What Does Shakespeare Say About Leadership?
English poet and playwright William Shakespeare is best known for his 39 plays and 154 published sonnets. While his works were produced over 400 years ago (1589-1613), they are still relevant today.
One thing that’s fascinating about Shakespeare is the insight he seemed to have into the workings of the king’s court, political intrigue, and the business of the state.
William Shakespeare is often quoted about love and life. This article focuses on William Shakespeare’s quotes on business. Specifically, we’ll answer the question what does Shakespeare say about leadership?
Shakespeare’s business quotes are divided into the following topics:
- Shakespeare on Communication
- Shakespeare on Mindset
- Shakespeare on Business
- Shakespeare on Character
- Shakespeare on Business Execution
- Shakespeare on Leading
As you review these quotes from William Shakespeare, consider how they match your leadership philosophies and style.
Enjoy!
Shakespeare on Communication
“Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice.”
Hamlet
“Brevity is the soul of wit.”
Hamlet
“It is a tale…full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”
Macbeth
“Have more than thou showest, Speak less than thou knowest.”
King Lear
“And oftentimes excusing of a fault doth make the fault the worse by the excuse.”
King John
“Speak on but be not over-tedious.”
Henry VI
Shakespeare on Mindset
“Be not afraid of greatness: Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.”
Twelfth Night
“We know what we are but know not what we may be.”
Hamlet
“Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, By fearing to attempt.”
Measure for Measure
“Men at some time are masters of their fates. The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.”
Julius Caesar
“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”
Hamlet
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“To business that we love we rise betime, And go to’t with delight.”
Anthony and Cleopatra
“How full of briers is this working day”
As You Like It
“The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself a fool”
As You Like It
“Self-love, my liege, is not so vile a sin, as self-neglecting.”
Henry V
“Let life be short; else shame will be too long.”
Henry V
Shakespeare on Business
“Neither a borrower nor a lender be, For loan oft loses both itself and friend, And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.”
Hamlet
“He that wants money, means, and content is without three good friends.”
As You Like It
“No profit grows where is no pleasure taken.”
The Taming of The Shrew
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“Fortune brings in some boats that are not steer’d.”
Cymbeline
Shakespeare on Character
“This above all: to thine ownself be true. And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.”
Hamlet
“There is not one wise man in twenty that will praise himself”
Hamlet
“There’s daggers in men’s smiles”
Macbeth
“I like not fair terms and a villain’s mind.”
The Merchant of Venice
“All that glisters is not gold.”
The Merchant of Venice
“Lord, what fools these mortals be!”
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
“How poor are they that have not patience? What wound did ever heal but by degrees?”
Othello
“Certain, men should be what they seem.”
Othello
“My dear dear lord, The purest treasure mortal times afford Is spotless reputation—that away, Men are but gilded loam, or painted clay.”
Richard II
“No legacy is so rich as honesty.”
All’s Well That Ends Well
“We are such stuff as dreams are made on; and our little life is rounded with a sleep.”
The Tempest
“Let every eye negotiate for itself And trust no agent; for beauty is a witch Against whose charms faith melteth in blood.”
Much Ado About Nothing
Shakespeare on Business Execution
“Things won are done; joy’s soul lies in the doing.”
Troilus and Cressida
“Strong reasons make strong actions.”
King John
“How far that little candle throws his beams!”
The Merchant of Venice
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“… for in such business action is eloquence”
Coriolanus
“Be patient, for the world is broad and wide.”
Romeo and Juliet
“Go wisely and slowly. Those who rush, stumble and fall.”
Romeo and Juliet
“All things are ready if our minds be so.”
Henry V
“Talking isn’t doing. It is a kind of good deed to say well; and yet words are not deeds.”
Henry VIII
“Better three hours too soon than a minute too late.”
The Merry Wives of Windsor
Shakespeare on Leading
“Small to greater matters must give way.”
Anthony and Cleopatra
“O it is excellent to have a giant’s strength but it is tyrannous to use it like a giant.”
Measure for Measure
“There is a tide in the affairs of men. Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; Omitted, all the voyage of their life Is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat, And we must take the current when it serves, Or lose our ventures.”
Julius Caesar
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“How in one house should many people under two commands hold amity?”
King Lear
“All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts.”
As You Like It
I hope you’ve enjoyed how I’ve answered the question “What does Shakespeare say about leadership?” I know that there are other relevant quotes on this topic. I’ve included those that seemed most useful to me.
If you have any suggestions or thoughts about quotes I should have included, let me know in the comments!
Make it a great day!
