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" When cutting staff at the Pentagon, don't eliminate the thin layer that assures civilian control. "
Donald Rumsfeld
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" If you foul up, tell the President and correct it fast. Delay only compounds mistakes. "
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" If you try to please everybody, somebody's not going to like it. "
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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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" Politics is human beings; it's addition rather than subtraction. "
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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. "
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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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" If you are not criticized, you may not be doing much. "
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" 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. "
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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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" 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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" Learn to say 'I don't know.' If used when appropriate, it will be often. "
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" Plan backwards as well as forward. Set objectives and trace back to see how to achieve them. You may find that no path can get you there. Plan forward to see where your steps will take you, which may not be clear or intuitive. "
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" Arguments of convenience lack integrity and inevitably trip you up. "
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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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" Don't blame the boss. He has enough problems. "
Donald Rumsfeld
" If in doubt, move decisions up to the President. "
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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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" Don't automatically obey Presidential directives if you disagree or if you suspect he hasn't considered key aspects of the issue. "
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" If in doubt, don't. If still in doubt, do what's right. "
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" First rule of politics: you can't win unless you're on the ballot. Second rule: If you run, you may lose. And, if you tie, you do not win. "
Donald Rumsfeld
" Don't necessarily avoid sharp edges. Occasionally they are necessary to leadership. "
Donald Rumsfeld
" Congress, the press, and the bureaucracy too often focus on how much money or effort is spent, rather than whether the money or effort actually achieves the announced goal. "
Donald Rumsfeld
" If the staff lacks policy guidance against which to test decisions, their decisions will be random. "
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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. "
Donald Rumsfeld
" Reduce the layers of management. They put distance between the top of an organization and the customers. "
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
" Amidst all the clutter, beyond all the obstacles, aside from all the static, are the goals set. Put your head down, do the best job possible, let the flak pass, and work towards those goals. "
Donald Rumsfeld
" Prune - prune businesses, products, activities, people. Do it annually. "
Donald Rumsfeld
" Treat each federal dollar as if it was hard earned; it was - by a taxpayer. "
Donald Rumsfeld
" 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. "
Donald Rumsfeld