Leadership Wit & Wisdom from Churchill
Dr. Greg Morris
C.E.O. | Leadership Consultant | Author | Keynote Speaker | Educator
One of the most influential world leaders of the 20th century was Sir Winston Churchill. Today marks the 142nd anniversary of his birth. Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill (November 30, 1874 – January 24, 1965) was a statesman in the truest sense of the word. He served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 - 1945 and again from 1951 - 1955. Churchill was also a British Army officer, an historian, a writer, and an artist. In 1953 he won the Nobel Prize in Literature for his overall, lifetime body of work and in 1963, he became the first of only eight people to be made an honorary citizen of the United States.
In a 2002 poll, Churchill was voted the Greatest Briton of all time. His popularity and regard comes largely for his courageous leadership during WW2. Following the resignation of Neville Chamberlain, Churchill became Prime Minister in 1940. As an eloquent and well spoken statesman, it was his speeches and radio broadcasts that galvanized a nation as he inspired British resistance, especially during the very difficult days of 1940–41 when Britain stood almost alone in its opposition to Hitler. He served as as Prime Minister until victory over Nazi Germany had been secured in 1945.
As an exceptionally articulate communicator, Churchill’s speeches are legendary. On the anniversary of his birth, it’s only fitting that we honor Sir Winston with some of his most enduring quotes (at least attributed to him) that distill his wisdom and leadership in a nutshell. Here are some of his gems:
“A lie goes round the world while the truth is still lacing up its boots.”
“There are two things that are more difficult than making an after-dinner speech: climbing a wall which is leaning toward you and kissing a girl who is leaning away from you.”
“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.”
“The longer you can look back, the further you can look forward."
“The difference between leadership and mere management is communication.”
“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”
“The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.”
“However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.”
“This is no time for ease and comfort. It is time to dare and endure.”
“I am certainly not one of those who need to be prodded. In fact, if anything, I am the prod.”
“Dictators ride to and fro upon tigers which they dare not dismount. And the tigers are getting hungry.”
“For myself I am an optimist - it does not seem to be much use being anything else.”
“An optimist sees an opportunity in every calamity; a pessimist sees a calamity in every opportunity.”
Do you have a favorite Churchill quote? If so, let us know.
Stay the Course,
Dr. Greg Morris
__________________________________
Special thanks to my friend Beatrice Prosser-Snelling, project manager at Churchill’s Chartwell that reminded me that today was Churchill's birthday. For more information on their vital work of historical preservation visit https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/ , https://www.winstonchurchill.org/ or https://www.royal-oak.org/
_________________________________
Dr. Greg Morris serves as the president and founder of Leadership Dynamics?, a non-profit corporation committed to the training and development of leaders and their organizations. He has authored In Pursuit of Leadership: Principle and Practices from the Life of Moses.
For more information visit LeadershipDynamics.org, FB.com/LeadershipDynamics or contact [email protected] You can also follow Greg and Leadership Dynamics? on Twitter at @LdshpDynamics
Business & Marketing Consultant for London
8 年Amazing word smith... Thanks for the reminder, Bryony Leatherbarrow MPhil MCIM ACCA
emotional intelligence at work
8 年At least four of your quotations are defintively not by Churchill; at least three more are definitively without evidence that he said them; for all the others, bar two, there is no evidence on the internet of their authorship by Churchill. Some of them are so trite that it amonts to character assassination to suggest he said them For example, “The longer you can look back, the further you can look forward". Why anyone would imagine Churchill said this is beyond belief - clearly someone who knows nothing about Churchill. The two real quotations are: “Dictators ride to and fro upon tigers which they dare not dismount. And the tigers are getting hungry.” “For myself I am an optimist - it does not seem to be much use being anything else.”
Celebrating 28 years with Faithful & True!
8 年It was on October 29, 1941, Prime Minister Winston Churchill visited Harrow School to speak to the students. When he was invited to give a speech, Churchill stood before the students and said, "Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, give up. Never give up. Never give up. Never give up." And then, Sir Winston took his seat.
Career Development Advisor, Sales Trainer, LinkedIn Learning Instructor, Author of, "Mastering the Basics" Hit the ?? to be notified of my latest posts.
8 年As you say, so many gems! How about? "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give."