Words Worth Keeping
Pull Up a Chair is, at heart, a library of lived wisdom. This collection gathers leadership quotes that have shaped Dr. Phil Knight’s thinking—voices he has read, recommended, and invited to the table—organized by thinker and theme so you can return to them when you need clarity, courage, or a nudge to keep going.
Settle in as you would in a quiet study: browse by author, linger over a line, and let these words start conversations about influence, dignity, purpose, and the kind of leadership our communities deserve.
John C. Maxwell
A foundational collection centered on influence, people, vision, relationships, and growth.
“Leadership is influence—nothing more, nothing less.”
“Everything rises and falls on leadership.”
“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.”
“People buy into the leader before they buy into the vision.”
“Teamwork makes the dream work.”
“If a leader has no one following, he’s only taking a walk.”
“True leadership always begins with the inner person.”
“Those closest to me determine the level of my success.”
“Most people are more comfortable with old problems than new solutions.”
“Leaders must touch a heart before they ask for a hand.”
Adam Grant
Grant’s work reinforces the value of contribution, rethinking, originality, dissent, and learning.
“Success is not about winning a competition. It’s about making a contribution.”
“Argue like you’re right, but listen like you’re wrong.”
“Being original doesn’t require being first. It just means being different and better.”
“Procrastination may be the enemy of productivity, but it can be a resource for creativity.”
“We all need allies. It’s very hard to be a lone original.”
Malcolm Gladwell
Preparation, opportunity, context, unconventional thinking, and the courage to play a different game.
“Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good.”
“Achievement is talent plus preparation.”
“Who we are cannot be separated from where we’re from.”
“Outliers are those who have been given opportunities—and who have had the strength and presence of mind to seize them.”
“Davids win all the time…when they acknowledge their weakness and choose not to play by someone else’s rules.”
Dr. Sam Chand
A powerful leadership lens on growth, pain, ambiguity, and organizational culture.
“You will grow only to the threshold of your pain.”
“Growth equals change. Change equals loss. Loss equals pain.”
“The highest level of leadership is being able to lead in ambiguity.”
“A toxic culture will eat vision for lunch.”
“Culture is created at the top, sustained from the bottom, and eroded in the middle.”
Simon Sinek
Leadership as responsibility, service, loyalty, and the development of others.
“Leadership is not a license to do less. Leadership is a responsibility to do more.”
“The greatest contribution of a leader is to make others leaders.”
“Bad leaders care about who’s right. Good leaders care about what’s right.”
“Strong leaders earn loyalty. Weak leaders demand it.”
“The joy of leadership comes from seeing others achieve more than they thought they were capable of.”
Brené Brown
The connection between courage, clarity, vulnerability, and responsibility.
“Clear is kind. Unclear is unkind.”
“Courage over comfort.”
“Courage is contagious.”
“Integrity is choosing courage over comfort.”
“A leader is anyone who takes responsibility for finding the potential in people and processes and has the courage to develop that potential.”
Kim Blue
Ownership, ambition, accountability, and results.
“Your growth is your responsibility.”
“Ambition is your birthright.”
“Accountability is the glue that ties commitment to results.”
Kate Ancketill
A futurist voice on disruption, adaptation, and technology.
“Because we need to believe that win-win scenarios are possible.”
“Automation is coming and retailers must adapt and adopt.”
“If any aspect of your customer service can be improved by AI, you must adopt it.”
From Across the Table
Leadership wisdom gathered through conversations on Pull Up a Chair. These voices don’t come from books — they come from people doing consequential work in the real world.
Dr. Christopher Harris
“You can’t focus on the top of the pyramid while the bottom is on fire.”
“Charities fill a gap temporarily, but policy is what fixes the system.”
“Teaching someone to fish is pointless if they don’t have a pond to fish in.”
“Everyone has something to give, not just something to get.”
Lori Dykstra
“We shouldn’t solve it for them…we need to ask them what they need.”
“The word that keeps coming to mind for me is humility…we are all neighbors.”
Joree Novotny
“The people we serve are part of the solution—they’re not a problem to be solved.”
“Good work isn’t the problem. Alignment is.”
Mandy Pullaro
“Food is what drives people into the network—but it’s rarely their only challenge.”
“Nothing about us, without us, is for us.”
Gerry Brisson
“The less you know about a problem, the easier it is to solve. As you learn more, you realize why it persists—and why real solutions take time.”
“Until food banks can artfully discuss the impact the food makes in people’s lives, we will struggle to communicate our value and impact.”
Philisms
These are the thinkers who shaped the conversation. But some of the most resonant leadership observations come from Dr. Phil himself. Visit the Philisms page to read original leadership insights from the host of Pull Up a Chair.
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