Great Throughts Treasury

This site is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Alan William Smolowe who gave birth to the creation of this database.

Jim Barksdale, formally James Love Barksdale

American Business Executive, CEO and President of Netscape Communications Corporation

"After all, it's the future of business communication that we're looking toward."

"Every good list of objectives has either 3 or 5 things. If it's 4, you either got one too many, or you forgot something."

"Because his responsibilities extend beyond the (15 agencies making up the U.S.) Intelligence Community, the program manager should have enhanced authority within the executive office of the president."

"Getting rid of a snake is sometimes a greater problem than the snake itself. People within a company... write memos about the snake. And after the snake is officially dead? sometimes people in an organization continue to insist that the snake is still around. They?re the people who ?lost the argument? and were overruled."

"Don't keep a dog and bark yourself."

"Experimenting on the net: first you try something. Since it's just software, there's no need to bend any sheet metal, or trouble the guys on the loading docks. Second, you post it on the net. If it works, it's a product. If it doesn't, it's market research."

"Great opportunities are the ones that solve great problems. And a great opportunity for wealth is solving the last link in the chain, that holds the whole system back from working."

"I can't deny that some customers and prospects think it's the key to our future. But it's not. We're certainly supportive of the Dept. of Justice and the 20 states that have brought this action."

"I don't believe in government regulation of the software industry."

"How does it work? Works real good."

"I think the touchstone is to give consumers a full, fair choice without the power of a monopoly operating system pushing them in a direction that free competition might or might not achieve."

"I think they should separate Microsoft's application group from its operating system group."

"I want my testimony to stand on that point. But I would point out that Zona Research Inc. showed we have increased market share among business users, educational users, and government users over the past several months - and that's more recent than the IDC report."

"I was telling the truth. I feel like we got that point across."

"If a company doesn?t have profits over the long haul, then it?s gonna be a short haul."

"I think we're proving ourselves as we go along. The past several months our strategy has been evolutionary - making maximum advantage of our client browser, as well as our enterprise software for people who want to build Web sites."

"If you ain't got a reference, you gotta do a whole lot a talking. A reference is the most important sales tool a rep can have."

"If anyone has some data, let's hear it. If we're just going to use opinions, then we're going to use mine."

"If you can't measure the objective then don't put it on the list. We got too many things to fix that you can measure to waste time with things you can't."

"If you can't remember your objectives without looking at a piece of paper, you can't hardly achieve them except maybe by accident."

"If these journalists didn't see us coming, what make them think they can see us going?"

"If we have data, let?s look at data. If all we have are opinions, let?s go with mine."

"If your own kids say you're a deadbeat, it's hard to get respect on the outside."

"In a bacon and egg breakfast, the hen is supportive, but the pig is committed."

"If you like 'em, great. If you don't, get used to 'em. [Re Q4 budgets]"

"In a fight between a bear and an alligator, it is the terrain which determines who wins."

"It's like prostitution: first you got it, then you sell it, and then you still got it."

"I've tended to work at fast-growing companies that improve the way business gets done."

"In my column series "The Main Thing," I often talk about how Internet technology can improve the way people communicate - both within a business and between a business and its customers and partners."

"It's not the size of the dog in the fight; it's the size of the fight in the dog."

"Jim Barksdale?s 3 Rules of Business: The first rule is, if you see a snake, don?t call committees, don?t call your buddies, don?t get a meeting together; just kill the snake. The second rule is, don?t go back and play with dead snakes. We haven?t got time to go back and revisit decisions. The third rule is, all opportunities start out looking like snakes. So look at problems as opportunities."

"It's the first time I've ever done anything like that. It took longer than I expected. I've gotten a lot of E-mail since I got back, saying they thought I did a good job and presented the case well."

"Never mistake a clear view for a short distance."

"Management spends too much time fixing problems instead of pursuing opportunities."

"Lion wakes up in the morning and knows that he has to run faster than the gazelle or he's going to go hungry. Gazelle wakes up in the morning and knows that he has to run faster than the lion or he's going to be eaten. Moral of the story: folks, when you get up in the morning, hit the ground running!"

"Netscape strategy: get out, get in."

"No decision is a decision."

"Nobody cares about us more than us."

"Nobody ever won a war by dying for their country. You win a war by making the enemy soldier die for his country. JB quoting Patton"

"Nobody that I know can predict the next two pings of the pinball."

"No longer do we have to go looking for information - we can find it on the Internet, our intranet, or our extranet with the click of a mouse."

"Nothing happens until somebody sells something."

"Now I?m the President around here. So if I say a chicken can pull a tractor trailer, your job is to hitch ?em up.? ?If we have data, let?s look at data. If all we have are opinions, let?s go with mine.?"

"One of the most disappointing things is we don't see enough residential construction - especially affordable housing."

"One of Netscape's main attractions to customers from Day One is that we provide alternatives. And that's cherished by many customers - certainly not all."

"Of course, nothing happens until somebody sells something."

"One problem was that my direct testimony was in writing, so a lot of people didn't get to see it. I hope they see it, because I think it built a very strong case."

"Plan the work and then work the plan."

"Only two ways to make money in the software business: bundling and unbundling."

"Our people are excited about building solutions, and it's rewarding to see how much fun Netscape employees have doing something they think is relevant and important."