30 inspiring quotes about business, marketing, and creativity

By Adam Vincenzini | Posted: March 17, 2013

In a previous job, we had a wall covered in our favorite quotes, each serving a different purpose depending on what the priority was on any given day.

In the spirit of that wall, I compiled a list of great quotes. I would love it if you added to the list, so if you have your favorites handy, drop them in the comments box at the end of the post.

Here are some of my favorites, in no particular order:

Business

“To be successful, you have to have your heart in your business, and your business in your heart.” - Thomas Watson Sr.

“A business has to be evolving, it has to be fun, and it has to exercise your creative interests.” - Richard Branson

“Business only has two functions—marketing and innovation.” - Peter Drucker

“Statistics suggest that when customers complain, business owners and managers ought to get excited about it. The complaining customer represents a huge opportunity for more business.” - Zig Ziglar

Innovation/ideas

“The problem is never how to get new, innovative thoughts into your mind, but how to get the old ones out.” - Dee Hock

“Great ideas often receive violent opposition from mediocre minds.” - Albert Einstein

“When you innovate, you've got to be prepared for everyone telling you you're nuts.” - Larry Ellison

“It is not how many ideas you have, it is how many you make happen.” - Advertisement of Accenture

People / Teams

“Hire character. Train skill.” - Peter Shulz

“Management is nothing more than motivating people.” - Lee Iacocca

“If you can't feed a team with two large pizzas, it's too large.” - Jeff Bezos

“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Personality

“Life is ‘trying things to see if they work.’” - Ray Bradbury

“People who don't take risks generally make two big mistakes a year. People who do take risks generally make about two big mistakes a year.” - Peter Drucker

“You are surrounded by simple, obvious solutions that can dramatically increase your income, power, influence and success. The problem is, you just don't see them.” - Jay Abraham

“It's not the strongest of species who survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” - Charles Darwin

“Success is liking yourself, liking what you do and liking how you do it.” - Maya Angelou

“Judge a man by his questions, not by his answers.” - Voltaire

“You must expect great things of yourself before you can do them.” - Michael Jordan

“You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do.” - Henry Ford

Marketing/communications

“Stopping advertising to save money is like stopping your watch to save time.” - Henry Ford

“Your culture is your brand.” - Tony Hsieh

“Engage rather than sell ... work as a co-creator, not a marketer.” - Tom H.C. Anderson

“Think like a publisher, not a marketer.” – Dave Meerman Scott

Creativity

“The thing we fear most in organizations—fluctuations, disturbances, imbalances— are the primary sources of creativity.” - Margaret J. Wheatley

“Curiosity about life, in all its aspects, I think, is still the secret of great creative people.” - Leo Burnett

“You can't wait for inspiration, you have to go after it with a club.” - Jack London

Learning

“Surviving a failure gives you more self-confidence. Failures a great learning tools ... but they must be kept to a minimum.” - Jeffery Immelt

“Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.” - Winston Churchill

“Nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.” - Oscar Wilde

Some of the main sources for this post included Entrepreneurs Corner, Content Marketing Institute, Ross Simonds and Nerd Business.

A version of this story first appeared on AdamVincenzini.com.

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