Chip Conley Quotations

Feeling good about your life, but not expressing a heartfelt 'thank you,' is like wrapping a gift for someone and never giving it to them.

In general, I'm not much into etiquette and am a rule-breaker and rebel by nature.

At the heart of great leadership is a curious mind, heart, and spirit.

When the world is in the midst of change, when adversity and opportunity are almost indistinguishable, this is the time for visionary leadership and when leaders need to look beyond the survival needs of those they're serving.

Great leaders help their people see how they can directly impact the company's objectives and their own personal goals.

Every five years, I like to do a big birthday party. I had my 45th birthday with 75 friends in Marrakesh, Morocco.

Conventional wisdom suggests the primary motivator for entrepreneurs is money or wealth creation and, in fact, much of the political debate tends to center around what kind of tax or regulatory policy changes will turn corporate suits into small business adventurers overnight.

Daniel Goleman has proven that two-thirds of the success in business is based upon our Emotional Intelligence as opposed to our IQ or our level of experience. As we look for the next crop of future CEOs, maybe it's time for America's corporations to start interviewing grads from the psychology master's programs rather than the M.B.A. programs.

Whether we're conscious of it or not, our work and personal lives are made up of daily rituals, including when we eat our meals, how we shower or groom, or how we approach our daily descent into the digital world of email communication.

Someone could be amazing at what they do, but if you don't like them, why bother hiring them?

Social scientists have found that the fastest way to feel happiness is to practice gratitude.

If an employee told you he had the flu, you'd send him home. If an employee told you he was feeling anxious, you'd probably tell him to get back to work. But the emotion is just as contagious as a flu virus.

Companies and leaders are role models - not just with the business community - but in the broader world.

Organizations that can diminish fear are those that are able to motivate, create, and innovate.

Business principles are only as good as the practices that back them up.

Bali is one of my favorite places in the world. In one of my past lives, I believe I was living on the island of Bali.

I don't know about you, but I've saved cards that old high school flames wrote me as well as those that employees have written me over the years. The power of genuine, customized appreciation will never lose its value, even in a gloomy economy... in fact, it's probably what we're all thirsty for in this desert of a depression.

The intersection of psychology and business is typically seen as being as congested, stressful, and emotionally barren as a peak commute traffic day on the L.A. freeways. But, thankfully, we live in an era in which neuroscientists are teaching us about the malleability of our brain and the emotionally contagious nature of our workplaces.

When any of us thinks of ourselves as a role model - whether that's as a parent being observed by their kids or a leader under the microscope of their followers - it creates a natural stepping up of how we carry ourselves and what we expect from ourselves.

I'd done my time in corporate America, from McDonald's making shakes to Morgan Stanley making deals and, yet, I felt awfully constrained by the uniform - not just my clothes, but how I felt I needed to conform - that a traditional job required me to wear.

My life is scattered and busy. I think of my home as a resort. When I step through the door, I feel relaxed. I almost feel like I've taken a vacation.

Once you know the emotional building blocks of anxiety, you can influence them.

The more externally chaotic the world becomes, the more we need sound internal logic, especially when it comes to our emotions.

We're all human. It's the most important, neglected fact in business.

When people get into that fight-or-flight place, then they move away from the creative centers of their brain.

The more we ignore our emotions, the more likely they are to wield a powerful influence over us.

Make curiosity a wonder-ful habit.

Curiosity has ... proven to be a great ingredient in resilience, a trait particularly valuable in an extended economic downturn. Resilient people aren't made of steel; they just provide themselves with more options, and those options come from a curious mind.

Many people do not distinguish between something that happens to them and their reaction to it. Yet it isn't the event or situation that holds the emotional charge; it's our beliefs that create our response.

Letting an emotion move through you is healthy. Letting an emotion define you is not.

Those of us who have been lucky enough to experience a calling in our work have a certain faith and peace of mind that it's exactly when we're supposed to be doing.

Café Gratitude offers an experience that expands what is possible for all people–a great recipe for business. I've watched Café Gratitude grow and have experienced both the flavors of their food and their commitment to providing a sacred experience for their customers.

As leaders, we understand that intangibles are important, but we don't have a clue how to measure them.

When any of us thinks of ourselves as a role model - whether thats as a parent being observed by their kids or a leader under the microscope of their followers - it creates a natural stepping up of how we carry ourselves and what we expect from ourselves.

We rigidify our self-image to portray a certain identity to the world, which is one of the key impediments to authenticity.

Younger people tend to associate happiness more with excitement and the future, while older people tend to associate happiness with peacefulness in the present.

What one thing can you start counting today that will actually be meaningful in your life?

Maybe its time we get a toolbox that doesnt just count whats easily counted, the tangible in life, but actually counts what we most value, the things that are intangible.

Isn't it ironic that pay, perks, and benefits all cost your company at the bottom line, but authentic recognition, especially when it's most unexpected, costs very little and gives the most impressive return on investment?

I do interview senior candidates at the home office or many of our hotel or restaurant General Manager candidates. My two favorite questions are "Tell me about a failure in your career, what you learned from it, and how you've leveraged this lesson" and "All of us are misperceived at one time or another. What's the most common way you're misperceived in the workplace and why?" Both of these questions require a certain amount of self-awareness and a willingness to not give pat, normal answers that we offer experience in interviews.

When I started my hotel company, Joie de Vivre, at the age of 26, I saw this venture as my ticket to freedom.

People don't realize how much control they do have. The more you can show them this control, the easier it is to tap back into the creative side of the brain that allows people to see possibilities and options.

The best way we can encourage people to create companies that create jobs is to celebrate the diverse entrepreneurial stories and the variety of drivers that led these entrepreneurs to sticking their necks out.

I know that when I attached my sense of identity a little too closely to my work that I might be distracting myself from feelings of unworthiness. It wasn't the number of hours I worked or how bloodshot my eyes were that defined the difference. It was something internal.