---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Great companies with the way they work…"
description: "\"Great companies with the way they work, first start with great leaders.\" — Steve Ballmer"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bb/steve-ballmer-3273_business_great-companies-with-the-way-they-work-f_2112022.png"
---

#  Great companies with the way they work, first start with…

![“Great companies with the way they work, first start with great leaders.” quote by Steve Ballmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bb/steve-ballmer-3273_business_great-companies-with-the-way-they-work-f_2112022.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bb/steve-ballmer-3273_business_great-companies-with-the-way-they-work-f_2112022.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bb/steve-ballmer-3273_business_great-companies-with-the-way-they-work-f_2112022.png)

> “Great companies with the way they work, first start with great leaders.”

[Steve Ballmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-ballmer/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Effective organizations begin with strong, visionary leadership that sets culture and direction.

**In simple terms:** Good leaders are the foundation of great companies.

Key Takeaway

Develop leadership skills and empower teams.

Themes

leadership organization culture

Mood

inspirational pragmatic

Type

advice philosophical

When to use this quote

- startup founding
- corporate restructuring
- team building
- change management

Key Concepts

vision strategy team dynamics

Questions to Reflect On

- What qualities make a leader great?
- How can leaders foster innovation?

A Different Perspective

Leadership alone cannot fix structural or market challenges.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Companies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/companies/) [Company](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/company/) [Customer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customer/) [Great leader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-leader/) [Great leaders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-leaders/) [Inspiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiration/) [Leader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leader/) [Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) [Management](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/management/)

## Related quotes

> [Great companies in the way they work, start with great leaders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-ballmer/great-companies-in-the-way-they-work-start-with-great-leaders/)

[Steve Ballmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-ballmer/)

> [Great companies have high cultures of accountability, it comes with this culture of criticism I was talking about before, and I think our culture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-ballmer/great-companies-have-high-cultures-of-accountability-it-comes-with/)

[Steve Ballmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-ballmer/)

> [Great leadership and great companies aren't built overnight, and they're not built without capital. And capital can sometimes be counter-productive to building a great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-hartz/great-leadership-and-great-companies-aren-t-built-overnight-and-they/)

[Julia Hartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-hartz/)

> [All companies of any size have to continue to push to make sure you get the right leaders, the right team, the right people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-ballmer/all-companies-of-any-size-have-to-continue-to-push-to-make-sure-you/)

[Steve Ballmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-ballmer/)

> [This is all about having great leaders who can drive agile innovation and agile decision-making.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-ballmer/this-is-all-about-having-great-leaders-who-can-drive-agile-innovation/)

[Steve Ballmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-ballmer/)

> [Not one of the good-to-great companies focused obsessively on growth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-c-collins/not-one-of-the-good-to-great-companies-focused-obsessively-on-growth/)

[James C. Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-c-collins/)

> [Great companies start because the founders want to change the world... not make a fast buck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-kawasaki/great-companies-start-because-the-founders-want-to-change-the-world-2/)

[Guy Kawasaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-kawasaki/)

> [One of the best investors around, Joel Greenblatt, has written a popular, charming and funny book about investing in great companies at low P/E…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-einhorn/one-of-the-best-investors-around-joel-greenblatt-has-written-a/)

[David Einhorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-einhorn/)

> [The great companies get built by their founders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-andreessen/the-great-companies-get-built-by-their-founders/)

[Marc Andreessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-andreessen/)

> [The top 25 at every company really set the tone. Everyone watches them. They need to be present and focused. No slackers at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-silverstein/the-top-25-at-every-company-really-set-the-tone-everyone-watches-them/)

[Michael J. Silverstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-j-silverstein/)

> [Truly great companies are built on ideals, not just deals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/truly-great-companies-are-built-on-ideals-not-just-deals/)

[Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/)

> [Great companies don't just have one founding moment. They have many founding moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-dorsey/great-companies-don-t-just-have-one-founding-moment-they-have-many/)

[Jack Dorsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-dorsey/)

> [Most great companies in tech have been built by personal referrals for the first...at least 100 employees and often many more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-altman/most-great-companies-in-tech-have-been-built-by-personal-referrals/)

[Sam Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-altman/)

> [Good-to-great companies set their goals and strategies based on understanding; comparison companies set their goals and strategies based on bravado.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-c-collins/good-to-great-companies-set-their-goals-and-strategies-based-on/)

[James C. Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-c-collins/)

> [The more entrepreneurs in the world that are getting their ideas financed, the more great companies there are going to be that we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-wilson/the-more-entrepreneurs-in-the-world-that-are-getting-their-ideas/)

[Fred Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-wilson/)

## More by Steve Ballmer

> [I think PCs are going to continue to shift in form factor. The real question is: What's a PC?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-ballmer/i-think-pcs-are-going-to-continue-to-shift-in-form-factor-the-real/)

[Steve Ballmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-ballmer/)

> [There's a lot of Google fascination out there and we share it, and we're going to compete, we're going to compete very, very hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-ballmer/there-s-a-lot-of-google-fascination-out-there-and-we-share-it-and-we/)

[Steve Ballmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-ballmer/)

> [I’d like to own Microsoft shares until I either give something to charity or I die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-ballmer/i-d-like-to-own-microsoft-shares-until-i-either-give-something-to/)

[Steve Ballmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-ballmer/)

> [Every NBA arena has six cameras in the ceiling. The question is what does the software do with video feeds? How to surface that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-ballmer/every-nba-arena-has-six-cameras-in-the-ceiling-the-question-is-what/)

[Steve Ballmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-ballmer/)

> [I think there are lots of opportunities to improve the product. When you read the press, people say, "Oh, the product needs improvement." I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-ballmer/i-think-there-are-lots-of-opportunities-to-improve-the-product-when/)

[Steve Ballmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-ballmer/)

> [The way I do things I usually always prefer to have a very clear strategy and be very focused. At the same time to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-ballmer/the-way-i-do-things-i-usually-always-prefer-to-have-a-very-clear/)

[Steve Ballmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-ballmer/)

> [Accessible design is good design.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-ballmer/accessible-design-is-good-design/)

[Steve Ballmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-ballmer/)

> [At Microsoft I had many years of experience and history and seeing connections. With my direct reports, the job at Microsoft was to delegate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-ballmer/at-microsoft-i-had-many-years-of-experience-and-history-and-seeing/)

[Steve Ballmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-ballmer/)

> [ \[Apple and RIM\] are probably restricted, in some sense, to a certain maximum. ... If you want to reach more people than that, you… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-ballmer/apple-and-rim-are-probably-restricted-in-some-sense-to-a-certain/)

[Steve Ballmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-ballmer/)

> [This is all about having great leaders who can drive agile innovation and agile decision-making.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-ballmer/this-is-all-about-having-great-leaders-who-can-drive-agile-innovation/)

[Steve Ballmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-ballmer/)

> [I think the biggest mistake most people make when they pick their first job is they don't worry enough about whether they'll love the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-ballmer/i-think-the-biggest-mistake-most-people-make-when-they-pick-their/)

[Steve Ballmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-ballmer/)

> [ I don't think there is one size that fits all \[\] I've been to too many meetings with journalists who spent the first 10… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-ballmer/i-don-t-think-there-is-one-size-that-fits-all-i-ve-been-to-too-many/)

[Steve Ballmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-ballmer/)

> [In many ways I think the company's doing quite a good job. If you look at the transition to Office 365 we started when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-ballmer/in-many-ways-i-think-the-company-s-doing-quite-a-good-job-if-you-look/)

[Steve Ballmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-ballmer/)

> [The lifeblood of our business is that R&amp;D spend. There's nothing that flows through a pipe or down a wire or anything else. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-ballmer/the-lifeblood-of-our-business-is-that-r-d-spend-there-s-nothing-that/)

[Steve Ballmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-ballmer/)

> [Certainly, we continue to bring in new people. We'll hire, net new, over 4,000 people this year, and attract great people into the company.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-ballmer/certainly-we-continue-to-bring-in-new-people-we-ll-hire-net-new-over/)

[Steve Ballmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-ballmer/)

[Explore all 134 Steve Ballmer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-ballmer/)

## More Business quotes

> [Companies with cultures that celebrate diverse opinions and encourage the exchange of ideas have an advantage when solving difficult problems. A company that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-mcmillon/companies-with-cultures-that-celebrate-diverse-opinions-and-encourage/)

[Doug McMillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-mcmillon/)

> [You can laugh at me, but I understand show business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ksenia-sobchak/you-can-laugh-at-me-but-i-understand-show-business/)

[Ksenia Sobchak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ksenia-sobchak/)

> [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/)

[Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/)

> [I'm a business first and foremost so whatever my business is, it's separate from my personal. It's like whatever I do business wise, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/snoop-dogg/i-m-a-business-first-and-foremost-so-whatever-my-business-is-it-s/)

[Snoop Dogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/snoop-dogg/)

> [Many early-stage entrepreneurs make one simple mistake: Describing this 'big picture' in vague concepts and words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunil-nagaraj/many-early-stage-entrepreneurs-make-one-simple-mistake-describing/)

[Sunil Nagaraj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunil-nagaraj/)

> [Nobody has a crystal ball, and part of evolving a business plan is to say, 'I might have said we're going left, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-kavanaugh/nobody-has-a-crystal-ball-and-part-of-evolving-a-business-plan-is-to/)

[Ryan Kavanaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-kavanaugh/)

> [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/)

[G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/)

> [ “\[S\]ometimes, when you are a food person, the possible irrelevance of what you are doing doesn’t cross your mind until it’s too late. (Once,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/s-ometimes-when-you-are-a-food-person-the-possible-irrelevance-of/)

[Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/)

> [If you have a different mindset, you will have a different outcome: if you make different choices from your peers, your life will then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-ma/if-you-have-a-different-mindset-you-will-have-a-different-outcome-if/)

[Jack Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-ma/)

> [“Some say the Earth is angry Because he wants no company; I say the Earth is angry Because he lives alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/some-say-the-earth-is-angry-because-he-wants-no-company-i-say-the/)

[N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/)

> [ If the State does not acquire supremacy over \[vast private\] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy-over-vast-private-enterprises/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/)

> [It's not just that families can't buy a home or start a business without some savings tucked away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cooper/it-s-not-just-that-families-can-t-buy-a-home-or-start-a-business/)

[Jim Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cooper/)

> [I'm not into business at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-mercury/i-m-not-into-business-at-all/)

[Freddie Mercury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-mercury/)

> [I've long believed one of the mainsprings of our own liberty has been the widespread ownership of property among our people and the expectation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/i-ve-long-believed-one-of-the-mainsprings-of-our-own-liberty-has-been/)

[Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/)

[Browse all 39,016 Business quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Great companies with the way they work, first start with great leaders.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Steve Ballmer"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-ballmer/great-companies-with-the-way-they-work-first-start-with-great-leaders/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Business"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-ballmer/great-companies-with-the-way-they-work-first-start-with-great-leaders/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bb/steve-ballmer-3273_business_great-companies-with-the-way-they-work-f_2112022.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bb/steve-ballmer-3273_business_great-companies-with-the-way-they-work-f_2112022.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bb/steve-ballmer-3273_business_great-companies-with-the-way-they-work-f_2112022.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Great companies with the way they work, first start with great leaders.” — Steve Ballmer",
                "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": "Steve Ballmer",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-ballmer/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Great companies with the way they...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-ballmer/great-companies-with-the-way-they-work-first-start-with-great-leaders/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-ballmer/great-companies-with-the-way-they-work-first-start-with-great-leaders/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
