One of your tasks is to separate the “personal” from the “substantive.” The two can become confused, especially if someone rubs the President wrong.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Remember where you came from.
Don’t do or say things you would not like to see on the front page of The Washington Post.
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.
Don’t automatically obey Presidential directives if you disagree or if you suspect he hasn’t considered key aspects of the issue.
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.
If in doubt, move decisions up to the President.
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.
Make decisions about the President’s personal security. He can overrule you, but don’t ask him to be the one to counsel caution.
Reduce the number of lawyers. They are like beavers – they get in the middle of the stream and dam it up.
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.
Reduce the layers of management. They put distance between the top of an organization and the customers.
There are a lot of people who lie and get away with it, and that’s just a fact.
When cutting staff at the Pentagon, don’t eliminate the thin layer that assures civilian control.
Arguments of convenience lack integrity and inevitably trip you up.
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.
Treat each federal dollar as if it was hard earned; it was – by a taxpayer.
Next Page »
