Don Soderquist Quotes

Listen. Listening is one of those dynamics that sounds like the easiest thing in the world to do, but in reality is one of the hardest.

One of the greatest things Sam Walton taught me is that a leader stays involved in his business and close to his people so that he can determine the best course of action without wasting time.

The role of the leader, then, is to paint a picture of that vision in such a way that those he or she is leading will embrace it and make it their own. In that way, all of the energies of the organization are focused on the same objective. That's when vision happens.

I've come to realize that beliefs and values together determine how a company operates and whether it reaches its full potential.

I hold the simple belief that if you live your life in the right way guided by values, God will take care of the rest. God's plans will always be better than the ones we come up with ourselves.

Giving people a sense of significance is the best motivation, the best way to get people fired up about their jobs, their company the contributions they can make. Find little ways of impacting people's self-esteem, and get out of their way. Then watch as they get the job done and do so with an attitude of pride to be part of the team.

Do things right the first time. If you don't have time to do a job once, you certainly don't have time to do it again.

Striving for excellence means never being satisfied—always doing things to keep improving, even if it means changing everything we do. It means we never feel that we have arrived. We don't believe our press clippings. We don't get complacent and pat ourselves on the backs. We talk about what we could have done better. We believe that we can achieve extraordinary results when we strive for excellence in all we do.

“Do whatever you’re asked to do. No job is too small or menial that it doesn’t need to be done well. And no one is too good for those small jobs."

Your culture can sow both the seeds of success and failure in your organization.

If you want to be an effective leader, you need to cultivate one-on-one feedback from trusted individuals throughout your organization, touching all the different levels. Not people who will tell you what you want to hear, but what you need to hear.

"Go back and correct your mistakes. We all make mistakes. The wise person admits them, corrects them, and doesn’t leave them for others to clean up.”

I have seen companies that have shady practices thrive for a period of time. But the success never lasts. Whether it is a scandal or a long-term erosion of customer loyalty, doing business—doing life—without values is short sighted and leads to failure.

A potential danger of being a leader is that we can begin to think that we have all of the answers. After all, we have achieved an important position, we think, and we're above taking advice and doing those so-called little jobs. I have seen too many leaders develop a large ego. Well, large egos frequently lead to arrogance, and when people become arrogant, their judgment can be impaired. Impaired judgment usually leads to failure.

How you treat everyone you encounter is the measure of the genuineness of your respect—and the heights you can each as a leader.