| |
|
|
Executive Speeches
 |
SAP software
"One of the most humbling things about being awarded the Yitzhak Rabin Public Service Award is that you become associated with the powerful memory of Yitzhak Rabin. And what an honor that is. Rabin was a tremendous statesman. He sought and fought to bring security and stability to Israel and the Middle East. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. And, in the end, he died trying to create a better world for many people. But Rabin was an exceptional man, too. Like Martin Luther King, Robert Kennedy and Bill Clinton, he was an intricate and rare blend of humanism and realism, of idealism and pragmatism. Rabin once said: “Man is not made of steel. He has a heart and soul. He cries and laughs. He loves and hurts … he is flesh and blood.” That was Rabin’s humanistic side. Rabin also said: “You don’t make peace with friends. You make it with very unsavory enemies.” That was his realistic side. This combination of hard-edge and soft-touch is worth noting and worth celebrating. It’s what the best leaders – whether they’re in politics, business, education or technology – need if they’re going to help our society fulfill its potential and achieve greatness. Like Yitzhak Rabin, we’re pretty hard-edged at SAP when it comes to delivering technology innovation that drives bottom-line results for global customers. We don’t compromise on quality – no matter what. We know that cutting corners, me-too products and mediocrity are our “unsavory enemies.” But we also know that we’re part of a virtuous and humanistic new global supply chain – and we’re proud of that. Each time our software solutions help one of the world’s best-run businesses achieve its mission, we add to a high-performance, high-growth global economy. That, in turn, helps level the playing field in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas by creating better lives for families everywhere. When you have an improving standard of living; when you’re on the road to opportunity, even a long and winding road filled with potholes; when there’s hope – that’s when you have a decent chance for political stability. And political stability is a prerequisite for the peace that Yitzhak Rabin lived – and died – for. "
-- from a speech, “The New Global Supply Chain: Delivering Peace and Prosperity,” given by the CEO of SAP Americas
|
 |
Sony Pictures Digital
"The bottom line – the truth – is that everyone wants to be entertained. We must not lose sight of that. Things haven’t changed. And it’s been this way since the birth of Western Civilization. People flocked to see the latest plays in ancient Greece from Aeschylus. They packed the Coliseum in Rome to watch the gladiators. They howled and hissed in Shakespeare’s Globe Theater. They listened, and maybe tapped their feet, to Mozart’s concertos. They cried during Puccini’s operas. They marveled at silent movies. They huddled in the living room to hear the radio. And they bathed in the warm glow of television when it made its first appearance almost 60 years ago. So the big difference today isn’t that we want to be entertained. No, it’s that we want to be entertained when, where and how we choose. It’s that we’re in the process of figuring out how to acquire, manage and enjoy our favorite entertainment on our own network. Let me pull back the camera lens a bit and put it another way – in broader, more sweeping terms. We are now moving from The Era of Push Entertainment to The Era of Pull Entertainment. Whether it's an iPod, TiVo or mobile phone – or DirecTV or Netflix – people are selecting, pulling in and pulling down the entertainment they want. What’s startling is that we have so many choices today. A generation ago, there were just three TV networks. And the entertainment industry's distribution arteries were constricted and clogged. Today, the Internet has opened things up by connecting tens of millions of computers and devices that help content flow fully and freely through a networked global delivery system that is always on, enabling anywhere, anytime entertainment consumption. Our mission – and challenge – is finding ways to satisfy this growing digital hunger. And if we can’t deliver customized content on consumers’ terms, then people are going to take matters into their own hands. They’ll keep ripping, burning, downloading and pilfering the TV shows, movies, videos, games or music they want. And they’ll continue to program their personalized entertainment networks to satisfy their viewing, listening or playing needs."
-- from a speech, “Surviving and Thriving in Today’s World of Networked Entertainment,” given by a senior vice president at Sony Pictures Digital |
 |
Duke Energy
"It’s impossible to quantify the human pain and suffering that hurricanes Katrina and Rita inflicted on legions of decent people – people who worked hard and played by the rules, only to have their lives suddenly submerged in sorrow. Our employees – especially those on the front lines down in the Gulf region – met a host of previously unthinkable challenges with rare courage and fortitude. We had employees whose homes were wiped out, whose families were torn asunder, who had no place to sleep, and no electricity or running water. They lost their churches, their schools, and their hospitals. But they didn’t lose their hearts. Despite it all, through it all, they suited up and came to work. And they focused on getting facilities back on line, getting natural gas to our customers. We should be grateful for that. And now we need to repay their kindness by helping them stabilize and recover from this trauma of unspeakable magnitude. We will do that. We will help restore life as so many people in Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi used to know it – before these super storms ransacked their communities. That’s our goal, at least. And we won’t stop working until we reach it."
-- from a speech
given by the CEO of Duke Energy Gas Transmission in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita |
 |
Yahoo!
"After serving as the high priests of a high-growth economy, many CEOs have been defrocked -- largely because they lost sight of American business' core mission of creating long-term sustainable value for shareholders. And it's now clear that the thousands of stand-up corporations in America will have to fight long and hard to restore their reputations and overcome the growing perception that all companies are dishonest. We are at a point where skepticism and disillusionment are the highly-traded currencies of the day. Establishing trust when there is no faith isn't easy. But to paraphrase Albert Camus, the existentialist who looked out at an often immoral society, we need to convince the world that true integrity has little need of rules."
-- from a speech, "People, Principles and Prosperity," given by the CFO of Yahoo! |
 |
Wells Fargo
"I marvel at the achievements of women like Amelia Earhart, who flew heroically and sky-high; Georgia O'Keefe and Martha Graham, whose artistic vision was so refined; Althea Gibson and Wilma Rudolph, whose athletic grace and grit were electrifying; Rachel Carson and Susan B. Anthony, with their passionate and persistent advocacy; Katherine Graham, an elegant yet persuasive shaper of public opinion; and a long-lost name -- Mary Katherine Goddard, who printed the Declaration of Independence. Without her, we might not be here as Americans today ... Each of these great women -- and many of the strong, productive women who make Wells Fargo such a great company -- have embraced a simple piece of knowledge: that it is crucial to listen and learn in order to lead."
-- from a speech given by a senior executive at Wells Fargo to employees during Women's History Month |
|
Wells Fargo
"As we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the commercial Internet, we've learned that, contrary to the bold New Economy predictions of a few years ago, the Web isn't the entire business. People like to browse and purchase in their living rooms wearing pajamas at two o'clock in the morning. But they also like to head downtown or out to the mall to have a more hands-on shopping experience. Our job as stewards of the multi-channel retail model is to make sure consumers can have it their way, which is any number of ways."
-- from a speech given by a senior Wells Fargo executive on the future of e-commerce |
|
Fortune 25 CEO
"I know many of you are asking yourselves, 'What does the future hold for me?' Some of you may even be feeling a little trepidation about what's to come. That's only natural. Whip-sawing economic forces, questions about American business leadership, social and technological upheaval, uncertainty about where the next waves of innovation will come from -- the road to tomorrow is pock-marked with holes where the sign-posts used to be. Change is in your face -- and you've got to face it."
-- from a commencement address given by a Fortune 25 CEO at a major business school |
<< Back to What We've Done
|
|
|
