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Theory is a dirty word in some managerial quarters. That is rather curious, because all of us, managers especially, can no more get along without theories than libraries can get along without catalogs — and for the same reason: theories help us make sense of incoming information.

— Henry Mintzberg Managers Not MBAs (2005)

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Leadership

More quotes by Henry Mintzberg

Data don't generate theory – only researchers do that.

The structuring of organizations (1979)

Effective managing therefore happens where art, craft, and science meet. But in a classroom of students without managerial experience, these have no place to meet — there is nothing to do.

Managers Not MBAs (2005)

Anecdotal data is not incidental to theory development at all, but an essential part of it

Managers Not MBAs (2005)

Learning is not doing; it is reflecting on doing. T. S. Eliot writes in one of his poems, “We had the experience but missed the meaning.” Reflection is about getting the meaning.

Managers Not MBAs (2005)

Strategic planning is not strategic thinking. Indeed, strategic planning often spoils strategic thinking, causing managers to confuse real vision with the manipulation of numbers.

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

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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: Henry Mintzberg (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.