Paying your employees well is not only the right thing to do but it makes for good business.

It doesn't do Costco any good if nobody can afford to buy anything.

Driving stock up from one day to the next is not what we are about. We are about building a good company and performing for the long term. I know everyone says that, that sounds trite when I repeat it that way, but that is and has always been our attitude about our business. If we do the right things, the stock price will take care of itself, and our shareholders will be rewarded.

Obscene salaries send the wrong message through a company. The message is that all brilliance emanates from the top; that the worker on the floor of the store or the factory is insignificant.

You take an educated gamble. If you don't occasionally make a mistake, you're not doing your job.

I think that most of the people running companies today are motivated and pay is a small portion of the motivation.

It doesn't do much good to have a quality image, whether it's with the facility or whether it's with the merchandise, if you don't have real quality people taking care of your customers.