Politics is human beings; it’s addition rather than subtraction.
I don’t do quagmires.
Look for what’s missing. Many advisors can tell a President how to improve what’s proposed or what’s gone amiss. Few are able to see what isn’t there.
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.
Treat each federal dollar as if it was hard earned; it was – by a taxpayer.
Be able to resign. It will improve your value to the President and do wonders for your performance.
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.
Success tends to go not to the person who is error-free, because he also tends to be risk-averse. Rather it goes to the person who recognizes that life is pretty much a percentage business. It isn’t making mistakes that’s critical; it’s correcting them and getting on with the principal task.
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.
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.
Think ahead. Don’t let day-to-day operations drive out planning.
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.
Be precise. A lack of precision is dangerous when the margin of error is small.
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.
When asked for your views, by the press or others, remember that what they really want to know is the President’s views.
Don’t automatically obey Presidential directives if you disagree or if you suspect he hasn’t considered key aspects of the issue.
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.
If you develop rules, never have more than ten.
Reduce the number of lawyers. They are like beavers – they get in the middle of the stream and dam it up.
Don’t think of yourself as indispensable or infallible. As Charles De Gaulle said, the cemeteries of the world are full of indispensable men.
Leave the President’s family business to him. You will have plenty to do without trying to manage the First Family. They are likely to do fine without your help.
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