James Cash Penney Quotations

As a rule, we find what we look for; we achieve what we get ready for.

Growth is never by mere chance; it is the result of forces working together.

The art of effective listening is essential to clear communication, and clear communication is necessary to management success.

A merchant who approaches business with the idea of serving the public well has nothing to fear from the competition.

Salesmanship is limitless. Our very living is selling. We are all salespeople.

Every man must decide for himself whether he shall master his world or be mastered by it.

Success cannot come from standstill men. Methods change and men must change with them.

The best teamwork comes from men who are working independently toward one goal in unison.

Luck is always the last refuge of laziness and incompetence.

The well-satisfied customer will bring the repeat sale that counts.

I do not believe in excuses. I believe in hard work as the prime solvent of life's problems.

The keystone of successful business is cooperation. Friction retards progress.

Honor bespeaks worth. Confidence begets trust. Service brings satisfaction. Cooperation proves the quality of leadership.

The five separate fingers are five independent units. Close them and the fist multiplies strength. This is organization.

Clock watchers never seem to be having a good time.

Responsibilities are given to him on whom trust rests. Responsibility is always a sign of trust.

The thought in my mind was that I must be a good merchant. If I were a good merchant, the rest would probably take care of itself.

Salesmanship, too, is an art; the perfection of its technique requires study and practice.

I never trust an executive who tends to pass the buck. Nor would I want to deal with him as a customer or a supplier.

The Golden Rule finds no limit of application in business.

No business can succeed in any great degree without being properly organized.

Do not primarily train men to work. Train them to serve willingly and intelligently.

It is the service we are not obliged to give that people value most.

The best of merchandise will go back to the shelf unless handled by a conscientious, tactful salesman.

Change is vital, improvement the logical form of change.

Courteous treatment will make a customer a walking advertisement.

I believe in trusting men, not only once but twice - in giving a failure another chance.

The greatest teacher I know is the job itself.

We get real results only in proportion to the real values we give.

My definition of an executive's job is brief and to the point. It is simply this: Getting things done through other people.

Men are not great or small because of their material possessions. They are great or small because of what they are.

I cannot remember a time when the Golden Rule was not my motto and precept, the torch that guided my footsteps.

A store's best advertisement is the service its goods render, for upon such service rest the future, the good-will, of an organization.

Selling is our No. 1 job. Never get away from selling a lot of merchandise personally. The more you sell the more you learn

It is always the start that requires the greatest effort.

The men who have furnished me with my greatest inspiration have not been men of wealth, but men of deeds.

There's no better friend to any merchant than a fair competitor.

Determine to do some thinking for yourself. Don't live entirely upon the thoughts of others. Don't be an automaton.

No matter what his position or experience in life, there is in everyone more latent than developed ability; far more unused than used power.

Success will always be measured by the extent to which we serve the buying public.

No serious-minded man should have time for the mediocre in any phase of his living.

There has never been a time when a career in the Penney Company was not a challenge that brought out the best in a man.

The problem with the bronco is to get on and stay on. This is the problem with the Golden Rule-to understand and apply

I believe a man is better anchored who has a belief in the Supreme Being.

It was always my practice to train salespeople under my direct supervision, and to treat children with the utmost consideration.

Theory is splendid but until put into practice, it is valueless.

We can serve our customers well only if our buying jobs are right. You cannot sell if you haven't ordered wanted goods into your store.

I was long brought up to think that it was nothing short of a crime to miss a sale.

No company can afford not to move forward. It may be at the top of the heap today but at the bottom of the heap tomorrow, if it doesn't

Too many would-be executives are slaves of routine.

I am grateful for all my problems. After each one was overcome, I became stronger and more able to meet those that were still to come. I grew in all my difficulties.

Give me a stock clerk with a goal and I'll give you a man who will make history. Give me a man with no goals and I'll give you a stock clerk.

I would never have amounted to anything were it not for adversity. I was forced to come up the hard way.

Geniuses themselves don't talk about the gift of genius, they just talk about hard work and long hours.

The friendly smile, the word of greeting, are certainly something fleeting and seemingly insubstantial. You can’t take them with you. But they work for good beyond your power to measure their influence. It is the service we are not obliged to give that people value most.

Responsibility is always a sign of trust.

Every great business is built on friendship.

Intelligence is the effort to do the best you can at your particular job; the quality that gives dignity to that job, whether it happens to be scrubbing a floor or running a corporation.

I learned that all things come to those who wait-provided they hustle while they wait.

I will have no man work for me who has not the capacity to become a partner.

In every man s life there lies latent energy. There is, however, a spark that, if kindled, will set the whole being afire, and he will become a human dynamo, capable of accomplishing almost anything to which he aspires.

Our very living is selling. We are all salespeople.

Success in business does not depend upon genius. Any young man of ordinary intelligence who is normally sound and not afraid to work should succeed in spite of obstacles and handicaps if he plays the game fairly and keeps everlastingly at it.

Business is no longer a matter of profits alone. Profits must come through public confidence, and public confidence is given to any merchant in proportion to the service which he gives to the public.

No man can climb the ladder of success without first placing his foot on the bottom rung.

In setting up a business under the name and meaning of the Golden Rule, I was publicly binding myself, in my business relations, to a principle which had been a real and intimate part of my family upbringing. Our idea was to make money and build business through serving the community with fair dealing and honest value.

In retailing, the formula happens to be a basic liking for human beings, plus integrity, plus industry, plus the ability to see the other fellow's point of view.

Exchange ideas frequently.

The disciplined are free.

Honor bespeaks worth Confidence begets trust.

The best way to stop a bad habit is never to begin it.

They serve best who give most of themselves. Self is forgotten by the one who serves, for such a one rejoices to see success coming to others through his or her efforts.

The public is not greatly interested in saving a little money on a purchase at the expense of service.

How can we expect our children to know and experience the joy of giving unless we teach them that the greater pleasure in life lies in the art of giving rather than receiving.