Meg Whitman Quotations

You know, in a workplace, when you shrink the size of a workforce, there is pain there. But there is no question: we have a government that we can no longer afford.That is the cold, hard fact. So we have to make this more efficient. We have to sunset programs that no longer work. We have to eliminate waste and fraud. We must do this.

We have always said that advertising is just the icing on the cake. It is not the cake.

Communications is at the heart of e-commerce and community.

Sometimes it's a little bit like being a politician. We have work to do in understanding our users sentiments.

Look at growth, look at how much time people spend on the Net and look at the variety of things that they are doing. It's all really good, so I am actually encouraged by the fundamentals that underlie usage growth on the Net..

Most of us can't even begin to imagine.

When people use your brand name as a verb, that is remarkable.

Because what happens is, as the economy suffers, tax revenues go down. But unlike businesses, where at least your variable costs go down, in government your variable costs go up: unemployment insurance, workmen's compensation, health care benefits, welfare, you name it

Guess what? The world changes. eBay has defined e-commerce

You can't stand for too many things. You can't use the bully pulpit for too many things. So, I promise you, every day, I am going to talk about jobs, spending, and education.

You look at the tremendous success of Facebook. To my mind there is not a lot of commerce going on in these social networking sites. eBay is a community anchored in commerce. It is a commerce site that built a community around it. What has not been proven is if the reverse can happen and people will go to community sites to do commerce.

Because if you don't have a great workforce, a great higher education system, you're not going to have the next eBay, the next AmGen, the next, you know, Miasole, and not only California but America is going to fall behind a whole new competitive context which is obviously China, India, and other countries.

I got to get the right people in the right job. Because a lot of costs can be taken out in the context of your administration without the legislature.For example, using technology to do more with less. Using technology to fight fraud. Reorganizing and streamlining can be done within the context of the administration.

Well, California used to be in the dream-making business, and unfortunately what's happened I think we're now in the dream-breaking business.

What's sort of interesting about the whole public relations disaster that is the Net, in some ways, is that the fundamentals are really good.

It is very clear that voice communications is moving on to the Internet. In the end, the price that anyone can provide for voice transmission on the Net will trend toward zero.

My view is that, just as in many businesses, brands really matter. There will always be a role for destination sites. Eighty million users come to our destination. I think that will be the vast majority of our future business.

I want to spend 100 percent of my time focused on what I think I can make the biggest difference on as the governor of California

I think maybe it is about time for a governor who has created jobs, who's managed a budget, who's led and inspired large organizations, who listens well, and who can drive an agenda

We can put our head in the sand and continue to lose jobs overseas and to other states, or we can say, 'You know what? We are not going to lose another job from California, and we're going to be the very best place to start and grow a business.' So I'll be the chief sales officer for California businesses.

I answer that question by saying: 'Why Meg Whitman' which is: I'm not a career politician. I spent 30 years in business. I can tell you that people in California have had it with career politicians: they are done.

You know, I like to think that I will subscribe very much to the core Republican principles of small government. Making a small number of rules and getting out of the way. Keeping taxes low. Creating an environment for small businesses to grow and thrive.

Regulation is strangling businesses of all sizes in California, and we've got to streamline regulation so it's easy, not hard, to do business.

I have run large organizations, I know what it takes to create a healthy business climate, and I have more experience than Jerry Brown doing that. So it'll be a stark contrast, a career politician vs. someone who has met a payroll, gotten a return on investment, knows how to use technology to do more with less

I want to work with the teachers' union. But as I said out there, we have to put the kids first and we are letting down a generation of California children. It's not acceptable.

You know, I think, people of all stripes in California, Republicans, Democrats, conservatives, liberals, frankly, as I have traveled the state, the number one issue is jobs. And they are looking for which candidate can get the economy back on track

We've always sought to remove friction from e-commerce,

We know we must provide continuous service for our community, and that we have let our community down, ... We will not rest until we make sure that this problem will not occur again and that we make things right for our users.

We're continuing to see sustained growth across our U.S. and international markets, deeper penetration into many vertical categories and expanded adoption of our fixed-price trading formats,

But we believe that when a company is out in front of the competition ? and you have an opportunity to acquire such a company ? it's a great thing to do,

China is unique. It is growing rapidly, and it has a tremendous amount of potential, which is why we have made it a priority for the company.

If we were a nation, we would be the ninth most populous nation in the world,

What I mean by that is: the largest number of registered users, the largest number of voice minutes, the largest number of developers who develop the platform, the best product ... that users are willing and want to pay for.

We take every competitor very seriously, but we really do have a tremendous position in the marketplace. We are the experts at running marketplaces. We've been at this now for 10 years.

We are extremely pleased with the strength of our business and with the tremendous momentum we have going into the new year,

We are extremely pleased that Bill is joining eBay's board, ... He leads one of the best-known and most respected global brands, and his management expertise will be a welcome addition to an unparalleled board of directors.

Half.com expands the choices available for our existing buyers and sellers by adding the feature of fixed price.

is eager to work with law enforcement regarding alleged fraudulent items sold on the site.

Our fourth-quarter results capped off an outstanding year. We have excellent momentum going into 2002 and feel confident with our long-term strategy, ongoing execution and the inherent strength of our business mode.

We have tremendous momentum in our flagship business. Our customers now transact well over $200 million in gross merchandise sales per month, making this the most vibrant consumer e-commerce site on the entire Internet.

We have tremendous momentum in our flagship business, ... Our customers now transact well over $200 million in gross merchandise sales per month, making this the most vibrant consumer e-commerce site on the entire Internet.

What we have seen is that our army of entrepreneurs, our users, bring to market what consumers want, and they are far more adaptive and prescient that any company can be,

There is immense legal and regulatory compliance. When you're handling people's money, every legal and regulatory agency in every country is very interested in that. That is some of the expertise we've built up over the last five or six years.

We want to help sellers grow even if that means off the marketplace -- beginning an exciting new chapter for you and your business, and for us as well.

We are excited to start 1999 with strong first-quarter results and positive growth across all metrics,

We are excited about eBay's long-term vision. We intend to accomplish our long-term revenue objectives while maintaining profitability as a cornerstone of our strategy.

We are excited about eBay's long-term vision, ... We intend to accomplish our long-term revenue objectives while maintaining profitability as a cornerstone of our strategy.

While we do not have liability, we do have a responsibility to our community of users with respect to fraud prevention,

This will be a year of consolidation and integration.

We want to evolve with you, ... Many of you thinking about giving up being on eBay, and why not?

We feel we are at just the beginning of what could be an enormous business for us,

We saw very strong growth across every part of our business, ... It's wonderful to see such strength in our two largest marketplaces, the U.S. and Germany.

We saw very strong growth across every part of our business in Q3.

We are very pleased with our second-quarter results. Everyday the eBay marketplace becomes indispensable to more people and small businesses around the world.

There's no question that seasonal trends are becoming more pronounced as eBay becomes more mainstream,

These results demonstrate that our continued focus on expanding the eBay marketplace is accelerating the company's growth around the world.

The third quarter was another very strong quarter of accomplishments and financial results. We are extremely pleased with eBay's current market position and momentum, in terms of user growth, activities and profit.

Sometimes it's a little bit like being a politician, ... We have work to do in understanding our users' sentiments.

now make all or part of their living from trading on its site.

Asia-Pacific is the fastest growing user region with markets like India, China and Korea leading the pack as Internet and broadband penetration rise.

This deal is a tremendous step forward for eBay. In one strategic move we have increased our pan-European footprint, as well as the strength of our global trading community.

This alliance not only provides us significant customer acquisition opportunities, it serves as an important brand investment,

This past quarter, we continued our efforts to bring a wider audience to eBay through a variety of marketing endeavors including online and traditional advertising, grassroots marketing, public relations and strong word of mouth referrals.

Ê Someone who needs cash might dig up a DVD player in the closet and sell it to someone else wanting to save money by buying a used item.

It is very clear that voice communications is moving on to the Internet, ... In the end, the price that anyone can provide for voice transmission on the Net will trend toward zero.

EBay is a significant enabler of economic opportunity in Europe.

It's an area of opportunity for the company, ... The buying that is being transacted on eBay is now so large that we have the mass to go to UPS or Fedex and try to get a deal that would be beneficial to our community.

India is still a small fraction of our global revenues, but in 5, 10, 15 years we hope India will be among our top markets.

By working with Microsoft's cutting-edge technology, we will significantly strengthen eBay's marketplace and our community's ability to trade seamlessly at any time from anywhere on the planet.

I didn't have one. I went to Shanghai instead, trying to figure out the China market, because my company's future may depend on it.

By combining the two leading e-commerce franchises we will create an extraordinarily powerful environment for business on the internet.

I'm not a career politician. I spent 30 years in business. I can tell you that people in California have had it with career politicians: they are done.

And I want to be able to - you know, make Republicans and Democrats famous for keeping jobs in California

In my judgment, we have to avoid, at all costs, tax increases. That would be the worst possible thing to do and will make a bad economy even worse. Beyond that, targeted tax relief should be expanded upon.

I think we can be the very best place to start a business, to grow a business, to invent a new technology, to change the world, to change the country. But we've got a lot of work to deliver a new California to the people of California.

We can't impede progress in the name of environmental action that yields little for the environment and even less for our people.. and we should look at the environment as an economic opportunity.

One good thing about California is we have quite a broad-based economy. We provide more fruits and vegetables and produce to the United States than any other state. So we have actually the single largest agricultural sector in the country.

People ask me, how is managing in the New Economy different from managing in the Old Economy? Actually, it's a lot the same. It's about the financial discipline of the bottom line, understanding your customers, segmenting your customers by their needs, and building a world-class management team.

eBay had two main things that really spoke to me. It enabled individuals to do things that they could not have done without the Web. The second thing was what Pierre said: "People have met their best friends on eBay. What this has enabled is truly online community."

If we don't rededicate ourselves to education with the same attitude Americans have applied to going to the moon and fighting wars, the results will be profound. We will gradually lose our successful workforce.

Silicon Valley is 130 miles from Sacramento, but it might as well be a million miles away given how it operates.

For me, the international expansion of eBay was the best idea. We are now in 35 countries, and have a huge global network. The second best one was the acquisition of PayPal - the wallet on eBay

When a small business grows like eBay did, it has a multiplier effect. It creates other small businesses that supply it with intellectual capital, goods and services.

The fact that used cars is our largest category is a good example. We would not have sat in a conference room and said, "Hey, how about used cars?" So what can be learned that is extensible to other companies is to ask what are your customers doing with your products that maybe you didn't anticipate that they would do? How do you think of your customers as your research and development lab, as opposed to having an R&D lab at headquarters?

We also need to reduce corporate tax rates. This applies to small, medium and large businesses. At 35 percent, we have the second highest corporate rates in the world. It restricts the growth of small enterprises that need to plow capital back into their businesses and forces companies and jobs to move overseas.

'Perfect' is the enemy of 'good enough'.

A monkey could drive this train.

If you have fun at your job, I think you're going to be more effective.

To be effective, leaders must have the qualities and attitudes essential to work in a group setting.

Steve Jobs was an iconic entrepreneur and businessman whose impact on technology was felt beyond Silicon Valley. He will be remembered for the innovation he brought to market and the inspiration he brought to the world.

Many companies operate from more of a command-and-control environment - they decide what's going to happen at headquarters and have the organization execute. That doesn't work here because it's the community of users who really have control. So we enable, not direct. We think of our customers as people, not wallets. And that has implications for how we run the company. We partner with our customers and let them take the company where they think it's best utilized.

A business leader has to keep their organization focused on the mission. That sounds easy, but it can be tremendously challenging in today's competitive and ever-changing business environment. A leader also has to motivate potential partners to join.

Remember that you can do anything you want to do. Don't let anyone say, 'You're not smart enough... it's too hard... it's a dumb idea... no one has done that before... girls don't do that.' My mom gave me that advice in 1973. And it allowed me to never worry about what others were saying about my career direction.

Do what you love and success will follow. Passion is the fuel behind a successful career.

Problems are good, as long as you solve them quickly,

  Someone who needs cash might dig up a DVD player in the closet and sell it to someone else wanting to save money by buying a used item.

The geographical location is just perfect for us,