Auto Quotes: Finest Ones from Lee Iacocca

Henry Ford II once fired Lee Iacocca because Ford did not want Iacocca to become the CEO of the Ford Motor Company

Lee Iacocca, who was also identified as “Lido” started his career in the automobile industry as an engineer at the Ford Motor Company. However, he was assigned to the sales and marketing department where his career blossomed and he swiftly grew into the executive vice-president and president of the company. He was also involved in designing several famous models of the company, such as the Ford Mustang and the Ford Escort. Later on, he went onto handle the Chrysler company which was on the brink of succumbing. To date, Lee Iacocca is acknowledged as one of the finest executives in the field of automobiles who supervised the operations of the two leading automobile companies in the world. As a tribute to Iacocca, we’ve listed some of his best quotes about leadership, innovation, and the automobile industry.

• “The most successful businessman is the man who holds onto the old just as long as it is good and grabs the new just as soon as it is better.”
• “In times of great stress or adversity, it’s always best to keep busy, to plough your anger and your energy into something positive.”
• “Motivation is everything. You can do the work of two people, but you can’t be two people. Instead, you have to inspire the next guy down the line and get him to inspire his people.”
• “You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can’t get them across, your ideas won’t get you anywhere.”
• “My father always used to say that when you die, if you’ve got five real friends, then you’ve had a great life.”
• “Start with good people, lay out the rules, communicate with your employees, motivate them and reward them. If you do all those things effectively, you can’t miss.”
• “Decisiveness is the one word that makes a good manager.”
• “Any supervisor worth his salt would rather deal with people who attempt too much than with those who try too little.”
• “The speed of the boss is the speed of the team.”
• “Apply yourself. Get all the education you can, but then, by God, do something. Don’t just stand there, make it happen.”
• “If a guy is over 25 per cent jerk, he’s in trouble. And Henry was 95 per cent.”
• “It was emotional when Chrysler sold out to the Germans.”