Anne M. Mulcahy quotes: about learning, leadership, loving what you do, work-life balance, and more.
“You have to live the mission. Love what you do.”
“Who you are, what your values are, what you stand for – they are your anchor, your north star. You won’t find them in a book. You’ll find them in your soul.”
“In a crisis, there is compelling momentum for change. Channel it and use it!”
“When you have that window of opportunity called a crisis, move as quickly as you can, get as much done as you can.”
“Knowing that change is inevitable requires that you create a culture that accepts and embraces change, where people see change to be exciting and a positive challenge.”
“Even under the most difficult circumstances you can have creative flexibility.”
“Creating an environment where everyone is learning and enjoying what they do is the best recipe for success.”
“I learned how to be a learner. When you get in a job, the tendency is to say, ‘I’ve got to know it. I’ve got to give direction to others. I’m in this job because I’m better and smarter.’ I always took a different view, that the key was to identify the people who really knew and learn from them.”
“You should be accumulating really great relationships throughout your career.”
“Being able to write and articulate your thoughts, and to think about messaging in a way that’s important, has definitely proven to be an asset in running a business.”
“Leadership is really at the top of the list.”
“Good leadership is about the company’s success, not your own.”
“Turnaround or growth, it’s getting your people focused on the goal that is still the job of leadership.”
“An important mark of a good leader is to know you don’t know it all and never will.”
“What should a leader be? It’s most important to play to your strengths and not to conform to someone else’s image of leadership. It allows you to have integrity of style and consistency of character.”
“It’s a job, so lighten up and don’t confuse life and work. I put a lot of energy into my work, but it’s still work.”
“You have to talk to frontline employees.”
“There’s nothing quite as powerful as people feeling they can have impact and make a difference. When you’ve got that going for you, I think it’s a very powerful way to implement change.”
“Employees who believe that management is concerned about them as a whole person – not just an employee – are more productive, more satisfied, more fulfilled. Satisfied employees mean satisfied customers, which leads to profitability.”
“Employees are a company’s greatest asset – they’re your competitive advantage. You want to attract and retain the best; provide them with encouragement, stimulus, and make them feel that they are an integral part of the company’s mission.”
“Work-life benefits allow companies meaningful ways for responding to their employees’ needs; they can be a powerful tool for transforming a workforce and driving a business’ success.”
“Businesses need to be 24/7. Individuals don’t.”
“As much as it’s sometimes hard to make choices about where you invest, it’s equally hard to make choices about where you don’t invest and what you eliminate.”
“There is an explosion of information happening, yet people demand quick access to relevant content that cuts through the clutter.”
“There are areas where it’s great to be a fast follower, but it’s hard to pinpoint them in technology. You have to have differentiation.”
“Sustainable development is a proven catalyst.”
“I never expected to be CEO of Xerox. I was never groomed to be CEO of Xerox. It was a total surprise to everyone, including myself.”
“I certainly hadn’t been groomed to become a CEO. I didn’t have a very sophisticated financial background, and I had to make up for my lack of formal training. I had to make up for it with intense on-the-job learning.”
“When I became CEO, I spent the first 90 days on planes traveling to various offices and listening to anyone who had a perspective on what was wrong with the company. I think if you spend as much time listening as talking, that’s time well spent.”
“Advice I received from a Texas customer who said, ‘I was like the farmer whose cow was stuck in the ditch.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, really. How so?’ And he said, ‘That the farmer had to get the cow out of the ditch, had to understand how the cow got in and had to make changes so she never got stuck there again.'”
“I think I am more motivated by fear of failure than a desire to succeed. My experience at Xerox has taught me that crisis is a very powerful motivator. It forces you to make choices that you probably wouldn’t have made otherwise. It intensifies your focus, your competitiveness, your relentless desire to attain best-in-class status. I want to do everything I can to make sure that we don’t lose that now that we’re back on track.”
“Every day I think about that advice and our journey and about where we are. Do we really understand where we are, how we got there and how not to make the same mistakes in the future?”
“I believe strongly that my success as a leader is driven by my commitment to understanding and meeting customers’ requirements as well as developing and nurturing a motivated and proud workforce.”
“If you schmooze and spin your communications, it comes back to bite you in your ability to establish credibility with people.”
“Customers require the effective integration of technologies to simplify their workflow and boost efficiency.”
“Educated and productive young people are needed to help lift their countries out of poverty and create a wealthier, more secure world.”
“When parents are confident that their children will live, they have fewer of them. They invest more in each child’s food, health and education.”
“The Obama campaign is one of the greatest examples of what is possible in the brave new world of 21st Century marketing. They did a masterful job of connecting with minds, personalizing messages, refining old and new media, sending clear messages, and providing the feedback that enabled them to respond to the messages they heard.”
