Quixotic Leadership Lessons
June 9, 2021
James G. March, Professor Emeritus of Stanford University, has done some exceptional work tying Cervantes’ masterpiece, Don Quixote, to business leadership.
https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/james-march-what-don-quixote-teaches-us-about-leadership
Here’s March’s movie on leadership in full:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=29&v=NYmbiv_cbn8
Quixotic Inspiration
Whether you’re on your horse, or dodging windmills, here are some great quotes from Don Quixote that relate to business concepts:
Don Quixote Management
STARTUPS
“In order to attain the impossible, one must attempt the absurd.”
EXPERIENCE
“The wounds received in battle bestow honor, they do not take it away…”
HARD WORK
“Diligence is the mother of good fortune.”
INTEGRITY
“A Man Without Honor is Worse than Dead.”
LAUNCH/LEAN STARTUP
“I do not insist,” answered Don Quixote, “that this is a full adventure, but it is the beginning of one, for this is the way adventures begin.”
COMPETITIVE THREAT
“Do you see over yonder, friend Sancho, thirty or forty hulking giants? I intend to do battle with them and slay them.”
DRIVE
“The brave man carves out his fortune, and every man is the sum of his own works.”
LEADERSHIP
“When the head aches, all the members partake of the pain.”
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