Apr 6th, 2015 - Category: Strategy
In case this is a rough Monday already, here is a great inspirational quote from the book “Skunk Works” by Ben Rich. It was written in 1996 and the quote was from decades before that, but it is still excellent. Skunk Works was the elite, secret division of Lockheed that created breakthroughs such as the U-2 surveillance aircraft, the SR-71 Blackbird, and the stealth bomber. It was the original industry “disrupter,” much like the startups of today.
The quote is a result of a conversation between the author and his boss Kelly Johnson when Ben was applying to an advanced program at Harvard Business School. Kelly wrote Ben a glowing recommendation, but made the following comment:
“I’ll teach you all you need to know about running a company in one afternoon, and we’ll both go home early to boot. You don’t need Harvard to teach you that it’s more important to listen than to talk. You can get straight A’s from all your Harvard profs, but you’ll never make the grade unless you’re decisive: even a timely wrong decision is better than no decision. The final thing you’ll need to know is don’t half-heartedly wound problems - kill them dead. That’s all there is to it. Now you can run this goddamn place. Now, go on home and pour yourself a drink.”
Now that’s an example of great management skills!