“You manage things, you lead people. We went overboard on management and forgot about leadership.”

—  Grace Hopper

The Wit and Wisdom of Grace Hopper (1987)
Context: You manage things, you lead people. We went overboard on management and forgot about leadership. It might help if we ran the MBAs out of Washington.

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Grace Hopper 22
American computer scientist and United States Navy officer 1906–1992

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