Donald Rumsfeld Quotes
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Presidential leadership needn't always cost money. Look for low- and no-cost options. They can be surprisingly effective.
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When you raise issues with the President, try to come away with both that decision and also a precedent. Pose issues so as to evoke broader policy guidance. This can help to answer a range of similar issues likely to arise later.
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What we are seeing is not the war in Iraq. What we're seeing is slices of the war in Iraq.111213
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In our system leadership is by consent, not command. To lead a President must persuade. Personal contacts and experiences help shape his thinking. They can be critical to his persuasiveness and thus to his leadership.
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Members of the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate are not there by accident. Each managed to get there for some reason. Learn what it was and you will know something important about them, about our country and about the American people.
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If the staff lacks policy guidance against which to test decisions, their decisions will be random.
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Be precise. A lack of precision is dangerous when the margin of error is small.
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It recalls to mind the statement by Winston Churchill, something to the effect that: I have benefited greatly from criticism, and at no time have I suffered a lack thereof. 15
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We do have a saying in America: if you're in a hole, stop digging ..... erm, I'm not sure I should have said that.8910
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Stuff happens.
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Our task, your task... is to try to connect the dots before something happens. People say, 'Well, where's the smoking gun?' Well, we don't want to see a smoking gun from a weapon of mass destruction.
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Don't speak ill of your predecessors or successors. You didn't walk in their shoes.
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Enjoy your time in public service. It may well be one of the most interesting and challenging times of your life.
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Many people around the President have sizeable egos before entering government, some with good reason. Their new positions will do little to moderate their egos.
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Preserve the President's options. He may need them.
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Oh, Lord. I didn't mean to say anything quotable.
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Look at me! I'm sweet and lovable!
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I stand for 8-10 hours a day. Why is standing limited to four hours?
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Don't be a bottleneck. If a matter is not a decision for the President or you, delegate it. Force responsibility down and out. Find problem areas, add structure and delegate. The pressure is to do the reverse. Resist it.
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Don't necessarily avoid sharp edges. Occasionally they are necessary to leadership.
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Those who follow orders to commit such crimes will be found and they will be punished. War crimes will be prosecuted. And it will be no excuse to say, 'I was just following orders.' Any official involved in such crimes will forfeit hope of amnesty or leniency with respect to past action.
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I'm not into this detail stuff. I'm more concepty.
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Prune - prune businesses, products, activities, people. Do it annually.
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After he saw what happened to Saddam Hussein, he (Gaddafi) did not want to be Saddam Hussein. He gave up his nuclear program.