The Career Encouragement Blog

Some of Bob's Favorite Quotes

If you  enjoy Management Quotes by Bob you may enjoy this list he shared with me of some of his favorite quotes by Samuel Goldwyn.  My favorite is #6.  Stay tuned for more of Bob's pithy sayings in the future...

1. I don't think anyone should write their autobiography until after they're dead.
2. I don't want any yes-men around me. I want everybody to tell me the truth even if it costs them their jobs.
3. I had a monumental idea this morning, but I didn't like it.
4. I read part of it all the way through.
5. Let's have some new cliches.
6. Spare no expense to save money on this one.
7. When someone does something good, applaud! You will make two people happy.
8. You've got to take the bitter with the sour.
9. A verbal contract isn't worth the paper it's written on.

More Management Quotes by Bob

Bob is at it again...

• Pick fights big enough that they're worth going for, and small enough to win.

When used: We were discussing a pesky sub-contractor who was trying to take over one of my clients. 

Why he said it:  I was contemplating calling the sub and telling him to back off.  Bob thought this step was unnecessary - the client had no intention of switching vendors, and my confronting the sub likely wouldn't cause him to change his nefarious ways.

Lesson learned:  Focus on the real challenges that will move your career forward (in my case, developing proprietary content to secure more large clients).  Ignore the minor annoyances that take up time and don't impact business results.

Management Quotes by Bob

One of my clients - let's call him "Bob" - is a master at simplifying the complicated and bringing fun to work.  He has a habit of delivering nuanced feedback via pithy sayings. In this way he is able to give helpful career advice without having to "spell it out" and embarrass his direct reports. As a result, Bob is an excellent leader of people.  A few of his sayings that I have particular enjoyed recently include:

• "I am the choir." 

When used: I was explaining - for the 3rd time - why we needed to have a job description written before we started interviewing "friends of friends" for a potential opening. 

Why he said it:  I was pushing for process with Bob, and not to the employee who wanted us to interview his friend. 

Lesson learned:  Save your wordy explanations for the people who need them.

• "If you're not having fun you're doing something wrong."

When used: We were discussing our search for a Sales Director.

Why he said it:  I was relating the strange interview I had with one of our top candidates and how poorly she performed face-to-face compared to the phone screen.  I felt like I'd wasted 2 hours of time that could have been spent more productively if I'd read her signals better during the phone screen.

Lesson learned:  Don't take yourself so seriously.  Expect to have challenges at work and move past them.

• "That's a career decision."

When used: Said to a Direct Report who was disagreeing about a work assignment.

Why he said it:  He had clearly stated the expectations and business rationale for the assignment at least twice (and possibly 3 times) and the employee was still challenging him.

Lesson learned:  Robust dialogue and differences in opinions are a good thing, but at the end of the day, your boss is your boss and has the final say.

• "If we all walked around clothed in our humility, most of us would be naked."

When used: We were discussing the results of one of my projects.

Why he said it:  I was boasting about my performance.

Lesson learned:  Once you've got an audience with the decision maker, let your work speak for itself. 

I'll keep my ears open for other great sayings by Bob and share them in the future