20 Quotes Every Modern Business Leader Should Reflect On Now

It’s one thing to read an inspiring quote on business or leadership from Henry Ford or Thomas Edison — but really, what do those guys know about the leadership challenges of today’s business leaders?

Data, AI, businesses as platforms, the sharing economy, robots, millennials, work-life balance, startups and thought leaders… Modern leaders face much different problems and different circumstances than our predecessors, and so we need a new generation of successful leaders to inspire us.

Take these 20 as a good place to start:

1. "The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority." — Ken Blanchard
2. "Done is better than perfect." — Sheryl Sandberg
3. "Information is the oil of the 21st century, and analytics is the combustion engine.” — Peter Sondergaard, Senior Vice President, Gartner
4. “The world is one big data problem.” — Andrew McAfee
5. "Leadership is the art of giving people a platform for spreading ideas that work." — Seth Godin
6. “Don’t be intimidated by what you don’t know. That can be your greatest strength and ensure that you do things differently from everyone else.” – Sara Blakely 
7. "My job is not to be easy on people. My job is to take these great people we have and to push them and make them even better." — Steve Jobs, CEO Apple
8. “Lots of companies don’t succeed over time. What do they fundamentally do wrong? They usually miss the future.” — Larry Page, Google
9. “Today, competition can come from just about anywhere at any time. No business is completely safe, especially in the long-term.” ― Phil Simon, author
10. “I also think that employees these days expect less of a separation of work and personal life. That doesn’t mean that work tasks should encroach upon our personal time, but it does mean that employees today expect more from the companies for whom they work. Why shouldn’t your workplace reflect your values? Why is ‘giving back’ not a part of our jobs? The answer for us is to integrate philanthropy with work.” ― Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO of Salesforce
11. “We used to live in a world where there were people, private citizens, a world where there are businesses, and now we’re living in a world where people can become businesses in 60 seconds.” — Brian Chesky, CEO Airbnb
12. “You don’t have to make yourself miserable to be successful. It’s natural to look back and mythologize the long nights and manic moments of genius, but success isn’t about working hard, it’s about working smart.” ― Andrew Wilkinson, founder of MetaLab
13. “Simply put: we don't build services to make money; we make money to build better services.” – Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook
14. “I don’t think a lot of founders really want to hear this, but you set the tone from day one, so who you are is going to be reflected in the culture of the early team. So for us, that was a culture of being scrappy, but honest. Working hard, but also having that sense of balance and sort of respecting one’s life outside the office. Making it happen no matter what.” — Julia Hartz, co-founder of Eventbrite
15. "The future of business comes down to relevance and the ability to understand how technology affects decision making and behavior to the point where the recognition of new opportunities and the ability to strategically adapt to them becomes a competitive advantage." — Brian Solis, author
16. “Talented people need organizations less than organizations need talented people.” — Dan Pink, Author
17. “Vulnerability is the absolute heartbeat of innovation and creativity. There can be zero innovation without vulnerability.” — Dr. Brené Brown
18. “One thing is certain in business. You and everyone around you will make mistakes.” — Richard Branson
19. “In this ever-changing society, the most powerful and enduring brands are built from the heart. They are real and sustainable. Their foundations are stronger because they are built with the strength of the human spirit, not an ad campaign. The companies that are lasting are those that are authentic.” — Howard Schultz, Starbucks CEO
20. “The way I think about culture is that modern humans have radically changed the way that they work and the way that they live. Companies need to change the way they manage and lead to match the way that modern humans actually work and live. We’re trying to re-craft culture in a way that really matches that. I think that 99% of companies are kind of stuck in the ‘90s when it comes to their culture.” — Brian Halligan, HubSpot CEO

This is just a small selection of quotes that made me think over the recent months. What are your favorite quotes for modern business leaders? I’d be interested to see them in the comments below.

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