James Sinegal Quotes

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James Sinegal

Profession : Businessman

Birth : January 1, 1936

If you hire good people, give them good jobs, and pay them good wages, generally something good is going to happen.

James Sinegal

We want to turn our inventory faster than our people.

James Sinegal

Everybody is watching you every minute anyways. If they think the message you're sending out is phony, they're going to say, 'Who does he think he is?' It's again good business. But it is also an obligation.

James Sinegal

It doesn't do Costco any good if nobody can afford to buy anything.

James Sinegal

You just can't get too focused on worrying about what's going to happen in the next quarter. You have to worry about where the business is headed long-term.

James Sinegal

If you're going to say to all the people that you're working with, 'We want you to treat the customers honestly; don't lie and don't cheat,' it is somewhat hypocritical if you're not following the same rules.

James Sinegal

Obscene salaries send the wrong message through a company. The message is that all brilliance emanates from the top; that the worker on the floor of the store or the factory is insignificant.

James Sinegal

If we take care of the business and keep our eye on the goal line, the stock price will take care of itself.

James Sinegal

In the final analysis, you get what you pay for.

James Sinegal

One of the strengths of our nation has always been a strong middle class who could afford their own homes and send their children to school.

James Sinegal

We always strive to be the best in the wage package.

James Sinegal

We are a company that promotes 100% within the company.

James Sinegal

We would rather have our employees running our business.

James Sinegal

We've always been in favor of improved wages for workers. When you have a strong middle class, they want to buy more stuff at Costco.

James Sinegal

You destroy the initiative of the working people if they don't feel they have a fighting chance to be a part of the American Dream.

James Sinegal

You don't have a very motivated working class, it starts to affect the dynamics of the economy. If workers are disenchanted and disenfranchised, productivity losses will go along with that.

James Sinegal

You take an educated gamble. If you don't occasionally make a mistake, you're not doing your job.

James Sinegal

I say at our management conferences that the amount Wal-Mart grows in just one year is the equivalent of Costco's size.

James Sinegal

Obscene salaries send the wrong message through a company.

James Sinegal

The message is that all brilliance emanates from the top; that the worker on the floor of the store or the factory is insignificant.

James Sinegal