Gordon Bethune Quotes

Quotes about:

• Do you know how much faster I can fix an airplane when I want to fix it than when I don't want to fix it?

  Gordon Bethune

  Airplane, Self Motivation, Want

  448 Copy quote

• But I like to think that a lot of managers and executives trying to solve problems miss the forest for the trees by forgetting to look at their people -- not at how much more they can get from their people or how they can more effectively manage their people. I think they need to look a little more closely at what it's like for their people to come to work there every day.

  Gordon Bethune

  Thinking, People, Tree

  Gordon Bethune (1999). “From Worst to First: Behind the Scenes of Continental's Remarkable Comeback”, Wiley

  89 Copy quote

• You don't lie to your own doctor. You don't lie to your own attorney, and you don't lie to your employees.

  Gordon Bethune

  Lying, Doctors, Don't Lie

  58 Copy quote

• Somebody who knows what they're doing, who has a good track record, they come across as very articulate, bright and looking for a challenge - that's absolutely my kind of hire.

  Gordon Bethune

  Track, Challenges, Records

  40 Copy quote

• Most businesses fail because they want the right things but measure the wrong things, and they get the wrong results.

  Gordon Bethune

  Want, Failing, Results

  27 Copy quote

• The airline business is the biggest team sport in the world. When you're all consumed with fighting among yourselves, your opponents can run over you every day.

  Gordon Bethune

  Sports, Running, Team

  35 Copy quote

• The first step to problem solving is figuring out who's got the problem.

  Gordon Bethune

  Inspirational, Work, Steps

  5 Copy quote

• It's the old adage: You can make a pizza so cheap, nobody will eat it. You can make an airline so cheap, nobody will fly it.

  Gordon Bethune

  Adages, Airline, Pizza

  32 Copy quote

• It's not about market share. If you have a successful company, you will get your market share. But to get a successful company, what do you have to have? The same metrics of success that your customer does.

  Gordon Bethune

  Educational, Successful, Doe

  29 Copy quote

• I've spent my life as an airplane mechanic, pilot, aircraft manufacturer and airline CEO who never lost a life or an airplane. I am considerate of the risk we take every time we fly. I also know we need to fly and always to improve safety.

  Gordon Bethune

  Airplane, Safety, Risk

  34 Copy quote

• It all sounds almost silly, but the fact is that the only way to change a corporate culture is to just change it.

  Gordon Bethune

  Silly, Sound, Culture

  Gordon Bethune (1999). “From Worst to First: Behind the Scenes of Continental's Remarkable Comeback”, Wiley

  30 Copy quote

• It really helps to know what success is before you get there, and if you know, then you can head right for it. For some people, it's the most money. For some, it's the most power. For some, it's the most girlfriends. Everybody's got a measure. For me, I guess it's having the respect and admiration of your peers.

  Gordon Bethune

  Girlfriend, People, Peers

  29 Copy quote

• I don't think JetBlue has a better chance of being profitable than 100 other predecessors with new airplanes, new employees, low fares, all touchy-feely ... all of them are losers. Most of these guys are smoking ragweed.

  Gordon Bethune

  Airplane, Thinking, Smoking

  29 Copy quote

• Watches are the only jewelry men can wear, unless you're Mr. T.

  Gordon Bethune

  Men, Watches, Jewelry

  "The Do's and Don't's of Collecting High-End Watches" by Robert Frank, www.cnbc.com. December 12, 2012.

  32 Copy quote

• If you say three things in a row that make sense, people will vote for you.

  Gordon Bethune

  People, Three, Vote

  26 Copy quote

• There are a lot of parallels between what we're doing and an expensive watch. It's very complex, has a lot of parts and it only has value when it's predictable and reliable.

  Gordon Bethune

  Watches, Aviation, Airline

  25 Copy quote

• Since 1978 the record pretty well shows that no start-up airline . . . has really been successful, so the odds of JetBlue having long-term success are remote. I'm not going to say it can't happen because stranger things have happened, but I personally believe P.T. Barnum was, in that respect, correct.

  Gordon Bethune

  Believe, Successful, Odds

  28 Copy quote

• The point is... you'd better figure out what your Customers - the Customers you want - value. Because that's what they'll buy. Anything else is a waste of their money, and they'll figure that out in a hurry.

  Gordon Bethune

  Want, Waste, Figures

  Gordon Bethune (1999). “From Worst to First: Behind the Scenes of Continental's Remarkable Comeback”, Wiley

  20 Copy quote

• Every pilot thinks they're the best pilot in the world. I think I'm the best pilot.

  Gordon Bethune

  Thinking, World, Pilots

  "Sex, scotch and speed" by Andrew Clark, www.theguardian.com. September 21, 2002.

  26 Copy quote

• It's difficult to have everybody like everything you do. I don't know anybody that's perfect and doesn't have a zit somewhere.

  Gordon Bethune

  Perfect, Zits, Difficult

  19 Copy quote

• It's like telling Mozart that there are too many notes in an opera. Which one do you want us to take out?

  Gordon Bethune

  Opera, Want, Aviation

  18 Copy quote

• I was a mechanic in the Navy. And mechanics in the Navy are like mechanics in airlines. You may have more stripes than I do, but you don't know how to fix the airplane.

  Gordon Bethune

  Airplane, Stripes, Navy

  20 Copy quote

• We're a stupid industry led by stupid people.

  Gordon Bethune

  Stupid, Stupid People, People

  12 Copy quote

• We tax air passengers like cigarettes and alcohol - we impose sin taxes on travellers.

  Gordon Bethune

  Air, Alcohol, Sin

  "Sex, scotch and speed" by Andrew Clark, www.theguardian.com. September 21, 2002.

  19 Copy quote

• A bankruptcy judge can fix your balance sheet, but he cannot fix your company.

  Gordon Bethune

  Judging, Balance, Sheets

  5 Copy quote

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