Meg Whitman Quotes & Sayings

We can put our head in the sand and continue to lose jobs overseas and to other states, or we can say, 'You know what? We are not going to lose another job from California, and we're going to be the very best place to start and grow a business.' So I'll be the chief sales officer for California businesses. — Meg Whitman

I have run large organizations, I know what it takes to create a healthy business climate, and I have more experience than Jerry Brown doing that. So it'll be a stark contrast, a career politician vs. someone who has met a payroll, gotten a return on investment, knows how to use technology to do more with less. — Meg Whitman

Remember that you can do anything you want to do. Don't let anyone say, 'You're not smart enough ... it's too hard ... it's a dumb idea ... no one has done that before ... girls don't do that.' My mom gave me that advice in 1973. And it allowed me to never worry about what others were saying about my career direction. — Meg Whitman

We have always said that advertising is just the icing on the cake. It is not the cake. — Meg Whitman

Look at growth, look at how much time people spend on the Net and look at the variety of things that they are doing. It's all really good, so I am actually encouraged by the fundamentals that underlie usage growth on the Net. — Meg Whitman

If you have fun at your job, I think you're going to be more effective. — Meg Whitman

'Perfect' is the enemy of 'good enough'. — Meg Whitman

People ask me, how is managing in the New Economy different from managing in the Old Economy? Actually, it's a lot the same. It's about the financial discipline of the bottom line, understanding your customers, segmenting your customers by their needs, and building a world-class management team. — Meg Whitman

I want to spend 100 percent of my time focused on what I think I can make the biggest difference on as the governor of California. — Meg Whitman

EBay had two main things that really spoke to me. It enabled individuals to do things that they could not have done without the Web. The second thing was what Pierre said: "People have met their best friends on eBay. What this has enabled is truly online community." — Meg Whitman

If we don't rededicate ourselves to education with the same attitude Americans have applied to going to the moon and fighting wars, the results will be profound. We will gradually lose our successful workforce. — Meg Whitman

Steve Jobs was an iconic entrepreneur and businessman whose impact on technology was felt beyond Silicon Valley. He will be remembered for the innovation he brought to market and the inspiration he brought to the world. — Meg Whitman

My view is that, just as in many businesses, brands really matter. There will always be a role for destination sites. Eighty million users come to our destination. I think that will be the vast majority of our future business. — Meg Whitman

I got to get the right people in the right job. Because a lot of costs can be taken out in the context of your administration without the legislature. For example, using technology to do more with less. Using technology to fight fraud. Reorganizing and streamlining can be done within the context of the administration. — Meg Whitman

To be effective, leaders must have the qualities and attitudes essential to work in a group setting. — Meg Whitman

What's sort of interesting about the whole public relations disaster that is the Net, in some ways, is that the fundamentals are really good. — Meg Whitman

In my judgment, we have to avoid, at all costs, tax increases. That would be the worst possible thing to do and will make a bad economy even worse. Beyond that, targeted tax relief should be expanded upon. — Meg Whitman

For me, the international expansion of eBay was the best idea. We are now in 35 countries, and have a huge global network. The second best one was the acquisition of PayPal - the wallet on eBay. — Meg Whitman

You know, in a workplace, when you shrink the size of a workforce, there is pain there. But there is no question: we have a government that we can no longer afford. That is the cold, hard fact. So we have to make this more efficient. We have to sunset programs that no longer work. We have to eliminate waste and fraud. We must do this. — Meg Whitman

You know, I like to think that I will subscribe very much to the core Republican principles of small government. Making a small number of rules and getting out of the way. Keeping taxes low. Creating an environment for small businesses to grow and thrive. — Meg Whitman

One good thing about California is we have quite a broad-based economy. We provide more fruits and vegetables and produce to the United States than any other state. So we have actually the single largest agricultural sector in the country. — Meg Whitman

I want to work with the teachers' union. But as I said out there, we have to put the kids first and we are letting down a generation of California children. It's not acceptable. — Meg Whitman

Because if you don't have a great workforce, a great higher education system, you're not going to have the next eBay, the next AmGen, the next, you know, Miasole, and not only California but America is going to fall behind a whole new competitive context which is obviously China, India, and other countries. — Meg Whitman

We also need to reduce corporate tax rates. This applies to small, medium and large businesses. At 35 percent, we have the second highest corporate rates in the world. It restricts the growth of small enterprises that need to plow capital back into their businesses and forces companies and jobs to move overseas. — Meg Whitman

Communications is at the heart of e-commerce and community. — Meg Whitman

Sometimes it's a little bit like being a politician. We have work to do in understanding our users' sentiments. — Meg Whitman

It is very clear that voice communications is moving on to the Internet. In the end, the price that anyone can provide for voice transmission on the Net will trend toward zero. — Meg Whitman

Many companies operate from more of a command-and-control environment - they decide what's going to happen at headquarters and have the organization execute. That doesn't work here because it's the community of users who really have control.

So we enable, not direct. We think of our customers as people, not wallets. And that has implications for how we run the company. We partner with our customers and let them take the company where they think it's best utilized. — Meg Whitman

Well, California used to be in the dream-making business, and unfortunately what's happened I think we're now in the dream-breaking business. — Meg Whitman

The fact that used cars is our largest category is a good example. We would not have sat in a conference room and said, "Hey, how about used cars?" So what can be learned that is extensible to other companies is to ask what are your customers doing with your products that maybe you didn't anticipate that they would do? How do you think of your customers as your research and development lab, as opposed to having an R&D lab at headquarters? — Meg Whitman

A business leader has to keep their organization focused on the mission. That sounds easy, but it can be tremendously challenging in today's competitive and ever-changing business environment. A leader also has to motivate potential partners to join. — Meg Whitman

Guess what? The world changes. eBay has defined e-commerce. — Meg Whitman

I answer that question by saying: 'Why Meg Whitman' which is: I'm not a career politician. I spent 30 years in business. I can tell you that people in California have had it with career politicians: they are done. — Meg Whitman

When a small business grows like eBay did, it has a multiplier effect. It creates other small businesses that supply it with intellectual capital, goods and services. — Meg Whitman

And I want to be able to - you know, make Republicans and Democrats famous for keeping jobs in California. — Meg Whitman

Most of us can't even begin to imagine. — Meg Whitman

Problems are good, as long as you solve them quickly, — Meg Whitman

Because what happens is, as the economy suffers, tax revenues go down. But unlike businesses, where at least your variable costs go down, in government your variable costs go up: unemployment insurance, workmen's compensation, health care benefits, welfare, you name it. — Meg Whitman

I think maybe it is about time for a governor who has created jobs, who's managed a budget, who's led and inspired large organizations, who listens well, and who can drive an agenda. — Meg Whitman

When people use your brand name as a verb, that is remarkable. — Meg Whitman

I think we can be the very best place to start a business, to grow a business, to invent a new technology, to change the world, to change the country. But we've got a lot of work to deliver a new California to the people of California. — Meg Whitman

Silicon Valley is 130 miles from Sacramento, but it might as well be a million miles away given how it operates. — Meg Whitman

You look at the tremendous success of Facebook. To my mind there is not a lot of commerce going on in these social networking sites. eBay is a community anchored in commerce. It is a commerce site that built a community around it. What has not been proven is if the reverse can happen and people will go to community sites to do commerce. — Meg Whitman

Do what you love and success will follow. Passion is the fuel behind a successful career. — Meg Whitman

A monkey could drive this train. — Meg Whitman

Regulation is strangling businesses of all sizes in California, and we've got to streamline regulation so it's easy, not hard, to do business. — Meg Whitman

You know, I think, people of all stripes in California, Republicans, Democrats, conservatives, liberals, frankly, as I have traveled the state, the number one issue is jobs. And they are looking for which candidate can get the economy back on track. — Meg Whitman

You can't stand for too many things. You can't use the bully pulpit for too many things. So, I promise you, every day, I am going to talk about jobs, spending, and education. — Meg Whitman