Carly Fiorina Quotes & Sayings

We need a different kind of leadership in the White House that understands how to get bureaucracies competent again. — Carly Fiorina

I would say that [David] Petraeus and [Hillary] Clinton are being handled very difficultly by this administration over arguably exactly the same issue, which was the handling of classified information over a personal email. — Carly Fiorina

Many people have asked me how I feel about losing my job. — Carly Fiorina

As president, I will take that common ground and sign the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. I will stop allowing taxpayer money to fund Planned Parenthood. And I will support those pregnancy centers and women's health clinics around the country that are actually serving their communities. — Carly Fiorina

A vendor neutral, standards-based approach must be adopted — Carly Fiorina

There's a whole company called Palantir that does nothing but derive and create algorithms riches to search through big data. We're not using their capabilities. For heaven's sake, some of this is just ineptitude. — Carly Fiorina

Tim Cook has been asked a very specific question, in public by the way, and Tim Cook has refused in public. I don't blame him for that. I will guarantee you that there are all kinds of things that the private sector can be doing to be helpful, and they have not been engaged. — Carly Fiorina

Donald Trump is a big Christmas gift wrapped under the tree for Hillary Clinton. She desperately hopes she runs against Donald Trump. I, however, am the lump of coal in Mrs. Clinton's stocking, and she desperately hopes she does not run against me. — Carly Fiorina

I have met Vladimir Putin, and I know his ambition will not be detoured by a gimmicky red, reset button. — Carly Fiorina

I don't give up on commitments until what I've been asked to do is clearly finished. — Carly Fiorina

As president, the first thing I will do is secure the border. It will take money, manpower, and technology - but most of all, it will take political will. — Carly Fiorina

I will not speak to Vladimir Putin personally until we've rebuilt the 6th Fleet a little bit right under his nose; rebuilt the missile defense program in Poland right under his nose; and conducted a few military exercises in the Baltic states. — Carly Fiorina

We need to ensure that the government agencies that are supposed to be regulating the financial system are actually doing their jobs. We must shrink the federal government and hold it accountable - and to do that, we need a leader who understands how bureaucracies work and how to cut them down to size. — Carly Fiorina

We know the only way to reimagine our government is to reimagine who is leading it, — Carly Fiorina

The truth is, Hillary Clinton's ideas create more income inequality. Why? Because bigger government creates crony capitalism. When you have a 70,000 page tax code, you've got to be very wealthy, very powerful, very well connected to dig your way through that tax code. — Carly Fiorina

I think we need a real plan, which is why I have offered a much more specific approach to securing the border, fixing the legal immigration system and addressing illegal immigration. — Carly Fiorina

The hardest thing for a chief executive to do is to tell someone that they don't have a job anymore. — Carly Fiorina

I've never thought in terms of 'men do this' and 'women do that.' — Carly Fiorina

We must protect the right of citizens to practice their religions freely. As president, I will support federal and state-level legislation like the Religious Freedom Restoration Acts that protect citizens and their churches from government intrusion. — Carly Fiorina

I know why jobs go, and I know why they come. — Carly Fiorina

As commander in chief, I will not speak to Vladimir Putin until we've set up that no-fly zone; until we've gathered our Sunni-Arab allies and begun to deny ISIS territory; until I've called the supreme leader of Iran and told him new deal - new deal. We the United States of America are going to cut off the money flow, which we can do; which we don't need anyone's permission or collaboration to do. — Carly Fiorina

If Hillary Clinton had to face me on a debate stage, at the very least, she would have a hitch in her swing. — Carly Fiorina

I think our nation is at a pivotal point. Too many people fear that we are losing the sense of limitless possibility that has always defined this nation. — Carly Fiorina

My goodness, my hair's been talked about by a million people, you know? It sort of goes with the territory. — Carly Fiorina

The financial crisis was a classic case of the political class failing the American people. Twenty-five agencies were supposed to be minding the store during the financial crisis and every one of them was asleep at the switch. — Carly Fiorina

A leader's most important decisions are about people. Who do you put in which jobs? How long do you leave them in a job? — Carly Fiorina

To wage war, we need a commander in chief who has made tough calls in tough times and stood up to be held accountable over and over, not first-term senators who've never made an executive decision in their life. — Carly Fiorina

Everyone truly does have God-given gifts ... Find them and use them, and don't let anyone else tell you that you are less than who you are. — Carly Fiorina

As president, I will ensure that the United States is the global energy powerhouse of the 21st century.That means reinstating the Keystone XL Pipeline that President[Barack] Obama rejected. It also means rolling back the regulations from this administration that limit our ability to find resources by imposing regulations on hydraulic fracturing and our ability to be energy independent by regulating drilling on federal lands. As president, I will make America an energy leader through technology and innovation. — Carly Fiorina

Nobody needs to worry about my toughness. — Carly Fiorina

I think what's fascinating is how many people are playing in politics who maybe haven't played before. — Carly Fiorina

You know, I believe that technology is the great leveler. Technology permits anybody to play. And in some ways, I think technology - it's not only a great tool for democratization, but it's a great tool for eliminating prejudice and advancing meritocracies. — Carly Fiorina

Customers can't always tell you what they want, but they can always tell you what's wrong. — Carly Fiorina

The goal is to turn data into information, and information into insight. — Carly Fiorina

What is really disappointing about this president is not just lack of leadership, but his tendency to always place the blame for his lack of leadership somewhere else — Carly Fiorina

Most of the media ... is positioning the merger with Compaq and the recent actions by Walter Hewlett and David Packard as a fight between the past and the future. — Carly Fiorina

I understand how the economy actually works. — Carly Fiorina

Donald Trump would be a better president every day of the week and twice on Sunday rather than Hillary Clinton. — Carly Fiorina

I think the dot-com boom and bust represented the end of the beginning. The industry is more mature today. — Carly Fiorina

I didn't get a phone call from Bill Clinton before I jumped in the race ... maybe it's because I hadn't given money to the foundation or donated to his wife's senate race. — Carly Fiorina

I go to social media, check out my granddaughter's new boyfriend, but the Department of Homeland Security can't figure out they need to be tracking they jihadi web sites? — Carly Fiorina

I dare Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama to watch these tapes. Watch a former organ harvester describe a fully formed fetus on the table, its heart beating, its legs kicking while someone says we have to keep it alive to harvest its brain. — Carly Fiorina

We know that the two most important things in a child's education are a good teacher and an involved parent. You don't foster those things with a bloated federal bureaucracy - you encourage them when you support choice and accountability. — Carly Fiorina

The truth is, I was afraid the day I walked into Stanford. And I was afraid the day I walked out. — Carly Fiorina

The pace of change is so great, there is always something else going on. What that says to me is that you have to have strategic vision and peripheral vision. Strategic vision is the ability to look ahead and peripheral vision is the ability to look around, and both are important. — Carly Fiorina

Like Hillary Clinton, I, too, have traveled hundreds of thousands of miles around the globe. But unlike Mrs. Clinton, I know that flying is an activity, not an accomplishment. — Carly Fiorina

Perception is everything and that becomes the reality. It's a big problem for Hillary Clinton. — Carly Fiorina

Fiscal policy is not just, or even not even principally, the purview of the president. — Carly Fiorina

There is no job that is America's God-given right anymore. — Carly Fiorina

The world is a more tragic and dangerous place when American isn't leading and, under this president, we have not been leading. — Carly Fiorina

I don't think we're going to see the price of oil going down in the near future, that's the reality. — Carly Fiorina

I think it would help tremendously to have a senator that knows where jobs come from, that knows how to create them, that knows how to bring them back and, importantly, knows what it means to manage billions of dollars' worth of expenses and cut billions of dollars' worth of expenses. — Carly Fiorina

Margaret Thatcher was a great leader for her nation at a pivotal and a perilous time. So, I find the comparison flattering, but that's up to others to say whether that comparison is justified. — Carly Fiorina

I know Vladimir Putin. He respects strength. He lied to our president's [Barack Obama] face; didn't both to tell him about warplanes and troops going into Syria. We need to speak to him from a position of strength. — Carly Fiorina

When our embassy is attacked in Benghazi by terrorists and there is no response, you get more bad behavior. When Russia invades Ukraine and there is no response, you get more bad behavior. When Syria crosses the red line and there is no response, you get more bad behavior. When Iran launches tests of ballistic missiles and there is no response, you get more bad behavior. When North Korea attacks Sony Pictures and there is no response, you get more bad behavior. In other words, Mrs. Clinton, you cannot lead from behind. We must respond when we are attacked or provoked. — Carly Fiorina

A company is an organic, living, breathing thing, not just an income sheet and balance sheet. You have to lead it with that in mind. — Carly Fiorina

2016 is going to be a fight. A fight between conservatism and a Democrat Party that is undermining the very character of our nation. — Carly Fiorina

When you lead change, sometimes you get arrows in your back. I mean, that's just the way the real world is. — Carly Fiorina

Of course people think Washington is arrogant. It is. — Carly Fiorina

I think Donald Trump taps into an anger that I hear every day. People are angry that a commonsense thing like securing the border or ending sanctuary cities is somehow considered extreme. It's not extreme; it's common sense. We need to secure the border. — Carly Fiorina

Religious liberty must be protected in this country. It's a principle upon which we were founded. — Carly Fiorina

We need a fearless fighter in the White House - not just to win this election, but also to restore the character of our nation. — Carly Fiorina

The truth is in California you can't build a new manufacturing facility, and businesses are leaving in droves because of bad government policy. — Carly Fiorina

It's not a world war yet, but we're at war, because ISIS has declared war on us. — Carly Fiorina

All the things I resent most about out-of-control government and the politicians who support it, grow it, or simply fail to deal with it, what angers me above all else is the knowledge that all of this waste and ruin is entirely preventable. — Carly Fiorina

If someone believes they are limited by their gender, race or background, they will become more limited. — Carly Fiorina

A woman's experience is different from a man's in virtually every respect, including how she is treated by the media. — Carly Fiorina

I really believe that all CEO pay should be voted on by shareholders ahead of time. Mine was. — Carly Fiorina

I do not support Common Core because there is absolutely no evidence that a big, centralized bureaucracy makes anything better. In fact, there is a lot of evidence to the contrary. — Carly Fiorina

Love what you do, or don't do it. Don't make a choice of any kind, whether in career or in life, just because it pleases others or because it ranks high on someone else's scale of achievement ... Make the choice to do something because it engages your heart as well as your mind. Make the choice because it engages all of you. — Carly Fiorina

I understand how bureaucracies work. And that's important because our government has become a vast, huge, bloated, corrupt bureaucracy. — Carly Fiorina

I'm quoting Margaret Thatcher. I quote her frequently. — Carly Fiorina

I'm really paying attention. People make up their minds late. — Carly Fiorina

The highest calling of leadership is to challenge the status quo and unlock the potential of others. We need a leader who will lead the resurgence of this great nation and unlock its potential once again. — Carly Fiorina

You do not need to have a 2,400-page bill come out of Washington, D.C. — Carly Fiorina

In World War II, the government went to the private sector. The government asked the private sector for help in doing things that the government could not do. The private sector complied. That is what I am suggesting. — Carly Fiorina

We need to be very well aware of the fact that China and Russia are using technology to attack us, just as ISIS is using technology to recruit those who would murder American citizens. — Carly Fiorina

We also know that ISIS is recruiting who are not in those databases. So of course, we're going to miss them. And then we now learn that DHS says, "No, we can't check their social media." — Carly Fiorina

We must remember that ours was intended to be a citizen government, and we must work together to restore our country and the character of our nation. — Carly Fiorina

Oh, I'm sure I've made my share of (mistakes). I don't think I've made more than my fair share of them, although I think more has been made of the ones that I've made, — Carly Fiorina

Silos can't interoperate unless the technology does. — Carly Fiorina

Look, you need technical skills to run a company. — Carly Fiorina

I think leadership of any kind requires trust and transparency and voters should demand no less from their political leadership in government. — Carly Fiorina

My job is to continue to work very hard, to make sure the American people understand who I am, what I believe in, what I'll fight for. It's why I have been so accessible to the press. — Carly Fiorina

Every job is important because each one represents an American's livelihood and ability to raise a family. Yet spending our time building walls around America will do nothing to help us compete for the millions of new jobs being created. — Carly Fiorina

I have very eclectic tastes. — Carly Fiorina

Very ugly things were said about me. — Carly Fiorina

To build a great company, which is a CEO's job, sometimes you have to stand up against conventional wisdom. — Carly Fiorina

You take unacceptable risk, you have to be prepared to face the consequence. — Carly Fiorina

Ultimately, strong branding is not just a promise to our customers,to our partners, to our shareholders and to our communities;it is also a promise to ourselves ... in that sense, it is about using a brand as a beacon, as a compass, for determining the right actions, for staying the course, for evolving a culture, for inspiring a company to reach its full potential. — Carly Fiorina

We must fix our broken education system. Every parent deserves a choice as to how to best educate their children so that every child has a chance to fulfill their potential. — Carly Fiorina

In fact, the private sector is improving their algorithmic ability to search through big data month after month after month. And, of course, a big government bureaucracy isn't keeping up. — Carly Fiorina

Well I think money has been going into political campaigns for a very long time. — Carly Fiorina

Customers are still setting the technology agenda. Not just you, our customers, but your customers as well. What more and more are telling you is what kind of services they need, and how and when they want those services delivered to them. And in fact, that is just the beginning. — Carly Fiorina

What I have said to people is that I've lived the American dream, because I have. — Carly Fiorina

When it turns out that you were supposed to be disclosing all these foreign government donations to the Clinton Global Initiative while you were Secretary of State, and you didn't, and now the Clinton Global Initiative is having to restate their 990s, that doesn't sound very trustworthy to me. — Carly Fiorina

I learned long ago that the most effective way to compete is to play your own game, and I've been competing with men my whole life. — Carly Fiorina

I think when you've been a career politician for 34 years you have to run on your record. — Carly Fiorina

Some of this is bureaucratic ineptitude and a great deal of this is an administration that doesn't understand the urgency of the situation, and therefore this [Barack Obama] administration has not reached out actively to the private sector and said, we need help. — Carly Fiorina

Hillary Clinton failed to mention that her agreement with a precipitous withdrawal and declaration of victory in 2011 helped left swaths of territory and weaponry from ISIS. She failed to mention that she described Bashar al-Assad as a positive reformer and opened an American embassy. She failed to mention a complete failure strategy in Libya, which now is enabling ISIS to move into Libya. — Carly Fiorina