Lee Iacocca
Lee Iacocca
Lido Anthony "Lee" Iacoccais an American automobile executive best known for spearheading the development of Ford Mustang and Pinto cars, while at the Ford Motor Company in the 1960s, and then later for reviving the Chrysler Corporation as its CEO during the 1980s. He served as President and CEO of Chrysler from 1978 and additionally as chairman from 1979, until his retirement at the end of 1992...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionEntrepreneur
Date of Birth15 October 1924
CityAllentown, PA
CountryUnited States of America
Most people are looking for security, a nice, safe, prosperous future. And there's nothing wrong with that. It's called the American Dream.
There's a world of difference between a strong ego, which is essential, and a large ego-which can be destructive.
It pains me to see my old company, which has meant so much to America, on the ropes. But Chrysler has been in trouble before, and we got through it, and I believe they can do it again. [...] Let's face it, if your car breaks down, you're not going to take it to the White House to get fixed. But, if your company breaks down, you've got to go to the experts on the ground, not the bureaucrats.
A good deal is a state of mind.
There's a billboard in a little farm town in the Midwest that says: IF YOU COMPLAIN ABOUT FARMERS, DON'T TALK WITH YOUR MOUTH FULL.
The cement in our whole democracy today is the worker who makes $ 15 an hour. He's the guy who will buy a house and a car and a refrigerator. He's the oil in the engine.
In business, you're trying to make a buck. God was good to me and blessed me. I made some money and started this foundation years ago, and it has grown in size. With the foundation it's a lot different, because the bottom line isn't how you can make more money or get a better return, it's helping the projects that you feel strongly about move forward.
Talk to people in their own language. If you do it well, they'll say,"God, he said exactly what I was thinking." And when they begin to respect you, they'll follow you to the death.
A guy named Charlie Beacham was my first mentor at Ford. He taught me the importance of the dealers, and he rubbed my nose in the retail business.
The kind of people I look for to fill top management spots are the eager beavers, the mavericks. These are the guys who try to do more than they're expected to do - they always reach.
In a corporation, there can only be one guy in the end: the CEO.
If a guy is over 25 percent jerk, he's in trouble. And Henry was 95 percent.
There are times when even the best manager is like the little boy with the big dog, waiting to see where the dog wants to go so he can take him there.
It was emotional when Chrysler sold out to the Germans.