If you just set out to be liked, you would be prepared to compromise on anything at any time, and you would achieve nothing.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Thatcher warns that seeking approval from everyone leads to compromise and lack of achievement.
- In plain terms
- Trying to be liked by everyone makes you compromise too much and achieve nothing.
- What can you take from it?
- Leadership requires making unpopular decisions that achieve results.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Is popularity a liability for leaders?
- How do you balance likability with results?
Another view
This ignores that building consensus and likability can also drive sustainable success.
More from Margaret Thatcher
If my critics saw me walking over the Thames they would say it was because I couldn't swim.
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