Ruth Porat quotes: Alphabet Inc. CFO Ruth Porat’s seven figure phrases.
“Stick to your true north – build greatness for the long term.”
“My whole life has been about embracing new opportunities that help me. You should always love what you’re doing, but if you change or your work life changes, don’t be rigid. Never think that you are doing everything that you’ll ever be able to do.”
“There was a time when I wasn’t sure how much longer I had, and I began to think back on whether I had any regrets. I don’t, and it’s because I always took the risks people told me not to.”
“Businesses perform better when you have diversity of view in your senior leadership positions. This is not just the right thing to do socially; it’s the right thing to do for your business.”
“Culture is more important than rules and regulations.”
“Liquidity is oxygen for a financial system.”
“If you don’t have ample liquidity and it’s not durable, in times of stress, as you’re looking for liquidity, you’re forced to sell assets at declining prices, which then eats into your capital position, so it becomes this very, very negative cycle. There’s no question that liquidity is sacrosanct.”
“You can’t cost-cut your way to greatness.”
“Unless you stay focused on innovation, you can be disintermediated.”
“Competition is one click away. Innovation happens everywhere. You better have a culture asking for a voice.”
“Recognize that killing a weak idea early is valuable.”
“If you continue to plow ahead in something that is okay, you will miss the opportunity to do something that is great.”
“Growing up in Silicon Valley, during my time at Morgan Stanley and as a member of Stanford’s Board, I’ve had the opportunity to experience firsthand how tech companies can help people in their daily lives.”
“This performance is a testament to the ongoing innovation that is driving our success in mobile search, YouTube, and programmatic advertising, each of which we believe has only begun to scratch the surface. We remain excited about the sizable opportunities that have not yet been tapped.”
“Companies have learned that the more diverse they are at the higher levels, the more likely they are to succeed and make better decisions.”
“The most valuable thing you can have as a leader is clear data.”
“For me, going to work meant that I was in control of my life.”
“Whenever you are looking to invest, obviously know the asset, but you have to look at the tone from the top. Look at leadership, make sure you understand culturally where they are going, because that’s how you avoid being surprised.”
“One thing I always told my clients as a banker and certainly always told my CEOs is ignore the stock price and focus on the long run.”
“If a woman ‘leans in,’ but is leaning against a door that is nailed shut, no amount of leaning will bust down the door.”
“We must hold our organizations accountable where they control the doors by demanding clarity and transparency around succession planning.”
“A sponsor is someone who will take a risk on you and has the power or authority to put you in a position that is the door opener.”
“A mentor can give you advice, but they are not the one who is actually there to say, ‘This might be a risk, but I’m going to take a risk on you,’ and is there and will back you up, and be there when you say, ‘I don’t think that one is right for me.’ In my career the lucky breaks were from the sponsors who took a risk on me.”
“Make sure you’re working for someone confident who is willing to take risks on you, gives you stretch opportunities, and is there to back you if things get tough. And do the same for people on your team.”
“One of the biggest problems women have is they work really hard and put their heads down and assume hard work gets noticed, and hard work for the wrong boss does not get noticed. Hard work for the wrong boss results in one thing – that boss looks terrific, and you get stuck.”
“Women are still not reaching the most senior levels of corporations. This is not the shortcoming of women. We’re talented and smart.”
“I find it so tragic when women think they need to put the other part of their life on hold to a later date so they can accomplish something professionally.”
“When I started, there were very few women at the managing director level and very few who had families, which is something that was important to me. So it’s not like when I looked up I could say, ‘Well, that’s who I want to be.'”
“Since 1987, there are now many more of us as at the higher levels with families, so I think, as role models, we are encouraging more women to stay within banking and rise up through the ranks.”
“I hate the term ‘work-life balance.’ I think it’s a setup, and it’s a trap for all of us. I think what you want is a mix in your life that works. It’s kind of like a kaleidoscope is really boring if it’s two nice even things of glass; you need to get it to mix and change.”
“You just have to do the best you can to stay involved with your work and your home life.”
“On one of those nights where we were working through the night, I came home and my three boys left me a little note because they knew I’d at least come home and shower. In their own words, three different personalities underscored how very proud they were and how important they thought the work was.”
“I have seen too many people in my career think that there is some natural progression to life, with certain career milestones preceding whatever you may want in your personal life. Unfortunately, life doesn’t know it is supposed to follow a schedule.”
Keep going. Look at Larry Page’s quotes next.
