Entrepreneurs are all a little crazy. There is a fine line between an entrepreneur and a crazy person. Crazy people see and feel things that others don't. An entrepreneur's dream is often a kind of madness, and it is almost as isolating. What differentiates the entrepreneur from the crazy person is that the former gets other people to believe in his vision.
Anita RoddickI think the leadership of a company should encourage the next generation not just to follow, but to overtake. The duty of leadership is to put forward ideas, symbols, metaphors of the way it should be done, so that the next generation can work out new and better ways of doing the job. The complaint Gordon and I have is that we are not being overtaken by our staff. We would like to be able to say, "We can't keep up with you guys", but, it is not happening.
Anita RoddickPeople I work with are open to leadership that has a vision, but this vision has to be communicated clearly and persuasively, and always, always with passion.
Anita RoddickI want to work for a company that contributes to and is part of the community. I want something not just to invest in. I want something to believe in.
Anita RoddickGlobalization ... is the most important change in the history of mankind, and often just the latest name for the conspiracy of the rich against the poor.
Anita RoddickSuccessful entrepreneurs may hate hierarchies and structures and try to destroy them. They may garner the disapproval of MBAs for their creativity and wildness. But they have antennae in their heads. When they walk down the street anywhere in the world, they have their antennae out, evaluating how what they see can relate back to what they are doing. It might be packaging, a word, a poem, or even something in a completely different business.
Anita RoddickSome men give up their designs when they have almost reached the goal; while others, on the contrary, obtain a victory by exerting, at the last moment, more vigorous efforts than ever before. Herodotus, historian If I had to name a driving force in my life, I'd name passion every time.
Anita Roddick