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.
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.
Be yourself. Follow your instincts. Success depends, at least in part, on the ability to carry it off.
When cutting staff at the Pentagon, don’t eliminate the thin layer that assures civilian control.
The price of being close to the President is delivering bad news. You fail him if you don’t tell him the truth. Others won’t do it.
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.
Reduce the layers of management. They put distance between the top of an organization and the customers.
Be able to resign. It will improve your value to the President and do wonders for your performance.
Preserve the President’s options. He may need them.
Public servants are paid to serve the American people. Do it well.
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.
Presidential leadership needn’t always cost money. Look for low- and no-cost options. They can be surprisingly effective.
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.
The way to do well is to do well.
It is easier to get into something than to get out of it.
Oh my goodness gracious, what you can buy off the Internet in terms of overhead photography. A trained ape can know an awful lot of what is going on in this world, just by punching on his mouse, for a relatively modest cost.
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.
Death has a tendency to encourage a depressing view of war.
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.
Listening to both sides does not necessarily bring about a correct judgment.
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.
« Previous Page — Next Page »
