Quotes By Lee Iacocca

In a completely rational society, the best of us would be teachers and the rest of us would have to settle for something else.

Apply yourself. Get all the education you can, but then, by God, do something. Don't just stand there, make it happen.

We've got to pause and ask ourselves: How much clean air do we need?

In times of great stress or adversity, it's always best to keep busy, to plow your anger and your energy into something positive.

I have found that being honest is the best technique I can use. Right up front, tell people what you're trying to accomplish and what you're willing to sacrifice to accomplish it.

If you want to make good use of your time, you've got to know what's most important and then give it all you've got.

Start with good people, lay out the rules, communicate with your employees, motivate them and reward them. If you do all those things effectively, you can't miss.

My father always used to say that when you die, if you've got five real friends, then you've had a great life.

It was emotional when Chrysler sold out to the Germans.

In the end, all business operations can be reduced to three words: people, product, and profits.

The discipline of writing something down is the first step toward making it happen.

In a corporation, there can only be one guy in the end: the CEO.

There are times when even the best manager is like the little boy with the big dog, waiting to see where the dog wants to go so he can take him there.

I always go back to Harry Truman: Should we drop an atomic bomb to save 100,000 lives? That's a hell of a decision to make. Did he make that decision by himself? No, he had advisers.

Motivation is everything. You can do the work of two people, but you can't be two people. Instead, you have to inspire the next guy down the line and get him to inspire his people.

The only rock I know that stays steady, the only institution I know that works, is the family.

The most successful businessman is the man who holds onto the old just as long as it is good, and grabs the new just as soon as it is better.

People want economy and they will pay any price to get it.

A guy named Charlie Beacham was my first mentor at Ford. He taught me the importance of the dealers, and he rubbed my nose in the retail business.

You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can't get them across, your ideas won't get you anywhere.

I have always found that if I move with seventy-five percent or more of the facts that I usually never regret it. It's the guys who wait to have everything perfect that drive you crazy.