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All of the great leaders have had one characteristic in common: it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time. This, and not much else, is the essence of leadership.

— John Kenneth Galbraith The Age of Uncertainty (1977)

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Leadership

More quotes by John Kenneth Galbraith

When you see reference to a new paradigm you should always, under all circumstances, take cover.

Wealth, in even the most improbable cases, manages to convey the aspect of intelligence.

It is my guiding confession that I believe the greatest error in economics is in seeing the economy as a stable, immutable structure.

A Journey Through Economic Time (1994)

American university presidents are a nervous breed; I have never thought well of them as a class.

The Age of Uncertainty (1977)

It is a far, far better thing to have a firm anchor in nonsense than to put out on the troubled seas of thought.

The Affluent Society (1958)

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Political leaders are never leaders. For leaders we have to look to the Awakeners! Lao Tse, Buddha, Socrates, Jesus, Milarepa, Gurdjiev, Krishnamurti.

Henry Miller My Bike & Other Friends (1977)

It's simply to say that managers and investors alike must understand that accounting numbers is the beginning, not the end, of business valuation.

Warren Buffett Letters to Shareholders (1957)

Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men. It is the spirit of the men who follow and of the man who leads that gains the victory.

George S. Patton

Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do, and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.

George S. Patton War As I Knew It (1947)

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: John Kenneth Galbraith (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.