Top 100 Boss Quotes (2025 Update)

1. “It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.”

— Steve Jobs

Also featured in: Inspirational Entrepreneurship Quotes, Motivational Quotes for Work, Smart Quotes, Quotes About Work

2. “Everything rises and falls on leadership.”

— John C. Maxwell

Also featured in: Leadership Quotes, Impact Quotes, Inspirational Business Quotes, Short Inspirational Quotes

3. “Always deliver more than expected.”

— Larry Page

Also featured in: Startup Quotes, Hard Work Quotes, Short Motivational Quotes, Motivational Work Quotes, Inspirational Quotes for Work

4. “I had to make my own living and my own opportunity. But I made it! Don’t sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them.”

— Madam C. J. Walker

Also featured in: Inspirational Entrepreneurship Quotes, Hard Work Quotes, Inspirational Quotes for Women, Hustle Quotes, Opportunity Quotes

5. “When the leader lacks confidence, the followers lack commitment.”

— John C. Maxwell

Also featured in: Leadership Quotes, Friday Motivational Quotes, Wednesday Motivational Quotes

6. “Leadership is about empathy. It is about having the ability to relate to and connect with people for the purpose of inspiring and empowering their lives.”

— Oprah Winfrey

Also featured in: Empathy Quotes, Care Quotes, Meaningful Quotes, Positive Motivational Quotes

7. “Great things in business are never done by one person, they’re done by a team of people.”

— Steve Jobs

Also featured in: Startup Quotes, Motivational Quotes for Work, Inspirational Quotes for Work, Inspirational Business Quotes

8. “I’m not a businessman, I’m a business, man!”

— Jay-Z

Also featured in: Impact Quotes, Quotes About Money, Ambition Quotes, Ego Quotes

9. “If you look after your staff, they’ll look after your customers. It’s that simple.”

— Richard Branson

Also featured in: Business Quotes, Inspirational Business Quotes, Service Quotes

10. “My job is not to be easy on people. My job is to take these great people we have and to push them and make them even better.”

— Steve Jobs

Also featured in: Leadership Quotes, Business Quotes, Motivational Work Quotes, Ambition Quotes

11. “You can take my factories, burn up my buildings, but give me my people and I’ll build the business right back again.”

— Henry Ford

Also featured in: Business Quotes, Relationship Quotes, Recovery Quotes, Adversity Quotes

12. “You don’t hire for skills, you hire for attitude. You can always teach skills.”

— Herb Kelleher

Also featured in: Personality Quotes, Common Sense Quotes, Career Development Quotes, Quotes About Skills

13. “Sometimes I’ll start a sentence and I don’t know where it’s going. I just hope to find it somewhere along the way. Like an improv conversation. An improversation.”

— Michael Scott

Also featured in: Funny Quotes, Silly Quotes, Creative Quotes, Funny Work Quotes

14. “The way you treat your employees is the way they will treat your customers.”

— Richard Branson

Also featured in: Inspirational Quotes for Work, Service Quotes, Friday Quotes for Work

15. “Lead by listening – to be a good leader you have to be a great listener.”

— Richard Branson

Also featured in: Inspirational Quotes for Work, Quotes About Skills, Thursday Inspirational Quotes

16. “Whatever it takes to win.”

— Pat Riley

Also featured in: Strategy Quotes, Winning Quotes, Not Giving Up Quotes, Basketball Quotes

17. “Those who lead by example and demonstrate passion for what they do make it much easier for their followers to do the same.”

— Marshall Goldsmith

Also featured in: Influence Quotes

18. “The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it.”

— Theodore Roosevelt

Also featured in: Inspirational Quotes for Work, Friday Quotes for Work, Efficiency Quotes

19. “Integrity is the most valuable and respected quality of leadership. Always keep your word.”

— Brian Tracy

Also featured in: Integrity Quotes, Work Ethic Quotes, Career Development Quotes, Responsibility Quotes

20. “Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to.”

— Richard Branson

Also featured in: Business Quotes, Inspirational Business Quotes, Intelligent Quotes, Quotes About Work

21. “A leader is a dealer in hope.”

— Napoleon

Also featured in: Leadership Quotes, Optimism Quotes, Quotes About Hope, Vision Quotes

22. “If you set out to be liked, you will accomplish nothing.”

— Margaret Thatcher

23. “I follow three rules: Do the right thing, do the best you can, and always show people you care.”

— Lou Holtz

Also featured in: Integrity Quotes, Personality Quotes, Coaching Quotes, Caring Quotes, Graduation Quotes

24. “To win in the marketplace you must first win in the workplace.”

— Douglas Conant

Also featured in: Friday Quotes for Work, Career Development Quotes, Appreciation Quotes, Tuesday Work Quotes

25. “People leave managers, not companies.”

— Marcus Buckingham

26. “Leadership consists of nothing but taking responsibility for everything that goes wrong and giving your subordinates credit for everything that goes well.”

— Dwight D. Eisenhower

Also featured in: Accountability Quotes, Military Quotes, Duty Quotes, Government Quotes

27. “Leaders don’t make excuses. They create results.”

— Robin S. Sharma

Also featured in: Impact Quotes, Accountability Quotes, Professional Growth Quotes, Efficiency Quotes

28. “My thing is that I don’t give any person that much power over the path that I’m walking. Not one person can make or break what I’m doing, except me or God.”

— Nipsey Hussle

Also featured in: Self-Worth Quotes, Being Strong Quotes, Path Quotes, Moving Quotes

29. “Every day I’m hustlin’.”

— Rick Ross

Also featured in: Music Quotes, Hustle Quotes, Making Money Quotes, Grit Quotes

30. “Treat your employees exactly as you want them to treat your best customers.”

— Stephen R. Covey

Also featured in: Business Quotes, Inspirational Quotes for Work, Inspirational Business Quotes, Empowerment Quotes

31. “Do I want to be feared or loved? That’s a good question. I want both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me.”

— Michael Scott

Also featured in: Funny Quotes, Funny Office Quotes

32. “Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.”

— George S. Patton Jr.

Also featured in: Leadership Quotes

33. “I am convinced that nothing we do is more important than hiring and developing people. At the end of the day you bet on people, not on strategies.”

— Lawrence Bossidy

Also featured in: Employee Appreciation Quotes

34. “Work smart. Get things done. No nonsense. Move fast.”

— Susan Wojcicki

Also featured in: Strategy Quotes, Common Sense Quotes, Time Management Quotes, Momentum Quotes

35. “Success comes from delegating, risk-taking and having a good TEAM!”

— Richard Branson

Also featured in: Friday Quotes for Work, Professional Growth Quotes, Collaboration Quotes

36. “The courage of leadership is giving others the chance to succeed even though you bear the responsibility for getting things done.”

— Simon Sinek

37. “Put your head down and work hard. Never wait for things to happen, make them happen for yourself through hard graft and not giving up.”

— Gordon Ramsay

Also featured in: Hard Work Quotes, Dedication Quotes, Professional Growth Quotes, Giving Up Quotes

38. “Victims make excuses. Leaders deliver results.”

— Robin S. Sharma

Also featured in: Hard Hitting Quotes, Accountability Quotes

39. “Believe in yourself and negotiate for yourself. Own your own success.”

— Sheryl Sandberg

Also featured in: Inspirational Quotes for Women, Self-Worth Quotes, Positive Quotes for Women, Boldness Quotes

40. “Hire for attitude, train for skill.”

— Herb Kelleher

Also featured in: Attitude Quotes, Inspirational Business Quotes, Personality Quotes, Quotes About Work, Quotes About Skills

41. “Extreme Ownership. Leaders must own everything in their world. There is no one else to blame.”

— Jocko Willink

Also featured in: Leadership Quotes, Accountability Quotes, Personal Responsibility Quotes, Warrior Quotes, Military Quotes

42. “Face reality as it is, not as it was or as you wish it to be.”

— Jack Welch

Also featured in: Strategy Quotes, Adaptability Quotes, Truth Quotes, Quotes for Better Decisions

43. “Do what needs to be done, when it needs to be done the best way it can be done, and do it that way every time.”

— Bobby Knight

Also featured in: Accountability Quotes, Dedication Quotes, Competition Quotes, Duty Quotes

44. “A strong leader accepts blame and gives the credit. A weak leader gives blame and accepts the credit.”

— John Wooden

Also featured in: Strong Quotes, Accountability Quotes

45. “I think whether you’re having setbacks or not, the role of a leader is to always display a winning attitude.”

— Colin Powell

Also featured in: Attitude Quotes, Winning Quotes

46. “Leadership is the ability to get extraordinary achievement from ordinary people.”

— Brian Tracy

Also featured in: Friday Quotes for Work

47. “Stay on your game and keep going for your dreams. The world needs that special gift that only you have.”

— Marie Forleo

Also featured in: Cheer Quotes, Path Quotes, Momentum Quotes, Monday Quotes

48. “Don’t make excuses, just get it done!”

— Suzanne Yoculan

Also featured in: Cheer Quotes, Fitness Quotes, Duty Quotes, Monday Quotes

49. “A good boss makes his men realize they have more ability than they think they have so that they consistently do better work than they thought they could.”

— Charles Erwin Wilson

Also featured in: Inspirational Quotes for Work, Performance Quotes, Professional Growth Quotes, Expectations Quotes

50. “I don’t necessarily have to like my players and associates but as their leader I must love them. Love is loyalty, love is teamwork, love respects the dignity of the individual. This is the strength of any organization.”

— Vince Lombardi

Also featured in: Friday Quotes for Work, Coaching Quotes, Teamwork Quotes