I think finding the way in life is the hardest part. At every stage of life, every trial, every success, you know, you're going into some kind of fog. There isn't a plan that suddenly reveals itself, and you go, "Ta-da! Now I understand." Les Wexner More Quotes by Les Wexner More Quotes From Les Wexner I think different societies, cultures, individuals, teams of people, make the world a better place. The founding fathers, they made New England, they made those 13 colonies. I don't know if they thought they were changing the world or just changing their world, but they did make the world a better place. Doctors that cure patients or cure diseases or make discoveries, they're making the world a better place. Can I make the world a better place by selling underpants? Not really. That's just the means. That gives me resources to try to make the world a better place. Les Wexner team mean father A woman at the Limited once asked me, 'Why do you work?' She said, 'You made a lot of money as a young man, so why are you still working?' I had never thought about it before. Forced to consider it, I told her, 'You know why? Because I think that if you stop to smell the roses, you'll get hit by a truck. Les Wexner smell men thinking Nobody remembers who was the richest toga salesman in Rome. Les Wexner togas rome remember As an entrepreneur, you work out solutions. Les Wexner solutions entrepreneur work-out You’re not going to be a 1.000 hitter all the time. You’re going to be more wrong than right. You just have to correct your errors as quickly, as economically, as possible. Les Wexner errors Society can't wait. It's sad there are so many entrepreneurs, business successes and venture capitalists who give no thought to society. Les Wexner entrepreneur waiting giving I am really proud of the development of the people on my team as they grow in purpose; they like what they see in the mirror. Les Wexner team mirrors people Entrepreneurs, guys that start businesses, grow with them. It's more painful than it would appear. Les Wexner entrepreneur guy painful The foundation of leadership is your own moral compass. I think the best quality leaders really know where their moral compass is. They get it out when they are making decisions. It's their guide. But not only do you have to have a moral compass and take it out of your pocket, it has to have a true north. Les Wexner leader decision thinking Sometimes I wish I lived more in the day, but I'm happier thinking about tomorrow or the day after. The way I see it, there's always a new or next thing. Les Wexner wish way thinking In the '70s and '80s, the mentality of America was that everything was disposable. The notion of quality wasn't important. Les Wexner quality important america Growing up, I knew you were supposed to have a profession - and something better than being a shopkeeper, which is what my parents were. Les Wexner shopkeepers growing-up parent My view is that everything begins with the customer. If you know the customer, then you can match the merchandise and then you can market it. The marketing is kind of the icing. The foundation is the cake. That's the merchandise. Then the question is, "Do the customers want cake, or do they want cupcakes or donuts. What is it?" Les Wexner donuts marketing kind There is always hopefully a next. Les Wexner hopefully next What makes you tick? Why do you care about the things you care about? Les Wexner do-you-care tick care I think leaders lead themselves, but leaders have ideas and maybe they're visionary ideas. Probably today, people would say Steve Jobs was a visionary because he invented this little gadget, the cell phone. But he didn't invent cell phones, and he didn't design the cell phone. He just took a couple of ideas and put them together, and no one else put those same ideas together as successfully as he did. But he had something that he was trying to do that intrigued him, and he could do it very well. Les Wexner couple people thinking My mom was terrific. I described my mom once. If fear was a color, she was color blind. Nothing frightened her. If I told her that I was going to take over General Motors, she'd say, "You can do it." Just the most preposterous things, ambitious things, she said, "You can do it." Les Wexner ambitious blind mom My faith is very important me. I think the notion that there's this greater force outside of ourselves that's created the universe, created challenges, creates opportunity, the notion of man's responsibility to man. Les Wexner responsibility opportunity men The notion of Victoria should be a ladies' paradise. If men like Victoria's Secret, that's kind of a bonus, but in my imagination they should feel uncomfortable when they're in the store, if there's no mahogany paneling, there's nothing that's welcoming. This is a ladies' paradise. And that thinking goes into the design of the store, the fitting rooms, the fabric, the display. It's all from the lady's point of view. It has nothing to do with men. Les Wexner imagination men thinking My favorite leader is George Washington. Because he came from very modest circumstances. He wasn't the son of a plantation owner. He was the son of a farmer. He had no formal education, very frustrated. He started writing a diary when he was in his teens, and he wrote things like, "When I grow up, I want to be respected. When I grow up, I want to be successful. When I grow up, I want to know things." What I find fascinating about Washington is he wanted to make something of himself. Les Wexner growing-up writing son
