Buckingham Quotes & Sayings

You will learn and grow the least in your areas of weakness. — Marcus Buckingham

Discover what you don't like doing and stop doing it. — Marcus Buckingham

CEOs hate variance. It's the enemy. Variance in customer service is bad. Variance in quality is bad. CEOs love processes that are standardized, routinized, predictable. Stamping out variance makes a complex job a bit less complex. — Marcus Buckingham

There are today many institutions, taken for granted as pillars of the establishment, which owe their existence, or their appearance, in part to Albert. He is regarded as the architect of the modern monarchy; and when his great-great granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II, waves to people from Buckingham Palace, she does so standing on the balcony which was Albert's idea. — Sarah Ferguson

Oooo, what is that?" Red yelled when she saw the palace. "That's Buckingham Palace," Alex said. "It's where the monarchy resides." Red was mesmerized. "What a stylish and tasteful place! Look at that beautiful statue out front of it in the middle of the street! That looks exactly like the statue I wanted to build in celebration of Charlie's and my wedding!" Red left the others and flew down to the gate. She peered through the bars at the palace in delight. She had to hang on to the bars tightly because the fairy dust was making her drift back to the sky. One of the palace guards on duty saw Red and stared at her in disbelief. It wasn't every day he saw a floating woman at the gate. "Yoo-hoo!" Red called to him. "I just love your hat! Please tell the current monarch that Queen Red of the Center Kingdom says hello - " Conner flew to the gate and pulled Red's hands off the bars. "Red, come on. You're gonna get left behind! — Chris Colfer

Remember, what you focus on expands; results follow focus. — Marcus Buckingham

That's the only way to do it. Just like an actor. You can get a great performance if you do a bunch of takes and edit it. You find the moments and string them together. — Lindsey Buckingham

If you are innately skeptical of other people's motives, then no amount of good behavior in the past will ever truly convince you that they are not just about to disappoint you. Suspicion is a permanent condition. — Marcus Buckingham

If God is dead, Nietzsche is perhaps the person who stumbles across the corpse; nevertheless, it is Kant whose fingerprints are all over the murder weapon. — Will Buckingham

Tell me, if you can, of anything that's finer than an evening in camp with a rare old friend and a dog after one's heart. — Nash Buckingham

It's pointless to spend millions on advertising before ensuring that the promise keepers (employees) understand and can keep the promises made by the promise makers — Ian P. Buckingham

Managers are encouraged to focus on complex initiatives like reengineering or learning organizations, without spending time on the basics. — Marcus Buckingham

We're all filled with naturally recurring patterns that make us unique - they're called talents. And our charge is to bloody well use them. — Marcus Buckingham

Every company wants to know how to find and keep highly talented women in the workplace. — Marcus Buckingham

Even though I had pushed through the Tango album, it was just not a very good environment to be in on a daily basis. In many ways, this is the best time of my life. — Lindsey Buckingham

But by taking the time away, getting myself off the treadmill, and just slowing down and learning, I felt I had so much more to give back. And maybe that was something that needed to happen for all of us. — Lindsey Buckingham

As Buckingham talked, I couldn't help but remember that there's a reason they call us Gallagher Girls. It's not just because the youngest of us are twelve. It's also because our founder was under twenty. From the very beginning we have been discounted and discredited, underestimated and undervalued. And, for the most part, we wouldn't have it any other way. — Ally Carter

Real beauty is never vain. — Ellen Buckingham Mathews

The day I'm in England performing, English security let a man in a Batman suit climb Buckingham Palace. I felt so much safer ... Batman was on the wall of Buckingham Palace for five hours. Wouldn't happen in America - three minutes: dead Batman. — Christopher Titus

So this is (a manager's) dilemma: The manager must retain control and focus people on performance. But she is bound by her belief that she cannot force everyone to perform the same way ... The solution is as elegant as it is efficient: Define the right outcomes and let each person find his own route toward these outcomes. — Marcus Buckingham

I was playing a Fender Telecaster when I first joined. — Lindsey Buckingham

But the best managers have the solution: Ask. Ask your employee about her goals: What are you shooting for in your current role? Where do you see your career heading? What personal goals would you feel comfortable sharing with me? How often do you want to meet to talk about your progress? — Marcus Buckingham

If we have to know without a doubt that the choices we are making are the perfect ones, we risk never making any choices at all. — Marcus Buckingham

The best strategy for building a competitive organization is to help individuals become more of who they are. — Marcus Buckingham

I also learned to be more confident, to trust my instincts more. — Lindsey Buckingham

Attempt something so big, that unless God intervenes, it's bound to fail. — Jamie Buckingham

Change the ideas and keep the forms the same, and you will have changed little. — Marcus Buckingham

Many managers make a distinction between talent and drive. They often find themselves counseling someone by saying: "Look, you are very talented. But you need to apply yourself or that talent will go to waste." This advice sounds helpful. More than likely it is well-intended. But fundamentally it is flawed. A person's drive is not changeable. What drives him is decided by his mental filter, by the relative strength or weakness of the highways in his mind. His drives are, in fact, his striving talents. — Marcus Buckingham

When I work alone, my process is like painting. With Fleetwood Mac, it's more like movie making. — Lindsey Buckingham

Kisses are like grains of gold or silver found upon the ground, of no value themselves, but precious as showing that a mine is near. — George Villiers, 1st Duke Of Buckingham

Russians are easy to spot, even if you dress them like Buckingham Palace guards. They are "the white people who look seriously ticked off," as Army Ranger vet Ellis Jones, RKC, has put it on our forum. — Pavel Tsatsouline

You cannot learn very much about excellence from studying failure. — Marcus Buckingham

It would be interesting to go to Buckingham Palace. I'd just like to see what goes on - I'm not bothered about hearing any political chat. — Pauline Quirke

If you want to be clear, act. — Marcus Buckingham

What do we know to be important but are unable to measure? — Marcus Buckingham

Great leaders rally people to a better future. — Marcus Buckingham

A note of caution: We can never achieve goals that envy sets for us. Looking at your friends and wishing you had what they had is a waste of precious energy. Because we are all unique, what makes another happy may do the opposite for you. That's why advice is nice but often disappointing when heeded. — Marcus Buckingham

I think a good business book has one coherent idea that is richly played out. — Marcus Buckingham

If you play "I Don't Want To Know" by Fleetwood Mac loud enough
you can hear Lindsey Buckingham's fingers sliding down the strings of his acoustic guitar ... And we were convinced that this was the definitive illustration of what we both loved about music; we loved hearing the INSIDE of a song. — Chuck Klosterman

MICHAEL: Well ... I suppose the first would be, pick the right people. If you do, it makes everything else so much easier. And once you've picked them, trust them. Everyone here knows that the till is open. If they want to borrow $2 for cigarettes or $200 for rent, they can. Just put an IOU in the till and pay it back. If you expect the best of people, they'll give you the best. I've rarely been let down. And when someone has let me down, I don't think it is right to punish those who haven't by creating some new rule or policy. — Marcus Buckingham

Gen Y is really quite distinct from Gen X; it's really self-involved and very narcissistic - their cameras are filled with pictures of themselves; Facebook, it's about me. It's a generation that's been pampered by their parents and their schools, given prizes for just taking part. — Marcus Buckingham

It would be good to see what the Queen gets up to at Buckingham Palace. I bet she spends her whole time watching 'Coronation Street.' — Amelia Warner

We live with them every day, and they come so easily to us that they cease to be precious. — Marcus Buckingham

That's basically what's going on now: Everything is propaganda. — Lindsey Buckingham

When I'm singing I'm always trying to get to the highest point possible. I'd fly to the top of Buckingham Palace to sing to the queen. — Florence Welch

They tried to get me to use a pick when I first joined the band. They had certain things they thought were appropriate. I tried to adapt as much as I could. — Lindsey Buckingham

Here, loved be God, is all well and truly determined for to resist the malice of him that had best cause to be true, the Duke of Buckingham, the most untrue creature living; whom, with God's grace, we shall not be long till that we will be in that parts and subdue his malice. — Richard III Of England

To get the best coaching outcomes, always have your 1-on-1's on your employee's turf not yours. In your office the truth hides. — Marcus Buckingham

I thought of what might be, if only the people who have too much money would help those who have too little! — Ellen Buckingham Mathews

Though women begin their lives more fulfilled than men, as they age, they gradually become less happy. Men, in contrast, get happier as they get older. — Marcus Buckingham

Anyone who has walked through the deserted palaces of Versailles or Vienna realise how much of a part of the life of a nation is lost when a monarchy is abolished. If buckingham palace and windsor castle were transformed into museums, if one politician competed against another for president of the republic, Britain would be a sadder and less interesting place. Our politicians are not men such as could challenge more than a thousand years of history. — William Rees-Mogg

Imagine a terrorist pointing a Buddy missile out of a bedroom window in a London suburb and blasting Her Majesty out of bed at Buckingham Palace. — Robert Muchamore

If we don't discipline ourselves, God will make certain we are disciplined by others. — Jamie Buckingham

True individuality can be lonely. — Marcus Buckingham

BEFORE HE CAME INTO a lot of money in 1839, Richard Plantagenet Temple Nugent Brydges Chandos Grenville, second Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, led a largely uneventful life. — Bill Bryson

When I work alone, it can be like dabbling with a canvas. Maybe you paint over bits, and it starts to form its own life and lead you off in a direction. It becomes an intuitive, subconscious process. — Lindsey Buckingham

The greatest managers in the world do not have much in common. But despite their differences, these great managers do share one thing: Before they do anything else, they first break all the rules of conventional wisdom. — Marcus Buckingham

The Four Keys of Great Managers:
1. "When selecting someone, they select for talent ... not simply experience, intelligence or determination."
2. "When setting expectations, they define the right outcomes ... not the right steps."
3. "When motivating someone, they focus on strengths ... not on weaknesses."
4. "When developing someone, they help him find the right fit ... not simply the next rung on the ladder. — Marcus Buckingham

In the middle of the swinging sixties people in England were apparently under some sort of obligation to have a good time and most of them didn't. A Russian and an American walked about in space to no one's particular advantage. The Beatles received their British Empire medals and, so it was said, smoked cannabis in the lavatories at Buckingham Palace. American aeroplanes were bombing Vietnam, but no one seemed to talk about the nuclear holocaust any more. — John Mortimer

If you're any good at all, you know you can be better. — Lindsay Buckingham

The only truth is your own. The world you see is seen by you alone. What entices you and what repels you, what strengthens you and what weakens you, is part of a pattern that no one else shares. — Marcus Buckingham

procrastination in the face of poor performance is a fool's remedy. — Marcus Buckingham

THE CATER STREET HANGMAN CALLANDER SQUARE PARAGON WALK RESURRECTION ROW BLUEGATE FIELDS RUTLAND PLACE DEATH IN THE DEVIL'S ACRE CARDINGTON CRESCENT SILENCE IN HANOVER CLOSE BETHLEHEM ROAD HIGHGATE RISE BELGRAVE SQUARE FARRIERS' LANE THE HYDE PARK HEADSMAN TRAITORS GATE PENTECOST ALLEY ASHWORTH HALL BRUNSWICK GARDENS BEDFORD SQUARE HALF MOON STREET THE WHITECHAPEL CONSPIRACY SOUTHAMPTON ROW SEVEN DIALS LONG SPOON LANE BUCKINGHAM PALACE GARDENS — Anne Perry

How can we all grow? — Marcus Buckingham

The writing is all done, so it's all about verbalizing everything from point A to point B, and certainly there's a bit of politics involved, so it's a different thing. — Lindsey Buckingham

Every time you make a rule you take away a choice and choice, with all of its illuminating repercussions, is the fuel for learning. — Marcus Buckingham

One reason there are so many unhappy Christians is they feel God should be doing them favors and heaping upon them material rewards and benefits, rather than working as a Carpenter to shape their lives back into His own image. — Jamie Buckingham

I mean Buckingham Palace has never hired a professional public relations outfit let alone a Madison Avenue type and they would throw up their hands in horror at the very idea. — Anthony Holden

Simply put, this is one insight we heard echoed by tens of thousands of great managers:
People don't change that much.
Don't waste time trying to put in what was left out.
Try to draw out what was left in.
That is hard enough. — Marcus Buckingham

You will excel only by maximizing your strengths, never by fixing your weaknesses. — Marcus Buckingham

For more information, see Marcus Buckingham's book, Find Your Strongest Life, — Marilyn Tam

The best long range shotgun load to have in one's boat for mallards is a fine retriever. — Nash Buckingham

As oblivious as we can be to our own strengths, it's even easier to ignore the particular and unique strengths of others. — Marcus Buckingham

It's really touching that we can come back after so long and care about making an album that says as much as this one does. And after all this time, we really do care about each other. — Lindsey Buckingham

I was proud to be a Tory Member of Parliament for twelve years, proud to represent Buckingham as a Tory, proud to have voted with my party 99% of the time as the record shows. — John Bercow

Most of my work has been in corporations, studying how you build an organization that helps people to identify and work to their strengths. — Marcus Buckingham

Abbey was born to sophistication, whereas I was more Barbara than Buckingham Palace Windsor. — Samantha Tonge

He thinks he is a flower to be looked at And when he pulls his frilly nylon pants right up tight He feels a dedicated follower of fashion. When a waiter at Buckingham Palace spilled soup on her dress: Never darken my Dior again! — Ray Davies

I have been to Buckingham Palace and 10 Downing Street but cannot get on the BBC. I am very disappointed because it boils down to snobbery. — Phil Taylor

It's a special person - and personality - who can lead a start-up to soaring success and sustain that success for the long term. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg are star examples. — Marcus Buckingham

Clarity is the answer to anxiety. Effective leaders are clear. — Marcus Buckingham

In most cases, no matter what it is, if you measure it and reward it, people will try to excel at it — Marcus Buckingham

I never thought I'd say the sentence 'It was a real honour' - because that implies that you've done something pretty special. But now I've done that several times. Yesterday I was in Buckingham Palace - I actually met the Queen yesterday and that was an honour. I never thought I'd do something like that. — Ellie Goulding

By the end of his sixteen-course meal in Buckingham Palace, Ramsay McDonald discovered he had changed his mind about the workers owning the means of production. From now on, he felt it better that the Dukes and Duchesses should continue to own the means of production. The workers would just have to make do with what was left over. — Tony Benn

There may indeed be more to life than a pot of cheese, a garden, a few friends; but these things, at least, may be a pretty good start. — Will Buckingham

The power of skills and knowledge is that they are transferable from one person to another. Their limitation is that they are often situation-specific - faced with an unanticipated scenario, they lose much of their power. In contrast, the power of talent is that it is transferable from situation to situation. — Marcus Buckingham

This time, there were no drugs involved. The hours were completely normal daytime hours. I think we were able to appreciate the interplay, where before we had taken it for granted. — Lindsey Buckingham

People quit managers, not jobs. — Marcus Buckingham

No idea will work if people don't trust your intentions toward them. — Marcus Buckingham

Great managers know they don't have 10 salespeople working for them. They know they have 10 individuals working for them . A great manager is brilliant at spotting the unique differences that separate each person and then capitalizing on them. — Marcus Buckingham

The 12 years I was in Fleetwood Mac before were not particularly happy years. I was not in a very good place, psychologically, when I left. I didn't have a lot of confidence in what I was doing. — Lindsey Buckingham

Then there was David, lording it up at Buckingham Palace, thinking he was king of the shit heap. That guy was definitely nuts, like every dictator that had gone before him. Nero, Caligula, Henry the Eighth, Napoleon, Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, Margaret Thatcher, Colonel Gaddafi, that crazy North Korean bastard who was in Team America, Kim Jong whatever. — Charlie Higson

As the weather improved, the bobms got worse. The newspapers said that the Kaiser was aiming to knock London down (although avoiding Buckingham Palace, so as not to hit his relations). — Kate Williams

Your daughters will leave this school as confident, resilient young women." Ms. Byrne was off, delivering the private school party line. Resilience. What crap. No kid was going to go to school in a place that looked like freaking Buckingham Palace and come out of it resilient. She should be honest: "Your daughter will leave this school with a grand sense of entitlement that will serve her well in life; she'll find it especially useful on Sydney roads. — Liane Moriarty

Leaders are fascinated by future. You are a leader if and only if, you are restless for change, impatient for progress and deeply dissatisfied with status quo. Because in your head, you can see a better future. The friction between 'what is' and 'what could be' burns you, stirs you up, propels you. This is leadership. — Marcus Buckingham

When you feel as though you can't do something, the simple antidote is action: Begin doing it. Start the process, even if it's just a simple step, and don't stop at the beginning. — Marcus Buckingham

The hallway felt like time itself, and Patricia Buckingham and I were standing at opposite ends-her looking back on all she'd seen, me wondering what lay ahead. — Ally Carter

You have a filter, a characteristic way of responding to the world around you. We all do. Your filter tells you which stimuli to notice and which to ignore; which to love and which to hate. It creates your innate motivations - are you competitive, altruistic, or ego driven? It defines how you think - are you disciplined or laissez-faire, practical or strategic? It forges your prevailing attitudes - are you optimistic or cynical, calm or anxious, empathetic or cold? It creates in you all of your distinct patterns of thought, feeling, and behavior. In effect, your filter is the source of your talents. — Marcus Buckingham

Fighting beside Bucky was a bit like guarding the back of a rampaging bear, but it was a role Tobias had played a hundred times back in school. For all his mild manners, Buckingham Penner was a full-steam-ahead kind of fighter with little regard for sneak attacks from behind. — Emma Jane Holloway

He did not kiss her, for the hour was half-past twelve, and the car was passing by the stables of Buckingham Palace. — E. M. Forster