Today there are a lot places where people say they're just hopeless. If I can come from a hopeless country, get an education, become a hyphenated American and become president of the World Bank, it's my moral duty to make sure that every single person on the planet has that opportunity.

Jim Yong Kim

Categorized in : People Country Opportunity

No matter how good you think you are as a leader, my goodness, the people around you will have all kinds of ideas for how you can get better. So for me, the most fundamental thing about leadership is to have the humility to continue to get feedback and to try to get better - because your job is to try to help everybody else get better.

Jim Yong Kim

humility jobs thinking

Unless you invest in people, you are not going to see growth in the long term, the medium term, and maybe even the short term.

Jim Yong Kim

growth long people

We will never end poverty if we don't tackle climate change.

Jim Yong Kim

poverty climate ends

One of the most important things about leadership is that you have to have the kind of humility that will allow you to be coached.

Jim Yong Kim

important kind humility

Ending poverty and ensuring sustainability are the defining challenges of our time. Energy is central to both of them.

Jim Yong Kim

poverty energy challenges

When you're working on development issues, optimism is not always based on rational analysis, often it is a moral choice.

Jim Yong Kim

optimism issues choices

A lot of young people dont think they can make a difference. Thats really what I am at Dartmouth to do. Im there to tell the young people, Look, a few committed souls can change the world.

Jim Yong Kim

differences people thinking

If we do not act to curb climate change immediately, we will leave our children and grandchildren an unrecognizable planetIt is the poor, those least responsible for climate change and least able to afford adaptation, who would suffer the most.

Jim Yong Kim

climate suffering children

Why is it that when it comes to our most cherished social goal [health care], we not only tolerate poor execution, sometimes we even celebrate it?

Jim Yong Kim

execution care goal

There will be water and food fights everywhere.

Jim Yong Kim

fighting business water

What happens when corn and wheat prices rise is that we see real increases in malnutrition and under-nutrition. And when children are malnourished, their brain development actually slows down and is affected. So this is not just a short-term impact.

Jim Yong Kim

impact real children

We need to have a plan equal to the challenge.

Jim Yong Kim

challenges inspiring needs

I want to eradicate poverty. I think that theres a tremendous passion for that inside the World Bank.

Jim Yong Kim

passion world thinking

Water and sanitation has not had the same kind of champion that global health, and even education, have had.

Jim Yong Kim

champion kind water

We have to find climate-friendly ways of encouraging economic growth. The good news is we think they exist.

Jim Yong Kim

growth business thinking

Carbon is the currency of how you measure climate change, but water will be the teeth.

Jim Yong Kim

teeth climate water

We had no idea how quickly this [fund] would build, i really have to say that Ivanka's leadership has been tremendous.

Jim Yong Kim

politics

Despite hundreds of millions of people around the world living with mental disorders, mental health has remained in the shadows, this is not just a public health issue - it's a development issue. We need to act now because the lost productivity is something the global economy simply cannot afford.

Jim Yong Kim

healthcare

Right now we have to do everything we can to bring together the bankable (infrastructure) projects that even in a period of low growth will attract private investors.

Jim Yong Kim

industrials

If governments move right now, quickly, in enacting the kinds of structural reforms they need to enact, the investments will continue to flow.

Jim Yong Kim

industrials