Penney Quotes & Sayings

Used to Sears, JC Penney, and Woolworth's, Birmingham's stores sounded foreign: Gucci, Jacobson's, and Dittrich Furs. Underground parking kept the shoppers flawlessly coifed and dry - a scene from a Hollywood movie. — Claudia Whitsitt

No company can afford not to move forward. It may be at the top of the heap today but at the bottom of the heap tomorrow, if it doesn't. — James Cash Penney

Success cannot come from standstill men. Methods change and men must change with them. — James Cash Penney

So I come back again to the condition that the Golden Rule, if one adopts it, is a difficult master to serve. The ship's captain will not throw the compass overboard because the wind blows fair and the day is funny. For he knows, from the experiences of the ocean's instability, that the danger days of storm are always "just ahead." So the compass must always be handy and obedience to it must always be loyal. And so with the Golden Rulle - the compass must be ever at hand through life's journey. It will see us through trying times. And perhaps the most trying of all times comes when success is riding high and we may be tempted to "throw the compass overboard." It is then we must remember that all good days in human life come from the mastery of the days of trouble that are forever recurrent. — James Cash Penney

The best teamwork comes from men who are working independently toward one goal in unison. — James Cash Penney

Stress is something that makes you feel you can't be yourself. — Penney Peirce

I had to pick myself up and get on with it, do it all over again, only even better this time. — James Cash Penney

Too many would-be executives are slaves of routine. — James Cash Penney

Clearly the secret of happiness ... is a variation on the general principle of banging your head against a wall, and then stopping. — Stef Penney

The ultimate test of a relationship is to disagree but to hold hands. — Alexandra Penney

There has never been a time when a career in the Penney Company was not a challenge that brought out the best in a man. — James Cash Penney

I have a line of clothing at J.C. Penney's ... and I'm lucky to be affiliated. — Diahann Carroll

What nuns don't realize is that they look better in nun clothes than in J. C. Penney pantsuits. — Walker Percy

Determine to do some thinking for yourself. Don't live entirely upon the thoughts of others. Don't be an automaton. — James Cash Penney

Intuition is a powerful tool that can heal the painful split we all feel between our earthly, mundane selves and our divine, eternal selves. When we realize that our spiritual knowledge is in us right now, and always has been, we become filled with light, light-hearted, and enlightened. — Penney Peirce

As a rule, we find what we look for; we achieve what we get ready for. — James Cash Penney

Your personal vibration or energy state is a blend of the contracted or expanded frequencies of your body, emotions, and thoughts at any given moment. The more you allow your soul to shine through you, the higher your personal vibration will be. — Penney Peirce

Honor bespeaks worth. Confidence begets trust. Service brings satisfaction. Cooperation proves the quality of leadership. — James Cash Penney

I love research, and in fact it's liberating because you have to create your own world. No one can say "I've just got back from the 1860s, and you got it wrong." Anyway, it's fiction. — Stef Penney

Every man must decide for himself whether he shall master his world or be mastered by it. — James Cash Penney

They serve best who give most of themselves. Self is forgotten by the one who serves, for such a one rejoices to see success coming to others through his or her efforts. — James Cash Penney

Endings are never neat, because when life goes on, there is no end. You may want to speculate about what the characters get up to afterwards, but I feel it would be presumptuous of me to dictate that. — Stef Penney

I will have no man work for me who has not the capacity to become a partner. — James Cash Penney

It just goes to show you can't leave anything behind. You bring it all with you, whether you want to or not. — Stef Penney

Our own private intuition is the catalyst for self-improvement and self-realization, because when it comes to making deep and lasting changes in one's personal life, it is only subjective experience, not facts, that registers as real. — Penney Peirce

The best way to stop a bad habit is never to begin it. — James Cash Penney

Willpower is not about resisting, forcing, or controlling
it's about choosing. — Penney Peirce

There's a world I could do without: public underwear showings. There was a time in my lifetime when you had to open a J.C. Penney catalog to see people in their underwear. Now it's like the national pastime, hanging out in your underwear. I don't see why they have to pay anyone to model it. — Kristin Billerbeck

Intelligence is the effort to do the best you can at your particular job; the quality that gives dignity to that job, whether it happens to be scrubbing a floor or running a corporation. — James Cash Penney

It was always my practice to train salespeople under my direct supervision, and to treat children with the utmost consideration. — James Cash Penney

I learned that all things come to those who wait-provided they hustle while they wait. — James Cash Penney

Growth is never by mere chance; it is the result of forces working together. — James Cash Penney

Change is vital, improvement the logical form of change. — James Cash Penney

Luck is always the last refuge of laziness and incompetence. — James Cash Penney

Whenever I pick up a book I think, "Tell me something I don't know." — Stef Penney

I don't think I could write about someone I didn't feel some sympathy for. — Stef Penney

The thought in my mind was that I must be a good merchant. If I were a good merchant, the rest would probably take care of itself. — James Cash Penney

Salesmanship, too, is an art; the perfection of its technique requires study and practice. — James Cash Penney

I definitely do feel a pull toward people and places that are far from my own life. — Stef Penney

There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else. — James Cash Penney

Courteous treatment will make a customer a walking advertisement. — James Cash Penney

No matter what his position or experience in life, there is in everyone more latent than developed ability; far more unused than used power. — James Cash Penney

Any given moment contains unlimited futures that can become real. The reality that occurs is the one you pay attention to. — Penney Peirce

Success will always be measured by the extent to which we serve the buying public. — James Cash Penney

I never trust an executive who tends to pass the buck. Nor would I want to deal with him as a customer or a supplier. — James Cash Penney

The well-satisfied customer will bring the repeat sale that counts. — James Cash Penney

Our biggest priority should be to stay engaged. — Penney Peirce

It is the service we are not obliged to give that people value most. — James Cash Penney

The art of effective listening is essential to clear communication, and clear communication is necessary to management success. — James Cash Penney

A merchant who approaches business with the idea of serving the public well has nothing to fear from the competition. — James Cash Penney

The best of merchandise will go back to the shelf unless handled by a conscientious, tactful salesman. — James Cash Penney

I am grateful for all of my problems. After each one was overcome, I became stronger and more able to meet those that were still to come. I grew in all my difficulties. — James Cash Penney

I believe in trusting men, not only once but twice - in giving a failure another chance. — James Cash Penney

We can serve our customers well only if our buying jobs are right. You cannot sell if you haven't ordered wanted goods into your store. — James Cash Penney

Salesmanship is limitless. Our very living is selling. We are all salespeople. — James Cash Penney

Because I work quite slowly, I have to keep myself interested over a long research and writing period. So I can't see myself writing about modern middle-class Londoners anytime soon. — Stef Penney

In retailing, the formula happens to be a basic liking for human beings, plus integrity, plus industry, plus the ability to see the other fellow's point of view. — James Cash Penney

I think the hedge-fund industry has taken a reputational turn for the worse, this dog-eat-dog stuff. I'm not just talking about Herbalife or J. C. Penney, but in other situations where the media really focuses on who's long and who's short. I don't think it's a good thing for the industry. — Bill Ackman

If writers stuck to firsthand experience, novels would be pretty limited. — Stef Penney

No business can succeed in any great degree without being properly organized. — James Cash Penney

I believe a man is better anchored who has a belief in the Supreme Being. — James Cash Penney

The best way to stop a bad habit is to never begin it — J. C. Penney

The soul has no other wish than to have an unlimited number of fearless, joyful playmates on the journey home. — Penney Peirce

The keystone of successful business is cooperation. Friction retards progress. — James Cash Penney

Your contribution is the energy produced in the doing of something, not the end product. — Penney Peirce

It is always the start that requires the greatest effort. — James Cash Penney

A store's best advertisement is the service its goods render, for upon such service rest the future, the good-will, of an organization. — James Cash Penney

My definition of an executive's job is brief and to the point. It is simply this: Getting things done through other people. — James Cash Penney

Business is no longer a matter of profits alone. Profits must come through public confidence, and public confidence is given to any merchant in proportion to the service which he gives to the public. — James Cash Penney

We get real results only in proportion to the real values we give. — James Cash Penney

I don't use real people for inspiration. — Stef Penney

She came to this California university for one reason, she reminds herself: the paycheck. Although every time the paycheck arrives the amount taken out in taxes for a single woman with no dependents is so huge it stuns her. The money starts to feel like an insult: For this, she thinks, I've uprooted my life? Whatever money she might save, moreover, she usually spends trying to console herself. And it is hard to make any job financially worth its difficulties, she realizes, when you're constantly running out to J. C. Penney's to buy bathmats. — Lorrie Moore

Just because we think of wolves (or the wilderness, or another race) as wild and fierce, doesn't mean there isn't another side to them. — Stef Penney

Canvas. J.C. Penney. $3.98. You like? — Pat Morita

Clock watchers never seem to be having a good time. — James Cash Penney

Selling is our No. 1 job. Never get away from selling a lot of merchandise personally. The more you sell the more you learn. — James Cash Penney

The disciplined are free. — James Cash Penney

Who has two thumbs and isn't an idiot? — R.S. Penney

The men who have furnished me with my greatest inspiration have not been men of wealth, but men of deeds. — James Cash Penney

Projection into the future does not create security because the future is not really there. It's a fluid mirage. The only security is merging with The Field, right now. — Penney Peirce

The greatest teacher I know is the job itself. — James Cash Penney

The Golden Rule finds no limit of application in business. — James Cash Penney

The five separate fingers are five independent units. Close them and the fist multiplies strength. This is organization. — James Cash Penney

There's no better friend to any merchant than a fair competitor. — James Cash Penney

Success in business does not depend upon genius. Any young man of ordinary intelligence who is normally sound and not afraid to work should succeed in spite of obstacles and handicaps if he plays the game fairly and keeps everlastingly at it. — James Cash Penney

How can we expect our children to know and experience the joy of giving unless we teach them that the greater pleasure in life lies in the art of giving rather than receiving. — James Cash Penney

Every great business is built on friendship. — James Cash Penney

I can't do anything about the thoughts that come into my head, but I can do something about the ones that stay there!. — Penney Peirce

I suppose the short chapters and differing narrative points of view are quite "cinematic" devices, which came very naturally to me. — Stef Penney

Responsibilities are given to him on whom trust rests. Responsibility is always a sign of trust. — James Cash Penney

No man can climb the ladder of success without first placing his foot on the bottom rung. — James Cash Penney

Initially I only decided to try and write a novel because I wasn't getting enough screenwriting work. It wasn't a long-held ambition, and certainly the idea came first. — Stef Penney

Men are not great or small because of their material possessions. They are great or small because of what they are. — James Cash Penney

Surrender is learning to get out of the way of what wants to happen naturally. — Penney Peirce

Gypsies are, to say the least, underrepresented in literature and film. — Stef Penney

I do not believe in excuses. I believe in hard work as the prime solvent of life's problems. — James Cash Penney

Most gay bashers will be wearing what gay people had on four years earlier - only in polyester with a Penney's label. — Paul Rudnick

In setting up a business under the name and meaning of the Golden Rule, I was publicly binding myself, in my business relations, to a principle which had been a real and intimate part of my family upbringing. Our idea was to make money and build business through serving the community with fair dealing and honest value. — James Cash Penney

The public is not greatly interested in saving a little money on a purchase at the expense of service. — James Cash Penney

I despise this weakness in myself
this endless one-sided conversation that takes the place of action ... — Stef Penney