Ursula Burns quotes

Find something that you love to do, and find a place that you really like to do it in. I found something I loved to do. I'm a mechanical engineer by training, and I loved it. I still do. My son is a nuclear engineer at MIT, a junior, and I get the same vibe from him. Your work has to be compelling. You spend a lot of time doing it. (Ursula Burns)
As Ive progressed in my career, Ive come to appreciate -- and really value -- the other attributes that define a companys success beyond the P&L: great leadership, long-term financial strength, ethical business practices, evolving business strategies, sound governance, powerful brands, values-based decision-making. View quote
Ursula Burns
I don't think paper will go away. I do believe that the value of paper will change, and Xerox is working on changing that value. Consider a color page. Actual life is in color, but you keep reproducing it in black and white. You remove value. It's a bad thing to do. View quote
Ursula Burns
I went to an all-girls Catholic high school. The three things that they focused on were reading, writing, and arithmetic. My goodness, this is a novel idea in this modern society. I was really good at all three of these things. I was particularly good at math. View quote
Ursula Burns
Impatience is a virtue. View quote
Ursula Burns
I realized I was more convincing to myself and to the people who were listening when I actually said what I thought, versus what I thought people wanted to hear me say. View quote
Ursula Burns
I want to stop transforming and just start being. View quote
Ursula Burns
I've had many mentors, but the one that has the most impact was my mother. View quote
Ursula Burns
My mother was pragmatic, focused and extremely, exceedingly practical, and she was the ultimate self-determining person. View quote
Ursula Burns
Fresh out of college, you tend to join a company because it's a job. But, you tend to stay because it becomes a career; you start to feel at home. In the beginning of your career, you're focused on you: 'I like this place because I'm doing rewarding work; they take good care of me; the people are nice; there's runway for me,' etc. View quote
Ursula Burns
My mother raised us to think that if we worked hard, and if we put our end of the bargain in, it would work out OK for us. (Ursula Burns)
This old notion that work is drudgery is nonsense. Most days, even back when Xerox was under siege, I could not wait to get to the office. View quote
Ursula Burns
Crankiness is a human attribute that, when people walk in the door of Xerox, they remain human. The best way to get the best out of people is to not force them to be something other than they naturally are. Now what do they have to be? They have to be respectful. You can't be ridiculously disrespectful. View quote
Ursula Burns
CEOs resign when the internal dynamics of the company and the external dynamics of the company actually come together to say it is appropriate. When the internal dynamics ask you whether you have a replacement. I think the transition from CEOships have also become cartoonish. View quote
Ursula Burns
If you go to Norway, Finland, Russia or Australia, you'll see Xerox or Fuji-Xerox people, not just the name on the door. We have human beings who live and work and serve customers everywhere around the globe. View quote
Ursula Burns
Admiration takes on a whole new level when you appreciate just how complex it is to run a modern business. View quote
Ursula Burns
The best way to change it is to do it. Right? And then after a while you become it, and it's easy. View quote
Ursula Burns
My perspective comes in part from being a New York black lady, in part from being an engineer. I know I'm smart and have opinions worth being heard. View quote
Ursula Burns
I'm a black lady from the Lower East Side of New York. Not a lot intimidates me. View quote
Ursula Burns
I don't want to overemphasize this, but not a day goes by when I don't think about my mother and what she would think about what I just did. I often adjust my approach. View quote
Ursula Burns
You don't have to be at every volleyball game. We can't guilt ourselves. (Ursula Burns)
Xerox is really good at managing documents, and we're definitely good at managing through a process. View quote
Ursula Burns