Bruce Henderson - Collected Quotes

"All organizations do change when put under sufficient pressure. This pressure must be either external to the organization or the result of very strong leadership." (Bruce Henderson, "Henderson on Corporate Strategy", 1979)

"Any approach to strategy quickly encounters a conflict between corporate objectives and corporate capabilities. Attempting the impossible is not good strategy; it is just a waste of resources." (Bruce Henderson, "Henderson on Corporate Strategy", 1979)

"Concentrate your strength against your competitor's relative weakness." (Bruce Henderson, "Henderson on Corporate Strategy", 1979)

"Executive stress is difficult to overstate when there is a conflict among policy restrictions, near-term performance, long-term good of the company, and personal survival." (Bruce Henderson, "Henderson on Corporate Strategy", 1979)

"It is a paradox that the greater the decentralization, the greater the need for both leadership and explicit policies from the top management." (Bruce Henderson, "Henderson on Corporate Strategy", 1979)

"It is rare for any organization to generate sufficient pressure internally to produce significant change in direction. Indeed, internal pressure is likely to be regarded as a form of dissatisfaction with the organization's leadership." (Bruce Henderson, 'Henderson on Corporate Strategy', 1979)

"Overly optimistic goals nearly always result in one of two extremes. If the goal is seen as a must, then the division manager must ''go for broke." This can result in reckless risk taking. More commonly [...] ultraconservative action. The reasoning is: "Why take any chances to achieve an unattainable goal." (Bruce Henderson, "Henderson on Corporate Strategy", 1979)

"Power is the ability to initiate activity for others and to disregard others' initiative. Power can be used to strengthen power [...]. he first use of power is to preserve and compound it." (Bruce Henderson, "Henderson on Corporate Strategy", 1979)

"The corporation without an explicit strategy will fall into the hands of politicians." (Bruce Henderson, "Henderson on Corporate Strategy", 1979)

"The executive must choose between using his power to strengthen the organization and using his power to strengthen his personal power base." (Bruce Henderson, "Henderson on Corporate Strategy", 1979)