Memorable quotes from some of the many guests who have spoken on campus over the years.
On any given day at Stanford Graduate School of Business, you might catch a founder dropping into a class, a policymaker keynoting a conference, or a CEO speaking just feet away in CEMEX Auditorium. Here’s a sampling of quotes and quips from a few of the hundreds of guests who have spoken at the school over the years.
GSB Archives
Lou Henry Hoover
Former First Lady, 1936
“Honesty, honor, straight dealing, the inviolability of one’s word… are as essential, and as common, in so-called business as in any other calling by which men and women make their living while serving the needs of others.”
Joel Peterson
The Robert L. Joss Adjunct Professor of Management, in his Last Lecture, 2006
“Trust is important because we don’t trust people when we think they don’t have integrity. If you would be trusted, do something that eliminates the gap between your stated values and your real values.”
Elon Musk
Tesla CEO, receiving the Entrepreneurial Company of the Year Award, 2013
“I used to talk to dates about electric cars. It wasn’t helpful.”
Sigourney Weaver, Stanford ’72
Actress, in Professor Roderick Kramer’s Working in the Film and Television Industry class, 2001
“Never do business with people you wouldn’t have dinner with.”
Illustrations by Jordan Andrew Carter
Sundar Pichai
Google and Alphabet CEO, at the Business, Government & Society Forum, 2024
“You’re always susceptible to someone in a garage with a better idea.”
Zoe Cruz
Banking executive, at an event sponsored by MBA Women in Management, 2010
“Not many leave the comfort of the known voluntarily. Most, including me, need a good shove. But these periods of being shoved outside my comfort zone were the ones that helped me grow the most as a person.”
Leena Nair
Chanel global CEO, at View From the Top, 2024
“I had to continuously remember that it’s a privilege to be first. But I don’t want to be the last…. So ‘lift as you climb’ has become a huge mantra for me. How do I ensure I make it easier for those who come after me?”
Steve Ballmer, MBA ’81
Microsoft CEO, at View From the Top, 2000
“If any of you choose to join companies that think they’re not in the internet business, you should probably have your head examined.”
Stacy Gieken
Stuart Brinin
Jack Valenti
Former CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America, 2009
“I am a very combative fellow and I will go for jugulars, but I never get personal.”
Priscilla Chan
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative co-founder and co-CEO, at View From The Top, 2021
“If you hide, you’re powerless…. But if you name what’s hard, if you name why you’re different, if you name your story, that gives you power.”
Henry Ford II
Ford Motor Company chairman, at View From The Top, 1979
“It is as fashionable to dismiss political liberalism as it is to dismiss capitalism. The tradition of freedom and tolerance — which many have called the liberal tradition — is, perhaps, capitalism’s greatest contribution and achievement.”
Laurene Powell Jobs, MBA ’91
Emerson Collective founder and president, receiving the Ernest C. Arbuckle Award, 2019
“Shall we defend capitalism? Yes, of course. But we must also acknowledge the many Americans who are denied its benefits. We need capitalism with a conscience.”
Steph Curry
NBA player, at View From The Top, 2020
“I don’t take myself ever too seriously in my job because it doesn’t matter how many points I score or if we win or lose. When I come home, I’m Dad. And that’s the best thing about life.”
Yvon Chouinard
Patagonia founder, at the Conradin von Gugelberg Memorial Environmental Lecture, 2006
“Every time we make a decision to do good, it makes us more money.”
President Barack Obama
at the Challenges to Democracy in the Digital Information Realm symposium, 2022
“What recent events remind us is that democracy is neither inevitable nor self-executed. Citizens like us have to nurture it.”
Senator Mitt Romney
at View From The Top, 2015
“Running for president is really fun. It’s like sport for old guys…. If you get the chance to run for president, do it for sure.”
Chuck Painters/Stanford News Service
Stanford GSB
Frances Hesselbein
Girl Scouts of America executive director, at an event organized by the Public Management Initiative, 1990
“If you recruit volunteers by saying ‘This won’t be much work,’ you won’t even be able to motivate a puppy.”
Timothy Ling, MBA ’89
Unocal COO, at View From The Top, 2003
“Your values only get tested when you’re truly in situations where those values can cause sacrifices. If you don’t have those values deeply embedded in you, it’s really easy to say, ‘I don’t want to know about it, just get it done.’”
MC Hammer
Musician and entrepreneur, in Professor Jennifer Aaker’s Brands, Experience, and Social Technology class, 2011
“I don’t want to be the flawless hero or Mr. Perfect. None of those guys or brands will survive in today’s real-time world. The new heroes will be the heroes that have flaws.”
Carlos Brito, MBA ’89
AB InBev CEO, at View From The Top, 2008
“A leader is somebody who needs a team to achieve his or her targets.”
For 100 years, we’ve been dedicated to the things that haven’t happened yet, and the people who are about to dream them up. Join us in commemorating our Centennial in 2025.
Explore More
Stanford GSB Celebrates Another Class of “Pioneers” During Its Centennial Year
Get to Know Stanford GSB Dean Sarah A. Soule
From Ambiguity to Nuance: Ethics in Practice
