Top 101 Quotes & Sayings by Alan Mulally

The A-PAC region is so important, mainly because it is growing much faster than the global average.

What I've learned is the power of a compelling vision.

You can't improve if you don't know what the real situation is.

There is a great market for cars in the United States - as Honda and Toyota have proven.

The purpose of business is to make a reasonable return by making products and services that people want and value. If you are not, you are wasting resources.

I've been through geopolitical and economic cycles.

I sleep very well, although sometimes it's hard to go to sleep 'cos I'm so excited about the business performance review the following day.

I really do believe that working together works, and it's amazing to me.

It is just more rewarding to do things in a supportive environment.

Never make a joke or try for humor at someone else's expense. In a high-stakes environment, everyone needs to feel safe.

The One Ford plan drives the business to get PGA, Profitable Growth for All, meaning that every year we increase the profits and cash flow. So how do we do that? We serve all the markets around the world with a complete family of vehicles and use the One Ford Plan.

The reason I loved working at Boeing was because I loved the idea of air travel as a way of bringing people and cultures together - because when we come together as people and cultures, we realize that we are not that different after all, and when we realize that we are not that different after all, the world becomes a better place.

I've just seen it all - I've seen the bird flu, I've seen the Asian economic meltdown, SARS, 9/11, economic cycles.

My favorite expression is a tag line or an advertising and marketing campaign that Ford ran a number of years ago. They ran it for almost 12 years, and it was, 'Have you driven a Ford lately?'

I've been very fortunate to be part of projects that are really big and broad.

Transparency is so important in business.

I don't see anything changing about our desire for quality and fuel efficiency and safety and smart design, no matter what the vehicle size.

I'm more convinced than when I accepted this job that we can create a viable Ford Motor Co. that makes cars and trucks that people really do prefer. And we can make them using minimum resources and minimum time and be competitive with our competition.

Think about just exceeding expectations of every job you're being asked to do. Continually ask for feedback on how it's going. Ask everybody involved what you can do to do an even better job, and the world will beat down your door trying to ask you to do more and more.

It's all about competitiveness: are you making the products that people really do want and value, and are you making it more efficiently and using less resources and less time than the competition?

Man, have I become a car guy!

I felt very comfortable moving from aerospace to automobiles.

You can't manage a secret.

Positive leadership - conveying the idea that there is always a way forward - is so important, because that is what you are here for - to figure out how to move the organization forward. Critical to doing that is reinforcing the idea that everyone is included.

When work is what you love to do, it's not work - it's serving.

What I found over the years is the most important thing is for a team to come together over a compelling vision, a comprehensive strategy for achieving that vision, and then a relentless implementation plan.

I drive a different car every night.

All of us want to know that we are doing great things, that we are touching a lot of people, and that what we are doing is something bigger than ourselves.

The more senior your management position is, the more important it is to connect the organization or the project to the outside world. You know, how does this fit in with what we're doing? What is the real goal, the real mission?

If you have a common purpose and an environment in which people want to help others succeed, the problems will be fixed quickly.

I grew up with Microsoft. I know the leadership of Microsoft.

Automobiles are fun and exciting. We need them. They are a part of our lives.

The most important thing that most countries around the world believe in is letting the markets determine the currency.

As we develop our energy policies in the United States to generate our energy clean, then I think we're going to really move to a world that all of us want, and that is a sustainable future.

We're so interdependent, and what one country does is such an important part of what happens in the global economy.

Be true to yourself and your values.

When I arrived in Ford, a decision was made to sell many marquee brands. This was because 85 per cent of the sales were from Ford and Lincoln brands. We were clear that for the company's strong future, we needed to focus on the Ford brands.

It's just really important that we have boundaries and guidelines to operate. Our homes, the cars, everything is going to be on the Internet. And so what are the guidelines? What do we want?

It was an honor to serve at Boeing on the 777.

Whatever we do toward energy independence has to be done in the context of using less resources.

A gas tax could be one important element of an integrated energy policy.

No country is ever successful in the long term... without a really strong and vibrant manufacturing base.

Information should never be used as a weapon on a team.

You need to have a can-do attitude. There is always a way.

Data can set you free.

The purpose of life is to love and be loved... what could possibly be more energizing than that?

There is no reason that America can't compete in a global economy, and I love being one small proof point in that.

We've always loved the automobile, and we all love Henry Ford's original vision to open the highways to all mankind, the freedom and movement.

I have a lot of respect for Microsoft.

An important part of leadership is being able to hold two things in your mind at once: Dealing with the reality, whatever it may be, and focus on hope for the future. Any leader helping an organization through challenges needs to be able to do both.

When people feel accountable and included, it is more fun.

Don't manage your career. Follow your dream and contribute.

There's a Ford dealer in every city around the United States. They're the fabric of the community. They're either head of the chamber of commerce or the priest, or I mean they're just the fabric of America, and they took care of us.

The Chinese love Ford's product line: they love the quality, the fuel-efficiency, the safety, the brand.

Ford is committed to building a sustainable future for the benefit of all Americans, and we believe Ford is on the right path to achieve this vision.

Leadership is having a compelling vision, a comprehensive plan, relentless implementation, and talented people working together.

The automobile has moved into the mainstream of our integrated digital world.

You create value, and you create jobs.

More and more people realize the importance of economic growth, near-term and long-term in the U.S., and the competitiveness with other countries around the world.

I was the lead designer and the general manager of the triple 7 and, of course, the dynamite 787.