Quotes by Gary Hamel

Most of us understand that innovation is enormously important. It's the only insurance against irrelevance. It's the only guarantee of long-term customer loyalty. It's the only strategy for out-performing a dismal economy.

— Gary Hamel

Wisdom

A noble purpose inspires sacrifice, stimulates innovation and encourages perseverance.

— Gary Hamel

Courage

Trust is not simply a matter of truthfulness, or even constancy. It is also a matter of amity and goodwill. We trust those who have our best interests at heart, and mistrust those who seem deaf to our concerns.

— Gary Hamel

Love

As human beings, we are the only organisms that create for the sheer stupid pleasure of doing so. Whether it's laying out a garden, composing a new tune on the piano, writing a bit of poetry, manipulating a digital photo, redecorating a room, or inventing a new chili recipe - we are happiest when we are creating.

— Gary Hamel

Life

The real damper on employee engagement is the soggy, cold blanket of centralized authority. In most companies, power cascades downwards from the CEO. Not only are employees disenfranchised from most policy decisions, they lack even the power to rebel against egocentric and tyrannical supervisors.

— Gary Hamel

Wisdom

As the great grandchildren of the industrial revolution, we have learned, at last, that the heedless pursuit of more is unsustainable and, ultimately, unfulfilling. Our planet, our security, our sense of equanimity and our very souls demand something better, something different.

— Gary Hamel

Education

To escape the curse of commoditization, a company has to be a game-changer, and that requires employees who are proactive, inventive and zealous.

— Gary Hamel

Wisdom

You can't build an adaptable organization without adaptable people - and individuals change only when they have to, or when they want to.

— Gary Hamel

Wisdom

An enterprise that is constantly exploring new horizons is likely to have a competitive advantage in attracting and retaining talent.

— Gary Hamel

Wisdom

Top-down authority structures turn employees into bootlickers, breed pointless struggles for political advantage, and discourage dissent.

— Gary Hamel

Courage

Remarkable contributions are typically spawned by a passionate commitment to transcendent values such as beauty, truth, wisdom, justice, charity, fidelity, joy, courage and honor.

— Gary Hamel

Courage

In a democracy, you don't need anyone's permission to form a new political party, publish a politically charged article, or organize a 'tea party.' And in open markets, individuals are free to buy and invest as they see fit.

— Gary Hamel

Wisdom

A well-conceived product excels at what it does. It's close to being functionally flawless - like a Ziploc bag, a radio from Tivoli Audio, a Philips Sonicare toothbrush, a Nespresso coffee maker or Google's home page.

— Gary Hamel

Wisdom

The fact is, society is made more hospitable by every individual who acts as if 'do unto others' really was a rule.

— Gary Hamel

Wisdom

Fact is, inventing an innovative business model is often mostly a matter of serendipity.

— Gary Hamel

Wisdom

An uplifting sense of purpose is more than an impetus for individual accomplishment, it is also a necessary insurance policy against expediency and impropriety.

— Gary Hamel

Wisdom

While one should never underestimate the ability of risk-besotted financiers to wreak havoc, the real threat to capitalism isn't unfettered financial cunning. It is, instead, the unwillingness of executives to confront the changing expectations of their stakeholders.

— Gary Hamel

Wisdom

To create an organization that's adaptable and innovative, people need the freedom to challenge precedent, to 'waste' time, to go outside of channels, to experiment, to take risks and to follow their passions.

— Gary Hamel

Freedom

Today, no leader can afford to be indifferent to the challenge of engaging employees in the work of creating the future. Engagement may have been optional in the past, but it's pretty much the whole game today.

— Gary Hamel

Success

I live a half mile from the San Andreas fault - a fact that bubbles up into my consciousness every time some other part of the world experiences an earthquake. I sometimes wonder whether this subterranean sense of impending disaster is at least partly responsible for Silicon Valley's feverish, get-it-done-yesterday work norms.

— Gary Hamel

Success

An employee who's one of hundreds, rather than one of a few, is unlikely to feel personally responsible for helping the organization adapt and change.

— Gary Hamel

Wisdom

I'm not one of those professors whose office is encased floor-to-ceiling with books. By the way, I think academics do this to intimidate their visitors.

— Gary Hamel

Wisdom

In most companies, the formal hierarchy is a matter of public record - it's easy to discover who's in charge of what. By contrast, natural leaders don't appear on any organization chart.

— Gary Hamel

Wisdom

It's not just that individuals have lost faith in the integrity of their leaders, it's that they no longer believe society's most powerful institutions are acting in their interests.

— Gary Hamel

Wisdom