Marshall Field Quotes

"I was determined not to remain poor."
-- Marshall Field (1834-1906)
Pictured here at age 24

"Beware of a misfit occupation. . . . Consider carefully your natural bent, whether for business or a profession."

"The distance is nothing; it's only the first step that is difficult."

"Give the lady what she wants!"

"Goodwill is the one and only asset that competition cannot undersell or destroy."

“A man with a surplus can control circumstances, but a man without a surplus is controlled by them, and often has no opportunity to exercise judgment."

"I have tried to make all my acts and commercial moves the result of definite consideration and sound judgment. There were never any great ventures or risks. I practiced honest, slow-growing business methods, and tried to back them with energy and good system.”

"Right or wrong, the customer is always right.”

"Twelve Priceless Qualities of Success:
1. The value of time.
2. The success of perseverance.
3. The pleasure of working.
4. The dignity of simplicity.
5. The worth of character.
6. The power of kindness.
7. The influence of example.
8. The obligation of duty.
9. The wisdom of economy.
10. The virtue of patience.
11. The improvement of talent.
12. The joy of originating."

The business model of Marshall Field & Company:

"To do the right thing, at the right time, in the right way; to do some things better than they were ever done before; to eliminate errors; to know both sides of the question; to be courteous; to be an example; to work for the love of work; to anticipate requirements; to develop resources; to recognize no impediments; to master circumstances; to act from reason rather than rule; to be satisfied with nothing short of perfection."

-Marshall Field was an American department-store owner whose pioneering activities in retail merchandising were continued and extended into publishing by successive generations of his family.-