Quotes from Lee Iacocca


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In the end, all business operations can be reduced to three words: people, product, and profits.


Chrysler builds great cars.


I guess I invented extended warranties, because that's all we had to sell at Chrysler in those days.


Every business and every product has risks. You can't get around it.


We've got to pause and ask ourselves: How much clean air do we need?


If you want to make good use of your time, you've got to know what's most important and then give it all you've got.


I forgot to shake hands and be friendly. It was an important lesson about leadership.


Chrysler invented rebates, I'm sorry to say. I didn't have anything to do with that. A lot of flaky deals were made in order to give the customer enough cash for a down payment.


Any supervisor worth his salt would rather deal with people who attempt too much than with those who try too little.


One of the things the government can't do is run anything. The only things our government runs are the post office and the railroads, and both of them are bankrupt.


It was emotional when Chrysler sold out to the Germans.


The one word that makes a good manager - decisiveness.


There is no substitute for accurate knowledge. Know yourself, know your business, know your men.


There are times when even the best manager is like the little boy with the big dog, waiting to see where the dog wants to go so he can take him there.


The kind of people I look for to fill top management spots are the eager beavers, the mavericks. These are the guys who try to do more than they're expected to do - they always reach.


Talk to people in their own language. If you do it well, they'll say, 'God, he said exactly what I was thinking.' And when they begin to respect you, they'll follow you to the death.


People want economy and they will pay any price to get it.


If a guy is over 25 percent jerk, he's in trouble. And Henry was 95 percent.


I hire people brighter than me and then I get out of their way.


The discipline of writing something down is the first step toward making it happen.