James Cash Penney

No matter what his position or experience in life, there is in everyone more latent than developed ability; far more unused than used power.

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

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

We get real results only in proportion to the real values we give.

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

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

I don’t know the rules of grammar. If you’re trying to persuade people to do something, or buy something, it seems to me you should use their language, the language they use every day, the language in which they think. We try to write in the vernacular.

Do not spend too much time planning or trying to anticipate and solve problems before they happen. That is just another kind of excuse for procrastination. Until you start, you won’t know where the problems will occur. You won’t have the experience to solve them. Instead, get into action, and solve the problems as they arise.

I do not believe a man can ever leave his business. He ought to think of it by day and dream of it by night.

I used to be able to read memo’s upside down… It was like going to the college of the entertainment business.

It was always my practice to train salespeople under my direct supervision, and to treat children with the utmost consideration.

It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.

[on Steve jobs] Our relationship was based almost always on him calling up and asking, ‘Is this a good deal?’ I’m not in his business, and I wasn’t trying to be. I was just a guy who admired him a lot and was flattered he wanted my advice.

Many people – and I think I am one of them – are more productive when they’ve had a little to drink. I find if I drink two or three brandies, I’m far better able to write.

Although Mr. Edison was called ‘The Wizard’ of the electrical world and everyone thought that electricity was the coming thing, he actually encouraged me to go with my second car.

Advertising people who ignore research are as dangerous as generals who ignore decodes of enemy signals.

I always look at it that I work with my employees as opposed to them working for me.

I own buildings. I’m a builder; I know how to build. Nobody can build like I can build. Nobody. And the builders in New York will tell you that. I build the best product. And my name helps a lot.

Not everybody is some kind of media model.

A touch of the jitters sharpens the mind, gets the adrenaline flowing and helps you to focus.

One client didn’t want to go out so had us build him a nightclub in his house.