Joseph Stalin

Gaiety is the most outstanding feature of the Soviet Union.

In the future, there will be fewer but better Russians.

The Red Army and Navy and the whole Soviet people must fight for every inch of Soviet soil, fight to the last drop of blood for our towns and villages…onward, to victory!

Writers are the engineers of human souls.

Gratitude is a sickness suffered by dogs.

Quantity has a quality all its own.

The challenge of leadership is to create change and facilitate growth.

Most great leaders in history that I’ve studied always need to get as wide a range of opinions as possible so that they can have sufficient information to make the right decisions.

I feel like the thing we can do is celebrate people doing great work and create more cultural momentum and awareness that this is an important thing in the world. So when the next economic crisis hits and people are talking about where to cut from the budget, science isn’t the thing.

I judge people based on their capability, honesty, and merit.

Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective management is discipline, carrying it out.

Don’t blame the boss. He has enough problems.

A great leader’s courage to fulfill his vision comes from passion, not position.

When the leader lacks confidence, the followers lack commitment.

I have a very simple rule when it comes to management: hire the best people from your competitors, pay them more than they were earning, and give them bonuses and incentives based on their performance. That’s how you build a first-class operation.

As a leader, the first person I need to lead is me. The first person that I should try to change is me.

Even as entrepreneurs, we rely on people to get things done. We may have the original idea, but moving it forward can involve hundreds of people. Every person becomes integral to the overall success.

You don’t reward failure by promoting those responsible for it, because all you get is more failure.

Teamwork makes the dream work, but a vision becomes a nightmare when the leader has a big dream and a bad team.

A great leader has to be flexible, holding his ground on the major principles but finding room for compromises that can bring people together. A great leader has to be savvy at negotiations so we don’t drown every bill in pork barrel bridges to nowhere. I know how to stand my ground – but I also know that Republicans and Democrats need to find common ground to stand on as well.

Leaders who are effective are leaders who are disciplined in their daily lives.