I was recently cleaning closets and opened a box of paperwork, re-discovering  one short story and several quotes that I found so inspiring as a young leader that I shared them with all of our front line employees, supervisors, and managers at our daily meetings.

Then I purchased beautiful paper, typed them up and copied them onto that paper, cut them out, boxed them up and sent them to some of our other locations to share with their teams.

When I re-discovered them, I felt like I ‘d just found buried treasure.

And then I thought of the stories we all hear, about people who climb the ladder of success and sometimes forget where they’ve come from.

So if you have a leadership title of any kind, take a closer look:

• Ask yourself if you remember what it is like to be in the trenches, or to lead from the middle.
• Ask yourself if these quotes would of resonated with you then, and if they resonate with you today.
• Ask yourself if you know what inspires those you lead.
• And ask yourself if you are leading well…

If you don’t have a leadership title yet – Do these quotes speak to you?  

“Profit is the applause you get for taking care of your customers and creating a motivational environment for your people.” Ken Blanchard.

“Raise hell, question, “the way things are done around here,” and never, ever rest on your laurels. (Today’s laurels are tomorrow’s compost.)” Tom Peters

“If you want to know what’s really going on in most companies, you talk to the guy who sweeps the floors. Nine out of ten times he knows more than the president.” Kenneth A Hendricks (CEO, ABC Supply Company)

“Make it clear that everyone is on the same team. Avoid practices that imply that some… are on the first team and others are part of another.” Paul S. George

“Disney knew you couldn’t have a supervisor in the back room, yelling at you and then walk through the front door and greet a guest with a big smile as if nothing were wrong.” Sharon Harwood

“Well-trained and dedicated employees are the only sustainable source of competitive strength.” Robert Reich”

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“At Xerox’s annual shareholders meeting in 1981, then-CEO David Kearns took questions from the audience. Assembly line worker Frank Enos stepped up to the microphone and asked about the recently discontinued 3300 copier-a machine notoriously low in quality and reliability. Enos said, “We all knew the 3300 was a piece of junk. We could’ve told you. Why didn’t you ask us?”

The solution was to send ALL of the 100,000+ employees through an intensive training that included problem-solving techniques, statistical methods, and group process dynamics at a cost of $125 Million.

The results: In 1989, Xerox received the Malcom Baldridge Quality Award.” Story from 1001 Ways to Energize Employees by Bob Nelson

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How about you?  What quotes inspired you as a new leader? What quotes inspire you today?