Quotes By James Cash Penney

Selling is our No. 1 job. Never get away from selling a lot of merchandise personally. The more you sell the more you learn.

No business can succeed in any great degree without being properly organized.

Exchange ideas frequently.

It is the service we are not obliged to give that people value most.

No company can afford not to move forward. It may be at the top of the heap today but at the bottom of the heap tomorrow, if it doesn't.

I never trust an executive who tends to pass the buck. Nor would I want to deal with him as a customer or a supplier.

No serious-minded man should have time for the mediocre in any phase of his living.

Change is vital, improvement the logical form of change.

The well-satisfied customer will bring the repeat sale that counts.

Too many would-be executives are slaves of routine.

We can serve our customers well only if our buying jobs are right. You cannot sell if you haven't ordered wanted goods into your store.

The best of merchandise will go back to the shelf unless handled by a conscientious, tactful salesman.

The greatest teacher I know is the job itself.

Success will always be measured by the extent to which we serve the buying public.

The keystone of successful business is cooperation. Friction retards progress.

Do not primarily train men to work. Train them to serve willingly and intelligently.

There's no better friend to any merchant than a fair competitor.

Theory is splendid but until put into practice, it is valueless.

I cannot remember a time when the Golden Rule was not my motto and precept, the torch that guided my footsteps.

Honor bespeaks worth. Confidence begets trust. Service brings satisfaction. Cooperation proves the quality of leadership.

I was long brought up to think that it was nothing short of a crime to miss a sale.

I believe in trusting men, not only once but twice - in giving a failure another chance.

Clock watchers never seem to be having a good time.

Determine to do some thinking for yourself. Don't live entirely upon the thoughts of others. Don't be an automaton.

There has never been a time when a career in the Penney Company was not a challenge that brought out the best in a man.

The men who have furnished me with my greatest inspiration have not been men of wealth, but men of deeds.

A store's best advertisement is the service its goods render, for upon such service rest the future, the good-will, of an organization.

The thought in my mind was that I must be a good merchant. If I were a good merchant, the rest would probably take care of itself.

Success cannot come from standstill men. Methods change and men must change with them.

The Golden Rule finds no limit of application in business.