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" Preserve the President's options. He may need them. "
Donald Rumsfeld
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" It is easier to get into something than to get out of it. "
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" Don't necessarily avoid sharp edges. Occasionally they are necessary to leadership. "
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" Don't speak ill of your predecessors or successors. You didn't walk in their shoes. "
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" There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don't know we don't know. "
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" Be able to resign. It will improve your value to the President and do wonders for your performance. "
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" Simply because you do not have evidence that something exists does not mean that you have evidence that it doesn't exist. "
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" Don't think of yourself as indispensable or infallible. As Charles De Gaulle said, the cemeteries of the world are full of indispensable men. "
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" You will launch many projects, but have time to finish only a few. So think, plan, develop, launch and tap good people to be responsible. Give them authority and hold them accountable. Trying to do too much yourself creates a bottleneck. "
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" If you foul up, tell the President and correct it fast. Delay only compounds mistakes. "
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" Don't blame the boss. He has enough problems. "
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" Don't say 'the White House wants.' Buildings can't want. "
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" See that the President, the Cabinet and staff are informed. If cut out of the information flow, their decisions may be poor, not made, or not confidently or persuasively implemented. "
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" Reduce the layers of management. They put distance between the top of an organization and the customers. "
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" Test ideas in the marketplace. You learn from hearing a range of perspectives. Consultation helps engender the support decisions need to be successfully implemented. "
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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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" The way to do well is to do well. "
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" If you are not criticized, you may not be doing much. "
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" If you try to please everybody, somebody's not going to like it. "
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" There are a lot of people who lie and get away with it, and that's just a fact. "
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" Know that the amount of criticism you receive may correlate somewhat to the amount of publicity you receive. "
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" Don't divide the world into 'them' and 'us.' Avoid infatuation with or resentment of the press, the Congress, rivals, or opponents. Accept them as facts. They have their jobs and you have yours. "
Donald Rumsfeld
" Reduce the number of lawyers. They are like beavers - they get in the middle of the stream and dam it up. "
Donald Rumsfeld
" Learn to say 'I don't know.' If used when appropriate, it will be often. "
Donald Rumsfeld
" 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. "
Donald Rumsfeld
" Visit with your predecessors from previous Administrations. They know the ropes and can help you see around some corners. Try to make original mistakes, rather than needlessly repeating theirs. "
Donald Rumsfeld
" Politics is human beings; it's addition rather than subtraction. "
Donald Rumsfeld
" I can't tell you if the use of force in Iraq today will last five days, five weeks or five months, but it won't last any longer than that. "
Donald Rumsfeld
" The Federal Government should be the last resort, not the first. Ask if a potential program is truly a federal responsibility or whether it can better be handled privately, by voluntary organizations, or by local or state governments. "
Donald Rumsfeld
" The Secretary of Defense is not a super General or Admiral. His task is to exercise civilian control over the Department for the Commander-in-Chief and the country. "
Donald Rumsfeld
" In politics, every day is filled with numerous opportunities for serious error. Enjoy it. "
Donald Rumsfeld