Business quotes:

In democracies, nothing is more great or more brilliant than commerce: It attracts the attention of the public and fills the imagination of the multitude; all energetic passions are directed towards it.

Alexis de Tocqueville.

 

Most of us never recognize opportunity until it goes to work in our competitor’s business.

P. L. Andarr.

 

The morale of an organization is not built from the bottom up; it filters from the top down.

Peter B. Kyne.

 

A business like an automobile, has to be driven, in order to get results.

B. C. Forbes.

 

You can take my business, burn up my building, but give me my people and I’ll build the business right back again.

Henry Ford.

 

The worst crime against working people is a company which fails to operate at a profit.

Samuel Gompers.

 

Small business is the biggest business of all.

J. E. Murray.

 

The secret of successful retailing is to give your customers what they want.

Sam Walton.

 

Business is never good business until it makes a friend.

F. D. Van Amburgh.

 

The most important adage and the only adage is, the customer comes first, whatever the business, the customer comes first.

Kerry Stokes.

 

Belief in oneself is one of the most important bricks in building any successful venture.

Frank Gifford.

 

No matter how wide ranging your experience, there is simply no way to acquire all the wisdom you need to make your business thrive.

Donald Trump.

 

Aspiring to a small business that does what it does very well is a noble pursuit.

Narenda Rocherolle.

 

Fear is a very, very important factor in entrepreneurial success.

Ted Green.

 

Entrepreneurship is neither a science nor an art. It is a practice.

Peter Drucker.

 

Half the time men think they are talking business, they are wasting time.

Edgar Watson Howe.

 

The Rules of Acquisition, No. 855 to No. 871.

855^th Rule: Deceit is always all the more appropriate an action to perform when in a better position to be actively deceived.

 

856^th Rule: As many ways to progress that are unnecessary must be eliminated in planning to find a way to progress that works.

 

857^th Rule: Taking no risks wherever that would only open you up to other risks cannot be a viable option to pursue.

 

858^th Rule: Minimize the risks that can be minimized and be prepared to take high levels of risk where they cannot be only wherever it is acceptable.

 

859^th Rule: The risk which puts everything on the line which is also unnecessary to take is always one risk too many to be realistically entertained.

 

860^th Rule: The only purpose of taking risks is to be able to take the appropriate risk that gives the best chance of success in achieving a known goal.

 

861^st Rule: If something cannot be done then that constraint should be tested thoroughly to see if you have limited your thinking unnecessarily.

 

862^nd Rule: Advantages shall need to be nurtured and appreciated when held or they will lose their immediate usefulness.

 

863^rd Rule: Always remain able to decide whether or not you like where you are going.

 

864^th Rule: Always remain able to decide whether or not you have something relevant you can do next.

 

865^th Rule: Working towards an end shall always remain a more powerful mover of events than waiting to see what happens next.

 

866^th Rule: The opportunity to be ineffective shall remain almost limitless, unless you are clear about how to set about exploiting an opportunity.

 

867^th Rule: Provided that honesty is maintained about the causes of a previous success are adhered to then they may also be renewed.

 

868^th Rule: Good habits may persist as tenaciously as bad ones but to keep them so they will also need understanding just as much.

 

869^th Rule: The quality of decisions taken rather than the speed they were taken will matter most to the results of decision-making.

 

870^th Rule: To be understood complexity may be broken down into its constituent parts, and once understood only then be manipulated for your own ends.

 

871^st Rule: Once understood complexity may be manipulated for your own ends, but only if those ends are integrated into a plan of action.

 

The Rules of Acquisition, No. 838 to No. 854.

838^th Rule: Adaptation may open up opportunities for the future only where inquisitiveness essentially guides it.

 

839^th Rule: Limitless variation in developing a viable product can only promote limitless variation in profit margins.

 

840^th Rule: Always know the system being followed well enough so that it is understood well enough to work.

 

841^st Rule: Always choose to work well with a reliable ally rather than choose to work reasonably well with an unreliable one.

 

842^nd Rule: The most effective solution to problems about directions is one that results in one that achieves the objective through assessment.

 

843^rd Rule: To remain relevant to current events something appearing to be out of context first needs placing into context.

 

844^th Rule: Do not expose your weaker side to your competitors, or then allow yourself to become distracted while protecting it.

 

845^th Rule: Never allow something vital to your plans that also lacks clarity not to remain investigated when it appears to have been adequately completed.

 

846^th Rule: Always deal with matters that have previously been underrated but have then become threatening before they become too unwieldy to influence.

 

847^th Rule: What must be observed needs to be judged impartially, and should be observed without participating in it.

 

848^th Rule: Expediency is only justified when it is justified by circumstances, which can only ever be justified by the appreciation of potential consequences.

 

849^th Rule: Achieving an objective must involve the defining and understanding of the objective through focusing on the objective.

 

850^th Rule: Planning by objectives only works when possessing the right criterion for what those objectives should be.

 

851^st Rule: Regardless of expectations, unambitious plans may occasionally also have more chances of success than ambitious plans.

 

852^nd Rule: There is never any point in planning for contingencies after losing your chance of winning a contest.

 

853^rd Rule: Before accepting a plan first ensure to plan for every possible eventuality properly and think carefully about your strategy.

 

854^th Rule: Planning with insufficient facts always invites varying degrees of danger.

 

Business quotes:

A merchant who approaches business with the idea of serving the public well has nothing to fear from the competition.

James Cash Penney.

 

To do business with a clear conscience is an attitude that pays.

Ingvar Kamprad.

 

I think the biggest single thing that causes difficulty in the business world is the short-term view. We become obsessed with it. But it forces bad decisions.

James Sinegal.

 

Today the business of business is becoming the constant invention of new business.

Marshall McLuhan.

 

The main professional responsibility of a person in business is business.

Lee R. Raymond.

 

Thought, not money, is the real business capital.

Harvey S. Firestone.

 

A company is only as good as the people it keeps.

Mary Kay Ash.

 

The sole purpose of business is service. The sole purpose of advertising is explaining the service which business renders.

Leo Burnett.

 

Work out your business in absolute detail. If you’ve got the what-ifs buttoned down (because they will happen) you’ll be able to convince people to support you.

Theo Paphitis.

 

A good entrepreneur needs to be a reasonable risk-taker, someone who is able to consider, calculate and mitigate risk. You can’t be too much of a gambler.

Deborah Meaden.

 

The entrepreneur builds an enterprise; the technician builds a job.

Michael Gerber.

 

The true entrepreneur is a doer, not a dreamer.

Nolan K. Bushnell.

 

The Rules of Acquisition, No. 821 to No. 837.

821^st Rule: Opportunities always follow one another best where they are most easily discovered.

 

822^nd Rule: Openings for new opportunities are best widened by trying out new ideas on them.

 

823^rd Rule: What needs doing becomes clearer only where what needs considering is accounted for.

 

824^th Rule: Being prepared for all eventualities requires actually being prepared for all eventualities.

 

825^th Rule: When a process to arrive at a decision is right then the decision will more often be right.

 

826^th Rule: Always consider all available options, whether they appear viable or not.

 

827^th Rule: Unforeseen consequences are only limited by finite possibilities.

 

828^th Rule: When your judgement is at stake do not let personal feelings impede your judgement.

 

829^th Rule: Never allow an overly complex mechanism to become anything more substantial than an ungovernable device that needs to be controlled.

 

830^th Rule: The environment to be controlled must always remain the one that is most open to manipulation.

 

831^st Rule: Effective method in dispatch in business must centre solely on efficiency in ordering of its tasks.

 

832^nd Rule: When it becomes important to think things through immediately then that is the right time to do it.

 

833^rd Rule: Do not allow yourself to be told how best to proceed at the expense of not knowing what you should be doing next.

 

834^th Rule: Never put your volition under someone else’s control, or let such an abdication of choice rule your acts.

 

835^th Rule: Never become so seduced by the ignorance of stupidity as not to leave enough time to appreciate its subtler forms within possibilities.

 

836^th Rule: Any errors made that go undetected shall also have an immediate effect upon reality that may also essentially go undetected. 

 

837^th Rule: You cannot do what you do not have the time to do you can only do what you have made the time to do.

 

The Rules of Acquisition, No. 805 to No. 820.

805^th Rule: Do not assume intelligence information gathered before an event is relevant solely to its final outcome.

 

806^th Rule: Intelligence information can only be used to guide actions, not dictate their final outcome.

 

807^th Rule: Never come the conclusion in a process that it is an improvement to do unnecessary things faster than was previously accomplished.

 

808^th Rule: Remedies to pressing problems can only rely on the capabilities of those most able to deal with them with what they have to offer.

 

809^th Rule: Chains of unusual circumstances first need breaking before they can be comprehended well enough to be effectively controlled.

 

810^th Rule: The over-controlled situation that remains unresponsive remain an under-controlled problem that is in need of an appropriate solution.

 

811^th Rule: Always avoid adopting habits controlling practices that encourage new practices restricting innovation.

 

812^th Rule: It is not always necessary to start again at the beginning to start to innovate.

 

813^th Rule: To create something original innovation must rely on putting existing ideas together in new ways, not on creating them from nothing.

 

814^th Rule: Any innovation that is dependent upon other innovations should be developed along with them.

 

815^th Rule: A new idea despite it being an obvious mistake to pursue can also become a valuable innovative advancement.

 

816^th Rule: To fear committing mistakes in innovation only ever creates innovative mistakes.

 

817^th Rule: Potentially useless ideas that are presently found to be useless may also eventually become the foundation of useful innovation.

 

818^th Rule: Always see to the insignificant details in a matter before they become too unwieldy to manage.

 

819^th Rule: What can be investigated appropriately in the time available to do so should always be investigated thoroughly.

 

820^th Rule: Opportunity always opens up best on the route to developing larger opportunity.

 

Business quotes:

As far as business affairs are concerned the future captain of industry is hotly engaged in the school of experience obtaining the very knowledge required for his future triumphs.

Andrew Carnegie.

 

Ideally, since 80 percent of your life is spent working, you should start your business around something that is a passion of yours. If you’re into kite-surfing and you want to become an entrepreneur, do it with kite-surfing.

Richard Branson.

 

In the business world, everyone is paid in two coins: cash and experience. Take the experience first; the cash will come later.

Harold Geneen.

 

More and more businessmen are becoming aware that fulfilment of social goals is not generosity but an obligation. They realise that they have to change, or change will be forced on them.

Naval Tata.

 

You don’t start a business because you want to make money. You start a business because you need to compete.

T. J. Rodgers.

 

We survive by breathing but we can’t say we live to breathe. Likewise, making money is very important for a business to survive, but money alone cannot be the reason for business to exist.

Anu Agha.

 

In the foundation and development of a successful enterprise there must be a single-minded pursuit of financial profit.

C. Northcote Parkinson.

 

The entrepreneur takes tremors of dissatisfaction and longing, and transforms them into commercial concerns.

Alain de Botton.

 

The most overrated thing since childbirth is starting your own business.

Popular American business quip.

 

All entrepreneurs are different. One has to be careful when attempting to analyse why some professional entrepreneurs are successful.

Richard Farleigh.

 

The heart and soul of the company is creativity and innovation.

Robert Iger.

 

With a business deal I want my business colleagues to walk out of the room thinking that they are really happy, while I’m thinking exactly the same.

Peter Jones.

 

The Rules of Acquisition, No. 788 to No. 804.

788^th Rule: What stands to be gained from a business deal can only be gained if the decision to acquire it is no less astute than the deal on offer.

 

789^th Rule: To comprehend where a potential business deal is moving follow the line of reasoning leading forwards and backwards from it.

 

790^th Rule: Do not become distracted by what you were looking for to the detriment of what you may find.

 

791^st Rule: Do not concentrate solely on superficial appearances within events, concentrate on the true facts.

 

792^nd Rule: In deciding which direction to choose next never ignore the weight of the evidence in favour of something you would simply prefer to be true.

 

793^rd Rule: Profitable ideas may only create their own fulfilment through being believed to possess the potential for profit.

 

794^th Rule: The manipulation of assets for the aim of producing a desired result is solely for the use of available force.

 

795^th Rule: The manipulation of assets should never be made available in pursuing an action solely for the specific use of force.

 

796^th Rule: Use any appropriate leverage for acquiring quickly that asset which generates most leverage through its acquisition.

 

797^th Rule: Leverage can only be utilized properly in a matter through the process of analysis.

 

798^th Rule: Leverage can only be action to the point which, to be effective, must then also demand the will to act.

 

799^th Rule: Any use of shared intelligence information between business allies should be information best used to create mutual understanding.

 

800^th Rule: Intelligence information remains a useful asset only when restrained with understanding.

 

801^st Rule: Intelligence information only becomes a tangible asset when used with creative thinking.

 

802^nd Rule: Intelligence information can only remain useful for creating a coherent pattern from it only when related to other relevant information.

 

803^rd Rule: Intelligence information is only as useful as the ability to comprehend it when countering the lack of intelligence information.

 

804^th Rule: Intelligence information may only tell you what is there, it cannot tell you what to do with it.

 

The Rules of Acquisition, No. 771 to No. 787.

771^st Rule: When you are uncomfortable with the results of a contractual obligation, see whether the contract still covers it.

 

772^nd Rule: Never underestimate the difficulty of understanding the cultural differences between the parties being dealt with.

 

773^rd Rule: Products produced for a market demand need adapting to the market, not the market needing adapting to the product.

 

774^th Rule: Always know what the market demand for the product produced especially for that market is before investing in it.

 

775^th Rule: Do not assume that all markets work the same way in one place as in another.

 

776^th Rule: Always maximise the returns on your assets at the minimal effort of doing so.

 

777^th Rule: Only go after something worth having where the prize is worth the outlay.

 

778^th Rule: Never spend where savings are possible, or spare where spending is necessary.

 

779^th Rule: Before attempting to work out the cost price of gaining something, first accept that it has one.

 

780^th Rule: Never overpay for an asset you do not want, or overpay for an asset you do want.

 

781^st Rule: Buy assets to improve what there is to be improved, not to divest the purchase of its value.

 

782^nd Rule: Always nurture any opportunity for making agreements in business relations by promoting as many approaches to them as possible.

 

783^rd Rule: Always avoid becoming too attached to any one agreement in a business matter at any one time

 

784^th Rule: Always keep as many approaches to making agreements in a business matter open as possible.

 

785^th Rule: Never seem too desperate to clinch any prospective business agreement while under increasing pressure to do so.

 

786^th Rule: Always try to decrease the chances of being overwhelmed by the collapse of many other potential business deals as possible.

 

787^th Rule: Any business negotiation must always have an objective, but initially that objective can also be obscure.

 

Business quotes:

Most businesses fail, so if you’re going to succeed, it has to be about more than making money.

Richard Branson.

 

You can’t run a business on hope; you run a business on plans, lots of passion, lots of pain, lots of anguish, lots of urgency, because if you don’t, it becomes a hobby.

Theo Paphitis.

 

You read a book from beginning to end. You run a business the opposite way. You start with the end, and then you do everything you must to reach it.

Harold Geneen.

 

In business, or in life—or in military engagements, which I’d studied a lot—it’s the old saying, “Get there firstest with the mostest,” and so forth. And that’s what I tried to do in business, and I did, because the record speaks for itself.

Ted Turner.

 

Always focus on the business—you can be creative but you must always remember that the nuts and bolts of business are the mechanics of any success.

Tommy Hilfiger.

 

The world is constantly changing, businesses need to evolve too. Doing nothing is the worst business decision you’ll ever take.

Deborah Meaden.

 

It has always been my belief that anyone can succeed in business and everyone should be given a chance.

Duncan Bannatyne.

 

A business has to be involving, it has to be fun, and it has to exercise your creative instincts.

Richard Branson.

 

The successful man is the one who finds out what is the matter with his business before his competitors do.

Roy L. Smith.