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" 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. "

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" If it were a fact, it wouldn't be called intelligence. "

" 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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" Preserve the President's options. He may need them. "

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" Be precise. A lack of precision is dangerous when the margin of error is small. "

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" Don't say 'the White House wants.' Buildings can't want. "

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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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" Don't blame the boss. He has enough problems. "

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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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" Let your family, staff, and friends know that you're still the same person, despite all the publicity and notoriety that accompanies your position. "

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" If you develop rules, never have more than ten. "

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" One of your tasks is to separate the 'personal' from the 'substantive.' The two can become confused, especially if someone rubs the President wrong. "

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" Make decisions about the President's personal security. He can overrule you, but don't ask him to be the one to counsel caution. "

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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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" Arguments of convenience lack integrity and inevitably trip you up. "

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" Learn to say 'I don't know.' If used when appropriate, it will be often. "

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" Secretary Powell and I agree on every single issue that has ever been before this administration except for those instances where Colin's still learning. "

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" You're thinking of Europe as Germany and France. I don't. I think that's old Europe. "

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" Think ahead. Don't let day-to-day operations drive out planning. "

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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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" Reduce the layers of management. They put distance between the top of an organization and the customers. "

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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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" Work continuously to trim the White House staff from your first day to your last. All the pressures are to the contrary. "

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" Your performance depends on your people. Select the best, train them and back them. When errors occur, give sharper guidance. If errors persist or if the fit feels wrong, help them move on. The country cannot afford amateur hour in the White House. "

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" If a prospective Presidential approach can't be explained clearly enough to be understood well, it probably hasn't been thought through well enough. If not well understood by the American people, it probably won't 'sail' anyway. Send it back for further thought. "

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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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" The way to do well is to do well. "

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" 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. "

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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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" Reduce the number of lawyers. They are like beavers - they get in the middle of the stream and dam it up. "

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" 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. "

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