Top 73 Quotes & Sayings by James Cash Penney

Explore popular quotes and sayings by an American businessman James Cash Penney.
Last updated on December 24, 2024.
James Cash Penney

James Cash Penney Jr. was an American businessman and entrepreneur who founded the JCPenney stores in 1902.

The Golden Rule finds no limit of application in business.
I do not believe in excuses. I believe in hard work as the prime solvent of life's problems.
As a rule, we find what we look for; we achieve what we get ready for. — © James Cash Penney
As a rule, we find what we look for; we achieve what we get ready for.
Selling is our No. 1 job. Never get away from selling a lot of merchandise personally. The more you sell the more you learn.
Exchange ideas frequently.
The well-satisfied customer will bring the repeat sale that counts.
Responsibilities are given to him on whom trust rests. Responsibility is always a sign of trust.
The greatest teacher I know is the job itself.
There's no better friend to any merchant than a fair competitor.
Every man must decide for himself whether he shall master his world or be mastered by it.
Clock watchers never seem to be having a good time.
Do not primarily train men to work. Train them to serve willingly and intelligently.
Growth is never by mere chance; it is the result of forces working together. — © James Cash Penney
Growth is never by mere chance; it is the result of forces working together.
Success will always be measured by the extent to which we serve the buying public.
Luck is always the last refuge of laziness and incompetence.
No business can succeed in any great degree without being properly organized.
No company can afford not to move forward. It may be at the top of the heap today but at the bottom of the heap tomorrow, if it doesn't.
The keystone of successful business is cooperation. Friction retards progress.
The disciplined are free.
Courteous treatment will make a customer a walking advertisement.
Salesmanship, too, is an art; the perfection of its technique requires study and practice.
I was long brought up to think that it was nothing short of a crime to miss a sale.
The art of effective listening is essential to clear communication, and clear communication is necessary to management success.
A merchant who approaches business with the idea of serving the public well has nothing to fear from the competition.
Salesmanship is limitless. Our very living is selling. We are all salespeople.
It is the service we are not obliged to give that people value most.
I cannot remember a time when the Golden Rule was not my motto and precept, the torch that guided my footsteps.
Success cannot come from standstill men. Methods change and men must change with them.
There has never been a time when a career in the Penney Company was not a challenge that brought out the best in a man.
I believe in trusting men, not only once but twice - in giving a failure another chance.
My definition of an executive's job is brief and to the point. It is simply this: Getting things done through other people.
Men are not great or small because of their material possessions. They are great or small because of what they are.
A store's best advertisement is the service its goods render, for upon such service rest the future, the good-will, of an organization.
The best of merchandise will go back to the shelf unless handled by a conscientious, tactful salesman.
It was always my practice to train salespeople under my direct supervision, and to treat children with the utmost consideration.
Honor bespeaks worth. Confidence begets trust. Service brings satisfaction. Cooperation proves the quality of leadership.
Determine to do some thinking for yourself. Don't live entirely upon the thoughts of others. Don't be an automaton.
The thought in my mind was that I must be a good merchant. If I were a good merchant, the rest would probably take care of itself. — © James Cash Penney
The thought in my mind was that I must be a good merchant. If I were a good merchant, the rest would probably take care of itself.
The five separate fingers are five independent units. Close them and the fist multiplies strength. This is organization.
I believe a man is better anchored who has a belief in the Supreme Being.
We get real results only in proportion to the real values we give.
We can serve our customers well only if our buying jobs are right. You cannot sell if you haven't ordered wanted goods into your store.
Theory is splendid but until put into practice, it is valueless.
No serious-minded man should have time for the mediocre in any phase of his living.
It is always the start that requires the greatest effort.
Too many would-be executives are slaves of routine.
I never trust an executive who tends to pass the buck. Nor would I want to deal with him as a customer or a supplier.
The problem with the bronco is to get on and stay on. This is the problem with the Golden Rule-to understand and apply. — © James Cash Penney
The problem with the bronco is to get on and stay on. This is the problem with the Golden Rule-to understand and apply.
Change is vital, improvement the logical form of change.
No matter what his position or experience in life, there is in everyone more latent than developed ability; far more unused than used power.
The men who have furnished me with my greatest inspiration have not been men of wealth, but men of deeds.
The best teamwork comes from men who are working independently toward one goal in unison.
In every man s life there lies latent energy. There is, however, a spark that, if kindled, will set the whole being afire, and he will become a human dynamo, capable of accomplishing almost anything to which he aspires.
Our very living is selling. We are all salespeople.
Intelligence is the effort to do the best you can at your particular job; the quality that gives dignity to that job, whether it happens to be scrubbing a floor or running a corporation.
The friendly smile, the word of greeting, are certainly something fleeting and seemingly insubstantial. You can’t take them with you. But they work for good beyond your power to measure their influence. It is the service we are not obliged to give that people value most.
They serve best who give most of themselves. Self is forgotten by the one who serves, for such a one rejoices to see success coming to others through his or her efforts.
How can we expect our children to know and experience the joy of giving unless we teach them that the greater pleasure in life lies in the art of giving rather than receiving.
In setting up a business under the name and meaning of the Golden Rule, I was publicly binding myself, in my business relations, to a principle which had been a real and intimate part of my family upbringing. Our idea was to make money and build business through serving the community with fair dealing and honest value.
I learned that all things come to those who wait-provided they hustle while they wait.
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