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Most organisations say they want creativity, but really they do not.

Jeffrey Pfeffer

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Jeffrey Pfeffer
Age: 78
Born: 1946
Born: July 23
Academic
Business Administration Scholar
Economist
Professor
University Teacher
St. Louis
Missouri
Business
Really
Organisations
Organisation
Creativity

More quotes by Jeffrey Pfeffer

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Advocates of knowledge management as the next big thing have advanced the proposition that what companies need is more intellectual capital. While that is undeniably true, its only partly true. What those advocates are forgetting is that knowledge is only useful if you do something with it.
Jeffrey Pfeffer
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Knowledge is only useful if you do something with it.
Jeffrey Pfeffer
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Trust is about keeping commitments, but in many instances, circumstances change and organizations therefore shed commitments, things such as retiree medical benefits, pension obligations, and even employees without much remorse or maybe even hesitation.
Jeffrey Pfeffer
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Great strategy, not executed, can't possibly have any effect on performance because it doesn't actually affect anything. It's like planning for a successful surgery to remove a tumor. If no one picks up the knife and actually operates effectively, the diseases will persist.
Jeffrey Pfeffer
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Career success depends on people's educational credentials, their length of service (job tenure), unfortunately it is still the case on their race, gender, and similarity to those in power, and of course, on their political skills. Job performance matters, but less than most people think.
Jeffrey Pfeffer
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We give up and don't try. We don't take sufficient chances or risks. We aren't resilient in the face of failure. We follow the rules too much and don't push the envelope.
Jeffrey Pfeffer
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Lying is common in social life, often done for benign purposes, seldom draws severe sanctions, and many of the most notable leaders, including the late Steve Jobs, were consummate prevaricators. Told with enough persistence and conviction, what was once untrue can become true, in a self-fulfilling prophecy sort of way.
Jeffrey Pfeffer
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Leaders are not modest, and more importantly, the extensive social science research on narcissism, self-promotion, and similar constructs shows that these qualities and behaviors are useful for getting hired, achieving promotions, keeping one's job, and obtaining a higher salary.
Jeffrey Pfeffer
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I do not think anyone who ever saw Lyndon Johnson give a speech would call him charismatic, even though he was one of the most effective presidents in U.S. history. Same with Lincoln. Charisma is only one source of power, and probably not a very important one, at that.
Jeffrey Pfeffer
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Successful organizations understand the importance of implementation, not just strategy, and, moreover, recognize the crucial role of their people in this process.
Jeffrey Pfeffer
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Personal growth and professional development require mostly being treated like an adult, which is pretty much the opposite of what happens in most workplaces. People need to be able to make decisions. To do that effectively, they need information and training in how to use it.
Jeffrey Pfeffer
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Take care of your customers, and you will have a successful business. Don't, and you won't. The airlines need to figure this out - soon.
Jeffrey Pfeffer
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We need to reexamine and reassess the purpose of the corporation, and go back to the idea that senior leadership has responsibilities not just to shareholders but also to customers and employees.
Jeffrey Pfeffer
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You are more likely to acquire power by narrowing your focus and applying your energies, like the sun's rays, to a limited range of activities in a small number of domains.
Jeffrey Pfeffer
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Being memorable equals getting picked.
Jeffrey Pfeffer
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I am increasingly convinced that people who have power are not necessarily smarter than others. Beyond a certain level of intelligence and level in the hierarchy, everyone is smart. What differentiates people is their political skill and savvy.
Jeffrey Pfeffer
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The single most significant change has been the globalization of labor markets. Product markets - trade in goods - have been globalizing for years. But now, with the reduction in communication expenses and the building of all sorts of IT infrastructure, essentially any job can be done almost anywhere.
Jeffrey Pfeffer
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The stories leaders and others tell, few of which are true, are a lousy foundation on which to base any sort of science, and we know how to accomplish behavioral change and the importance of priming, informational saliency, and social networks. Producing inspiration and other good feelings doesn't last very long.
Jeffrey Pfeffer
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Witness Donald Trump's current presidential campaign. So first people need to find the white spaces, the unexploited or underexploited niches where there is less competition and more opportunity.
Jeffrey Pfeffer
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Your most important task as a leader is to teach people how to think and ask the right questions so that the world doesn't go to hell if you take a day off.
Jeffrey Pfeffer