Edward Whitacre

“I'm a pretty average guy and want to keep a low profile. I don't want the world necessarily to know about me.”

“I started at GM knowing very little about that particular business. Not being an expert means you have to learn everything, starting from the basics.”

“My goal in coming to General Motors was to help restore profitability, build a strong market position and position this iconic company for success. We are clearly on that path.”

“AT&T will not block access to the public Internet or degrade service, period.”

“I find people to be people everywhere. Everyone wants the same thing - be successful.”

“This merger is a logical next step that creates substantial value for customers and stockholders of both AT&T and BellSouth. It will benefit customers through new services and expanded service capabilities.”

“I've been accused many times of not talking very much, but I guess I don't believe in talking things to death. You can talk too much on most anything and it stops being productive. There is a time for action. Eventually you have to pull the trigger.”

“I don't know anything about cars. A business is a business, and I think I can learn about cars. I'm not that old, and I think the business principles are the same.”

“I am honored to be able to serve GM at this critical juncture and take part in its reinvention.”

“At AT&T, I learned an awful lot about people, and how important it is to have the right people in the right jobs. And when I say 'right people,' I'm not talking about their college degree or work history; I'm talking about things like bearing - How does this person interact with other people? Can he or she talk to you and not tick you off?”

“If someone wants to transmit a high-quality service with no interruptions and 'guaranteed this, guaranteed that,' they should be willing to pay for that.”

“So long as TARP money is wrapped up in GM, the company will never shake its 'Government Motors' image. That label, as competitors and GM employees are keenly aware, is code for one thing: 'GM is a failure.'”

“Find your passion is in life, and do what you can to integrate that into your work life. That's not to say you won't have occasional frustrations in your job - that just goes with the territory - but at least you'll feel better inside, and that, over time, will mean more to you than you might think.”

“No partnership between two independent companies, no matter how well run, can match the speed, effectiveness, responsiveness and efficiency of a solely owned company.”

“TARP is funded by taxpayers, so there are many rules about how that money can and can't be used. The result: GM spends an awful lot of time checking in with the people who administer TARP over everything from hiring to executive compensation and management. For a global company, that adds up to a lot of distraction.”

“None of us has control over the economy, the job market, or anything else in the global sense. But we are 100% in charge of how we respond to challenges that come our way, be it the loss of a job, a career derailment, or some other disappointment.”

“When I got to GM they were using a matrix method of management which means everybody has more than one boss. I first heard about that system many years ago. It's supposed to help with collaboration, but my assessment is that it's pretty hard to get geared for action that way.”

“When I went into GM there was a lack of morale. The company had gone bankrupt and the people who worked there were embarrassed. Underneath all of, though, there was a will to show what they were capable of, but nobody knew exactly what to do.”

“Be willing to step outside your comfort zone once in a while; take the risks in life that seem worth taking. The ride might not be as predictable if you'd just planted your feet and stayed put, but it will be a heck of a lot more interesting.”