81 Quotes by Anne M. Mulcahy

Turnaround or growth, it’s getting your people focused on the goal that is still the job of leadership.

Who you are, what your values are, what you stand forthey are your anchor, your north star. You won’t find them in a book. You’ll find them in your soul.

One of the things we often miss in succession planning is that it should be gradual and thoughtful, with lots of sharing of information and knowledge and perspective, so that it’s almost a non-event when it happens.

What do you really believe makes a difference in the company? For me it’s really clear. It’s about customers and employees. Everything else follows. If you take care of your customers and you have motivated employees, everything else follows.

Not everybody is created equal, and it’s important for companies to identify those high potentials and treat them differently, accelerate their development and pay them more. That process is so incredibly important to developing first-class leadership in a company.

Good leadership is about the company’s success, not your own.

When I became CEO of Xerox 10 years ago, the company’s situation was dire. Debt was mounting, the stock sinking and bankers were calling. People urged me to declare bankruptcy, but I felt personally responsible for tens of thousands of employees.

Whenever an earthquake or tsunami takes thousands of innocent lives, a shocked world talks of little else. I’ll never forget the wrenching days I spent in Haiti last year for Save the Children just weeks after the earthquake.

We’re living in a different world now in terms of employee needs, and companies have to offer alternative methods for getting the work done. Even under the most difficult circumstances you can have creative flexibility.