) [Steve Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-nash/) > [I don't look at myself as a basketball coach. I look at myself as a leader who happens to coach basketball.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-krzyzewski/i-don-t-look-at-myself-as-a-basketball-coach-i-look-at-myself-as-a/) [Mike Krzyzewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-krzyzewski/) > [There is no doubt in my mind and I know in my time, there will be a Canadian basketball player playing for Toronto Raptors, 100%](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masai-ujiri/there-is-no-doubt-in-my-mind-and-i-know-in-my-time-there-will-be-a/) [Masai Ujiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masai-ujiri/) > [I learned so much from Sue about the Xs and Os of the game of basketball.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-summitt/i-learned-so-much-from-sue-about-the-xs-and-os-of-the-game-of/) [Pat Summitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-summitt/) > [ I failed, I think, seven \[or\] eight times before I finally got my first \[championship\]. It was just, you know, just about me growing… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/i-failed-i-think-seven-or-eight-times-before-i-finally-got-my-first/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [It's not how big you are, it's how big you play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wooden/it-s-not-how-big-you-are-it-s-how-big-you-play/) [John Wooden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wooden/) > [Basketball isn't just a sport to me ; it's my ecstasy !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamira-robinson/basketball-isn-t-just-a-sport-to-me-it-s-my-ecstasy/) [Jamira Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamira-robinson/) > [It's similar to basketball: when you go to different gyms and win or lose, you learn something new. 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And you can teach the boys to pass at angles and run in curves. - University of Kansas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darryl-dawkins/well-you-can-certainly-teach-free-throwing-and-you-can-teach-the-boys/) [Darryl Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darryl-dawkins/) > [Practice to beat the best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-bennett/practice-to-beat-the-best/) [Dick Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-bennett/) > [I'm a competitive person. I love the game of basketball. I'm a gym rat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-pierce/i-m-a-competitive-person-i-love-the-game-of-basketball-i-m-a-gym-rat/) [Paul Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-pierce/) > [I am both humbled and honored to receive the Honda Sports Award for women's basketball.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brittney-griner/i-am-both-humbled-and-honored-to-receive-the-honda-sports-award-for/) [Brittney Griner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brittney-griner/) > [What I've talked about the entire series and throughout this playoffs is about intensity and effort, desire and will of our players.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-laimbeer/what-i-ve-talked-about-the-entire-series-and-throughout-this-playoffs/) [Bill Laimbeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-laimbeer/) [Browse all 5,387 Basketball quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/basketball/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "As my great friend Aristotle said, 'If you cannot command, you must learn to listen.' 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