Gordon Bethune Quotes

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Do you know how much faster I can fix an airplane when I want to fix it than when I don't want to fix it?

Gordon Bethune

Airplane, Self Motivation, Want

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But I like to think that a lot of managers and executives trying to solve problems miss the forest for the trees by forgetting to look at their people -- not at how much more they can get from their people or how they can more effectively manage their people. I think they need to look a little more closely at what it's like for their people to come to work there every day.

Gordon Bethune

Thinking, People, Tree

Gordon Bethune (1999). “From Worst to First: Behind the Scenes of Continental's Remarkable Comeback”, Wiley

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You don't lie to your own doctor. You don't lie to your own attorney, and you don't lie to your employees.

Gordon Bethune

Lying, Doctors, Don't Lie

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The first step to problem solving is figuring out who's got the problem.

Gordon Bethune

Inspirational, Work, Steps

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Most businesses fail because they want the right things but measure the wrong things, and they get the wrong results.

Gordon Bethune

Want, Failing, Results

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The airline business is the biggest team sport in the world. When you're all consumed with fighting among yourselves, your opponents can run over you every day.

Gordon Bethune

Sports, Running, Team

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Somebody who knows what they're doing, who has a good track record, they come across as very articulate, bright and looking for a challenge - that's absolutely my kind of hire.

Gordon Bethune

Track, Challenges, Records

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It's the old adage: You can make a pizza so cheap, nobody will eat it. You can make an airline so cheap, nobody will fly it.

Gordon Bethune

Adages, Airline, Pizza

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It's not about market share. If you have a successful company, you will get your market share. But to get a successful company, what do you have to have? The same metrics of success that your customer does.

Gordon Bethune

Educational, Successful, Doe

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It all sounds almost silly, but the fact is that the only way to change a corporate culture is to just change it.

Gordon Bethune

Silly, Sound, Culture

Gordon Bethune (1999). “From Worst to First: Behind the Scenes of Continental's Remarkable Comeback”, Wiley

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I've spent my life as an airplane mechanic, pilot, aircraft manufacturer and airline CEO who never lost a life or an airplane. I am considerate of the risk we take every time we fly. I also know we need to fly and always to improve safety.

Gordon Bethune

Airplane, Safety, Risk

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It really helps to know what success is before you get there, and if you know, then you can head right for it. For some people, it's the most money. For some, it's the most power. For some, it's the most girlfriends. Everybody's got a measure. For me, I guess it's having the respect and admiration of your peers.

Gordon Bethune

Girlfriend, People, Peers

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I don't think JetBlue has a better chance of being profitable than 100 other predecessors with new airplanes, new employees, low fares, all touchy-feely ... all of them are losers. Most of these guys are smoking ragweed.

Gordon Bethune

Airplane, Thinking, Smoking

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If you say three things in a row that make sense, people will vote for you.

Gordon Bethune

People, Three, Vote

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Watches are the only jewelry men can wear, unless you're Mr. T.

Gordon Bethune

Men, Watches, Jewelry

"The Do's and Don't's of Collecting High-End Watches" by Robert Frank, www.cnbc.com. December 12, 2012.

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The point is... you'd better figure out what your Customers - the Customers you want - value. Because that's what they'll buy. Anything else is a waste of their money, and they'll figure that out in a hurry.

Gordon Bethune

Want, Waste, Figures

Gordon Bethune (1999). “From Worst to First: Behind the Scenes of Continental's Remarkable Comeback”, Wiley

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There are a lot of parallels between what we're doing and an expensive watch. It's very complex, has a lot of parts and it only has value when it's predictable and reliable.

Gordon Bethune

Watches, Aviation, Airline

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Since 1978 the record pretty well shows that no start-up airline . . . has really been successful, so the odds of JetBlue having long-term success are remote. I'm not going to say it can't happen because stranger things have happened, but I personally believe P.T. Barnum was, in that respect, correct.

Gordon Bethune

Believe, Successful, Odds

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Every pilot thinks they're the best pilot in the world. I think I'm the best pilot.

Gordon Bethune

Thinking, World, Pilots

"Sex, scotch and speed" by Andrew Clark, www.theguardian.com. September 21, 2002.

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It's difficult to have everybody like everything you do. I don't know anybody that's perfect and doesn't have a zit somewhere.

Gordon Bethune

Perfect, Zits, Difficult

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It's like telling Mozart that there are too many notes in an opera. Which one do you want us to take out?

Gordon Bethune

Opera, Want, Aviation

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I was a mechanic in the Navy. And mechanics in the Navy are like mechanics in airlines. You may have more stripes than I do, but you don't know how to fix the airplane.

Gordon Bethune

Airplane, Stripes, Navy

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No one is going to stick their head out of the trenches for someone they don't respect or trust. You can get shot doing that.

Gordon Bethune

Sticks, Shots, Trenches

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We're a stupid industry led by stupid people.

Gordon Bethune

Stupid, Stupid People, People

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We tax air passengers like cigarettes and alcohol - we impose sin taxes on travellers.

Gordon Bethune

Air, Alcohol, Sin

"Sex, scotch and speed" by Andrew Clark, www.theguardian.com. September 21, 2002.

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Born: August 29, 1941
Occupation: Executive
Cite this Page: Citation

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