Success Quote by Harold S. Geneen

Geneen’s line reads like a cold splash of water on the warm bath of corporate talk. It doesn’t merely praise execution; it strips language of its usual alibis. “Words,” “explanations,” “promises” are filed into separate, neatly labeled drawers, all equally harmless until they collide with the one category that can’t be massaged: performance. The syntax is doing the work here. The repeated “are” creates a ledger-like rhythm, as if he’s balancing accounts in public, then snapping the book shut on anything that can’t be measured.

The intent is managerial and disciplinary: stop negotiating reality through narrative. In a business culture that loves the story of the turnaround, the visionary memo, the carefully coached earnings-call reassurance, Geneen insists that outcomes are the only truth the market and the organization ultimately recognize. It’s also a warning to employees and executives alike: don’t confuse activity with achievement, or rationale with results. “Explanations” are singled out because they’re the most seductive form of failure: smart people can make a miss sound inevitable, even noble.

The subtext carries a harder edge. Performance isn’t just reality; it’s power. Whoever defines performance metrics and decides what counts as “real” gets to arbitrate worth, allocate resources, and rewrite reputations. Geneen, an emblematic mid-century CEO associated with relentless accountability, is speaking from a world where conglomerates, quarterly expectations, and managerial control were tightening their grip. The quote is less a motivational poster than a corporate operating system: believe whatever you want, say whatever you can sell, but you’ll be judged by the numbers on the table.