Ursula Burns

“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.”

“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.”

“My mother was amazing. I guess, in our community, if you wanted to get by you had to work hard. So she cleaned offices. She did everything that you could imagine. We were really poor. But she would say, 'Where you are is not who you are.'”

“As I've progressed in my career, I've come to appreciate - and really value - the other attributes that define a company's 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.”

“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.”

“I'm a black lady from the Lower East Side of New York. Not a lot intimidates me.”

“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.”

“Unlike people, companies outlive their founders and their leaders.”

“Admiration takes on a whole new level when you appreciate just how complex it is to run a modern business.”