Luck is always the last refuge of laziness and incompetence.

— James Cash Penney

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

— James Cash Penney

Responsibilities are given to him on whom trust rests. Responsibility is always a sign of trust.

— James Cash Penney

Salesmanship, too, is an art; the perfection of its technique requires study and practice.

— James Cash Penney

So I come back again to the condition that the Golden Rule, if one adopts it, is a difficult master to serve. The ship’s captain will not throw the compass overboard because the wind blows fair, and the day is funny. For he knows, from the experiences of the ocean’s instability, that the danger days of storm are always “just ahead.” So the compass must always be handy and obedience to it must always be loyal. And so with the Golden Rule—the compass must be ever at hand through life’s journey. It will see us through trying times. And perhaps the most trying of all time comes when success is riding high, and we may be tempted to “throw the compass overboard.” It is then we must remember that all good days in human life come from the mastery of the days of trouble that are forever recurrent.

— James Cash Penney

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

— James Cash Penney

The art of effective listening is essential to clear communication, and clear communication is necessary to management success.

— James Cash Penney

The best teamwork comes from men who are working independently toward one goal in unison.

— James Cash Penney

The five separate fingers are five independent units. Close them and the fist multiplies strength. This is organization.

— James Cash Penney

The greatest teacher I know is the job itself.

— James Cash Penney