The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it.

Theodore Roosevelt
About This Quote

The quote, "The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it" was not intended as a compliment or a backhanded critique. In fact, Henry Ford was making a statement of great humility. He knew that he had neither the ability nor the inclination to run a company himself. He stated that good executives were "self-restrained" from interfering with the running of the business.

Ford’s company was not built by Ford himself but by others — men who had great skill and knowledge of their own. Ford knew that he could not be responsible for every decision and that an individual must have the freedom to make his or her own decisions and take responsibility for those decisions themselves.

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