Seek wisdom and actionable advice from some of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs.

1. Steve Jobs on the importance of Passion:

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.”

There’s a good chance you’re reading this on a device first imagined by the late Founder of Apple. And without pride and passion, it’s unlikely that Jobs could have ever left such an impressive thumbprint on our world!

2. Ursula Burns on What It Takes To Succeed:

“Dreams do come true, but not without the help of others, a good education, a strong work ethic, and the courage to lean in.”

Over the course of 30 years, Burns climbed the ranks of Xerox, going from intern to CEO. Your dreams won’t come easy, but don’t be afraid to chase them!

3. Jeff Bezos on Going After Goals:

“I knew that if I failed I wouldn’t regret that, but I knew the one thing I might regret is not trying.”

There’s an alternate reality where Jeff Bezos lived a boring, safe, regrettable life. Don’t let that be you!

4. Indra Nooyi on Setting the Bar:

“As a leader, I am tough on myself and I raise the standard for everybody; however, I am very caring because I want people to excel at what they are doing so that they can aspire to be me in the future.”

The former CEO of PepsiCo continues to be considered one of the most powerful business leaders in the world. Now we know how she’s been able to command such a compelling influence!

5. Phil Knight on Competing to Win:

“Play by the rules, but be ferocious.”

Leave it to this Nike co-founder to give us a quote that fits on a T-Shirt! Business is a game. Be fair, be competitive, and leave nothing on the court.

6. Henry Ford on Mindset:

“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t—you’re right.”

You don’t have to be a woo-woo manifestation nut to see the point Ford is making here. If you don’t believe in yourself… who will?

7. Elon Musk on Mission:

“When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor.”

Do we need electric cars to reverse the impact of climate change? Absolutely. Do we need a plan to get humanity to Mars? We hope not (but it’s always good to be prepared). Even the most “impossible” problems can be solved when we recognize the severity of inaction.

8. Mary Barra on Responsibility:

“Do every job you’re in like you’re going to do it for the rest of your life and demonstrate that ownership of it.”

Barra’s first job at GM was to inspect fender panels. Without taking pride and responsibility in this small task… would they have made her the company CEO 34 years later?

To those who have, more will be given.

9. Steve Cohen on Taking Risks:

“One of the questions I ask [potential employees] is: “Tell me some of the riskiest things you’ve ever done in your life?”

As one of the leading hedge-fund managers… Cohen lives in a world where multi-million dollar mistakes are “just another Tuesday.” Risk-taking IS a skill that’s necessary for success. Make peace with the idea of losing, or you may never win! 

10. Madam C.J. Walker on Taking Action:

“Don’t sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them.”

For this last quote, we went back over 100 years, to an entrepreneur who really should be a household name. Walker was the first child in her family born after the Emancipation Proclamation and went from destitute poverty to a haircare empire. She is on record as America’s first self-made millionaire. Emphasis on self-made.

There we have it — 10 inspiring quotes from 10 incredible business leaders. Which one resonated with you the most? Which one will you act on today?

To find out more about Cydcor, check us out on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and X.We are Cydcor, a recognized leader in outsourced sales and marketing services located in Agoura Hills, California. From our humble beginnings as an independent sales company to garnering a reputation for consistently exceeding client expectations and driving outstanding revenue growth, Cydcor has been helping Fortune 500 and emerging companies achieve their customer acquisition, retention, and business goals since 1994. Cydcor takes pride in the unique combination of in-person sales, call center, and digital marketing services we offer to provide our clients with proven sales and marketing strategies that get results.

Vera Quinn joins top business podcast hosts to discuss leadership, her entrepreneurial journey and more. Here are our three favorite takeaways!

Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric, once said “Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.”

And no matter where you are in that journey — whether you’re taking the first step into entrepreneurship and trying to grow yourself, or you’re leading a team you want to develop, it’s important to examine the advice that has made other leaders successful.

Our CEO, Vera Quinn, has recently joined a few top podcasts to discuss the Cydcor approach to leadership — and how Vera continues to develop the team.

While a lot was discussed on these shows, we’ve highlighted a few of our favorite takeaways — which will expand your definition of leadership and teach you how grow the people around you.

1. Culture Takes Courage

Culture is a bit of a buzzword in most corporate circles — with many leaders taking a “do as I say, not as I do” approach to their values. 

But in discussion with Chris Waters on To Lead is to Learn, Vera presents a different way to go about culture: 

Lead by example.

“I can say whatever I want to say, but it’s about my actions,” Vera says. “If we’re in a meeting and I’m not modeling the culture, someone on the team will speak up. We hold each other accountable. We call each other out.”

Vera and Chris go on to discuss the self-awareness and courage this requires as a leader. 

We may think of the “courageous” leader as someone who’s always right and becomes a poster-child for the company’s values. But we are all human — and true courage comes from a leader willing to put themselves on the same level as their team. 

Vera explains that if we shed the idea that we have to be “perfect” and instead make ourselves an ingrained part of the culture (just like everyone else), we can attract a team that enhances our strengths and sures up our weaknesses.

So, as you lead and build culture with your team — remember this:

A good leader is someone who allows their team to hold them accountable.

That takes courage.

To listen to the full episode, click here.

2. Match Opportunity with Ambition

On the Leadership is Female podcast, Vera and host Emily Jaenson discuss strategic leadership. 

To break the concept down, Vera highlights the two things a leader has to do: 

1. Gather a group of people 
2. Point them in the direction of the most important work that needs to be done.

At a glance, this may just sound like “telling people what to do.” But that’s what a boss does, while leaders take a different approach.

The keyword for Vera is “point.”

The leader can guide a team to where it needs to go — but it is by everyone’s own volition that the actually work gets done. As Vera and Emily discuss, it takes empathy to lead this way.

Vera explains that the best way to do that “pointing” is to “match opportunity with ambition.”

By taking the time to learn the individual goals of your team, you can align their ambition to the opportunities that need to be captured within the business.

Then, the team member can be personally invested in taking on that responsibility, rather than being forced to do it.

That’s how you end up with a team that you are leading, rather than having a group of people you are bossing around. Big difference.

To listen to the full episode, click here.

3. Be Interested (Not Interesting)

You may have read the last point and wondered:

“Ok… how do I empathize with my team and learn what their ambitions really are?”

And that’s exactly the topic that Vera dives into with Teri Schmidt, host of Strong Leaders Serve.

Vera tells Teri about her rise to leadership — and how a coach once told her that she needed to transition from “being interesting to being interested.”

“At the time,” she recalls, “I wanted to be the best. I wanted to be the bright, shining star.”

But a leader who tries to do that will not be a leader for long. 

Vera highlights the importance of attracting talent around you — and moving from being the person everyone wants to learn about to being the leader who’s actively invested in learning more about their team.

“It changed my paradigm of being a leader,” Vera says, “and it even changed how I approached being a spouse, mother, and friend.”

Funnily enough, when you put the focus on “being interested,” you’ll draw more people to you compared to when you’re trying to be the most “interesting.”

People want to follow a leader that’s invested in their interests, story, and expertise. They don’t want to follow someone that makes it all about themselves. And while building rapport with your team is a big benefit to this mindset shift — doing this also sets you up to learn more than you ever could before. 

To listen to the full episode, click here.

And when it’s all said and done, learning is the number one thing that a leader should be doing. That’s why we always get excited when Vera gets on a podcast to share some of the lessons, she’s learned at Cydcor.

You now have three actionable insights that you can act on today. So, get out there, keep growing as a leader and developing your team!

Criticism is an opportunity for growth — but only if you know how to properly deal with customer complaints. 

Let’s face it — everyone’s a critic these days, and it’s all but impossible to work a job without getting some negative feedback at some point in your career.

Even the most successful people deal with valid criticism. In the end, their ability to handle and interact with that feedback is what sets them apart. 

Knowing how to isolate, identify, reflect on, and act on negative feedback is a skill they have developed over time — and doing the same will help you grow in your career or in entrepreneurship.

The next time you need to respond to negative feedback, turn to this four-step framework.

Step 1: Isolate

It’s all too easy to view negative customer feedback as a personal attack. There’s a fine line between constructive criticism and insult — and sometimes the feedback is just downright mean. But even when something falls into the category of constructive criticism, it can still hurt!

The first thing you need to do is isolate the feedback. It is not reflective of you, the person. It is reflective of the experience the customer had with the product or service.

Isolate the feedback as if you were a neutral, third party to the situation. This will remove any emotions, disappointment, or anger that you may be feeling about the situation and allow you to interact with the customer’s concerns in a positive way.

A lot of the time, the spirit of the negative feedback is valid, but the way it’s said isn’t. Your job is to not let the presentation of the criticism bother you (even if it comes in the form of yelling or choice language) while trying to identify where the real problem lies.

Step 2: Identify

After you’ve isolated the feedback — you can identify where the real concern lies.

This may seem like a simple step, but it’s usually anything but. Customer feedback doesn’t happen in a vacuum. There are usually factors outside of the situation that impact how the response is worded or expressed.

A customer may rant about 10 different things that you did wrong — when all of those 10 things boil down to one specific concern that the customer can’t quite put their finger on. Or they may simply state that “this is bad” without explaining any of the reasons why they feel that way.

To work with negative feedback, you sometimes need to play detective. Ask questions that allow the customer to fully express their feelings. This won’t just help them feel heard, it will also give you the context you need to get to a solution.

Don’t just aim to listen, aim to empathize and understand.

Don’t say “I hear you” while someone is complaining — say “I understand.” Big difference there.

When the customer is finished explaining — repeat back what you’ve heard, but remove the emotion out of it. Be matter-of-fact as you walk through what’s just happened. This will prime the customer to start viewing the situation as a solvable problem (and not an emotion-crushing disaster).

As you go through your recap with them, focus on the handful of issues that are really at the crux of the issue. Even if these are things outside of your control. Take responsibility for them. The worst thing you can do is “try and pass the buck” — and in a world where everyone’s trying to point fingers, most customers will respect you for taking accountability.

At first — negative feedback can seem overwhelming and impossible to fix. But when you get good at finding the one thing that sits at the heart of the complaint it becomes manageable.

When the key issues are identified, act swiftly. Show the customer you’ve listened to them in the way you go about resolving the matter.

Step 3: Reflect

The most important work happens after the specific situation has been put to bed. Your job now is to evolve so that the problem does not happen again with another customer. It can be useful to discuss the negative feedback with your boss or peers — not to gossip or complain about it, but to get their opinion about how you handled things and how you can improve.

The odds are that they’ve gotten the same kind of feedback at some point in their careers. Listening to their experiences will help you grow — and will also reveal that getting criticism is normal (so you shouldn’t feel too bad about what that customer said!).

Reflecting helps you fix a problem before it becomes a trend. When you invest the time to think about how customers are responding to your product or service — you can start developing a tangible list of action items that are going to help you grow.

Step 4: Act

The best businesses are the ones that listen and adapt based on their customer’s needs and concerts. The greatest entrepreneurs have a spotlight on them at all times — and are criticized relentlessly. Knowing how to turn a negative piece of feedback into an opportunity for growth is a skill that directly correlates with success.

So, remember that everyone gets negative feedback sometimes — and if you know how to interact with it, that feedback can be a positive turning point in your career or entrepreneurial journey.

The last step in these situations is always to act. Take time to improve based on feedback and move forward with confidence and integrity.  

There will always be negative feedback. But if each complaint is different than the last… you’re going in the right direction!