Top Ten CEO Quotes on People Management 2015

Back in January, I posted a snappy article on performance management. It wasn’t full of the latest research, complicated metrics or breaking news, but it certainly inspired a lot of you. Which got me thinking, we don’t always need cutting-edge data to instigate a change. Sometimes, we just need an inspirational word from someone worth listening to.

When you’re looking for an inspiring approach to people management, the tech companies are a good place to start. In a year when Netflix’s culture document went viral, Google was once again crowned the no. 1 place to work, and Intel’s OKR strategy infiltrated Accenture (one of the biggest companies in the world), it became pretty obvious that these guys are leading the way. So what can we learn about people management from the CEOs presiding over these HR whirlwinds?

1. “Work for someone who believes in you, because when they believe in you, they’ll invest in you.”
– Marissa Mayer, Yahoo CEO, knows the importance of investing in individuals.

 

2. “Unless I feel like I’m working on the most important problem that I can help with, then I’m not going to feel good about how I’m spending my time.”
– For Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, it’s all about managing to strengths.

 

3. “We don’t have as many managers as we should, but we would rather have too few than too many.”
– Larry Page, founding CEO of Google, isn’t a fan of micro-managing.

 

4. “If there’s someone really good who has excellent industry experience, we like working with them, [they have] common sense and fit our values, we just hire them, because the biggest thing is having smart people who work well together.”
– Vocus Communications CEO James Spenceley focuses on hiring the right personality types.

 

5. “Teaching your employees something new creates an instant connection, and they will respect you for it.”
– For Taso Du Val, CEO of freelancer networking site Toptal, it’s all about continued development and on-the-job learning.

 

6. “You gotta build a team that is so talented, they almost make you uncomfortable.”
– Brian Chesky, CEO of AirBnB, focuses on talent.

 

7. “The key thing is really aligning everybody so they all understand where you’re going.”
– Eytan Lenko, CEO of Aussie company Outware, knows that a clear vision is important.

 

8. “I’m a big believer in lessons learned. Constantly with the team we go over, why? Why? Why? … The only bad mistake is a mistake you don’t learn from.”
– For Ginni Rometty, CEO of IBM, on-the-job-training takes many forms.

 

9. “Millennials … are more socially and globally connected … than any prior generation. And they don’t question; they just learn.”
– Intuit’s CEO Brad Smith recognises that younger workers have different learning and development expectations.

 

10. “At most companies, average performers get an average pay rise. At Netflix, they get a generous severance package.”
– Netflix is known for bucking silicon valley’s people management trends. What do you think of CEO Reed Hastings attitude to performance management?