Top 103 Quotes & Sayings by Richard Edelman

CEOs who boldly lean into fulfilling the dual mandate of earning profits and providing societal benefits will find a receptive public.

Companies need to be very active in formulating public policy - not as a substitute for government, but as a supplement.

Engagement and integrity are the two most fundamental aspects of building trust; lead from the front by evolving your company strategy, then live your values every day.

We have been pushing forward on a new way of storytelling we call 'collaborative journalism' on behalf of a number of our clients.

I wake up every day, and the family fortune is on the line, and that's a good thing.

Our goal is to put news where it earns attention, where readers can access it on every device and interact with it. We're meeting our clients' audiences where they are instead of asking them to come to us. Increasingly, that means hosting the content on social blogging sites like Medium.

The pace of change in marketing and the marketplace continues to accelerate. Unicorn companies are challenging long-established brands, and categories are being re-imagined.

We win with facts that are well expressed and frequently communicated; we lose with silence and indifference to the broader social context.

The 'truthiness' of Trump's so-called facts, the questions he posed on President Obama's nationality or jobs destroyed by free trade, has the same effect as dueling scientists on issues such as obesity or climate change.

Trump has moved campaigns into a post-advertising era with a total reversal of spend from paid to earned media.

Modern, effective leadership means moving beyond the 'grand illusion' to engage the mass population and to align business with societal goals.

I completely disagree with Arthur Brooks of the American Enterprise Institute on the need for dignity in the marketplace instead of the social safety net, but he is a very persuasive character.

The question for every Olympics is whether the giant investment will pay off in the future.

Institutions are better served by going direct to end users, establishing a channel for direct dialogue and feedback. It is a world of many to one, not one to many.

We have to improve our ability to deliver tangible results, namely sales, not simply awareness or change of attitude among opinion formers.

As trust in institutions erodes, the basic assumptions of fairness, shared values, and equal opportunity traditionally upheld by 'the system' are no longer taken for granted.

I was 14 when the Democratic convention in my hometown of Chicago erupted into violence. It was a tough year.

We can't, nor should we try, to influence who our employees vote for, but facilitating their involvement in civic action is better for business, better for our people, and better for our government institutions.

The inability or unwillingness of citizens to differentiate between fake and authentic news is undermining a fundamental assumption of democracy: the informed voter.

There was a near-universal set of editorial endorsements of Clinton. Trump used this disparity to his advantage, to claim media bias and unify his base of supporters.

Instead of worrying about potential disruption, brands can be creative societal disruptors - because their consumers will be right there by their side as committed partners in a better life.

Companies should take advantage of social media's power to connect, but honor the continued role of media in shaping opinion.

Israeli ingenuity was never more evident than in the Ayalon bullet factory built during the British occupation of Palestine. It was constructed underneath an urban kibbutz. The workers had a bakery and laundry which provided constant clatter to disguise the work carried on below ground.

I think that the direct conversation is exactly what companies need to earn trust of customers. Admit an error. Fix a problem. Commit to doing better. That is only human.

I went to every sports contest for my kids. I turned off my cell phone at 8 P.M. I did have to travel relentlessly and had some nights at black tie events. But when I was home, I was home.

We've learned that when a consumer moves from a relationship rooted in 'me' to one powered by 'we,' a new world of buying and advocacy opens up for a brand.

The trust of the mass population can no longer be taken for granted, and any continuation of the 'grand illusion' is dangerous for leaders in today's world.

In a world of dispersed authority, the battle for the truth will be won or lost with the employees.

Technology has allowed the creation of media echo chambers, so that a person can reinforce, rather than debate, viewpoints.

The separation of audience into tribes preferring to reinforce their own views with media of similar ideological stripe makes true debate impossible.

The best tech companies are led by founders with entrepreneurial zeal and strong egos. They consistently deliver what we want and what we need, at prices that decrease over time. The Wall Street firm is a long-standing institution with a more established hierarchy.

Most smart companies should make themselves media companies. That means they put out their own information.

I remember feeling proud as I cast my first vote in Chicago in the 1972 presidential election - President Richard Nixon versus Senator George McGovern. Finally, I could participate. There was so much at stake.

Mainstream media has been abandoned by many, for ideological reasons mostly, and brands need to directly engage with the end-user of information and offer opportunities for consumer- and employee-generated content.

Advertising has a problem. They're being squeezed because media buyers and digital firms are doing the creative. They're being squeezed because people aren't viewing their stuff.

Edelman maintains a very conservative balance sheet. We do small acquisitions. This helps me sleep well at night.

In the wake of the Great Recession, most business leaders have tended to focus on their enterprise and short-term performance. The time for that narrow focus is over.

Walter Isaacson attracts the best and the brightest to Aspen. It is exhilarating to listen to the likes of David Rubenstein and constitutional scholar Jeffrey Rosen speak about George Washington and Newt Gingrich and the original intent of the Second Amendment.

The historic quarrels between Japan and Korea pale in importance to the bigger question of extent of U.S. commitment to the defense of the region.

Gender parity in management is a necessity.

In our family business, the Edelman children must earn their way - there were and will be no promises without performance and leadership. That may lead to some skinned knees, but it is certainly the best way to learn life lessons.

We have witnessed a stunning reversal of power between mainstream and social media: The ability to go direct to end users of information through social channels radically disrupted the mainstream news agenda.

I take the subway to work. I fly coach back and forth to Chicago.

Talking points are a core set of messages an executive or politician utilizes in communicating with stakeholders. It's a term of art for having an outline of your remarks.

My hike up the Snake Path at Masada was mystical. The fog rolled in, enveloping the entire mountain.

Money is flowing out of traditional advertising into experiential, social, and sports.

We have seen an unprecedented dispersion of authority, such that 'a person like you' is now one of the most credible spokespersons on business, along with technical and academic experts.

Even with flexible time off to vote, it's still difficult for our people to juggle work, polls, childcare, and other responsibilities.

The best creative no longer has to originate in Chicago or London; it will be coming from Stockholm, Tokyo, and Seoul as well.

I want Edelman to remain a family business.

We have continued to advance our global ambition with acquisitions that fill in the global footprint, such as Dabo in Dubai on the marketing side, Smithfield in the U.K. for financial PR, Ergo in Germany for corporate reputation and public affairs, and Position in Colombia to add scale to our Latin America business.

The problems of the world, from immigration to populism to income inequality to sustainability to peacekeeping, require a well-functioning supranational body.

More and more readers are finding important and interesting content through platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and now Medium rather than traditional publishers.

We're not going into advertising. But we see the future battleground existing between ourselves, digital firms, and media-buying firms.

The short form, speed, and consistency of communication by Trump beat Clinton's nuanced, detailed, and long-form communication. Trump came across as more genuine, Clinton as less than transparent. Trump engaged directly with his community; Clinton spoke through the media in a careful and less frequent manner.

To be silent is to be complicit.

Be smart about selecting your micro niches for communicating in the blogosphere.

The dominant advertising advantage of Clinton, with spending of 10 to 1 over Trump, reinforced the perception that she was trying to buy, rather than earn, votes.

Business has to stand up on behalf of its employees, on behalf of immigration, on behalf of its customers, and on behalf of supply chain-cum-globalization.

We must be able to appeal to the CCO and CMO with programs that have purpose at the core, that start movements and solicit views of the core community of brand supporters.