Leadership: Lombardi Style

Vince Lombardi was named the “Coach of the Century” by ESPN. He is remembered by his single-minded determination to win. His voice boomed through the locker room inspiring his men by focusing them on the moment. The voice of this great leader is still booming and inspiring leaders today. Enjoy the quotes and think about how you can use your life and passion to inspire those that you are leading. You may not agree with all that he says but you must admire the man.

“Leadership is based on a spiritual quality; the power to inspire, the power to inspire others to follow.”

“Leaders aren’t born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. And that’s the price we’ll have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal.”

“Dictionary is the only place that success comes before work. Hard work is the price we must pay for success. I think you can accomplish anything if you’re willing to pay the price.”

“The achievements of an organization are the results of the combined effort of each individual.”

“The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have.”

“The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather in a lack of will.”

“The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand.”

“Success demands singleness of purpose”

“It is essential to understand that battles are primarily won in the hearts of men. Men respond to leadership in a most remarkable way and once you have won his heart, he will follow you anywhere.”

“We didn’t lose the game; we just ran out of time”

“Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit.”

“Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.”

“If you’ll not settle for anything less than your best, you will be amazed at what you can accomplish in your lives.”

“Some of us will do our jobs well and some will not, but we will be judged by only one thing-the result”

“The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender.”

“It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.”

“Fatigue makes cowards of us all.”

“If you can accept losing, you can’t win.”

“Coaches who can outline plays on a black board are a dime a dozen. The ones who win get inside their player and motivate.”

“Leaders are made, they are not born. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile.”

“The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.”

“The greatest accomplishment is not in never falling, but in rising again after you fall.”

“Individual commitment to a group effort — that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.”

“The leader can never close the gap between himself and the group. If he does, he is no longer what he must be. He must walk a tightrope between the consent he must win and the control he must exert.”

“It is essential to understand that battles are primarily won in the hearts of men.”

“In great attempts, it is glorious even to fail.”

“They may not love you at the time, but they will later.”

“Leadership rests not only upon ability, not only upon capacity; having the capacity to lead is not enough. The leader must be willing to use it. His leadership is then based on truth and character. There must be truth in the purpose and will power in the character.”

“A leader must identify himself with the group, must back up the group, even at the risk of displeasing superiors. He must believe that the group wants from him a sense of approval. If this feeling prevails, production, discipline, morale will be high, and in return, you can demand the cooperation to promote the goals of the company.”

“If it doesn’t matter who wins or loses, then why do they keep score?”