Preserve the President’s options. He may need them.
If you foul up, tell the President and correct it fast. Delay only compounds mistakes.
If the staff lacks policy guidance against which to test decisions, their decisions will be random.
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.
Let your family, staff, and friends know that you’re still the same person, despite all the publicity and notoriety that accompanies your position.
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.
Make decisions about the President’s personal security. He can overrule you, but don’t ask him to be the one to counsel caution.
Politics is human beings; it’s addition rather than subtraction.
Be yourself. Follow your instincts. Success depends, at least in part, on the ability to carry it off.
Listening to both sides does not necessarily bring about a correct judgment.
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.
Don’t automatically obey Presidential directives if you disagree or if you suspect he hasn’t considered key aspects of the issue.
Don’t do or say things you would not like to see on the front page of The Washington Post.
Reduce the layers of management. They put distance between the top of an organization and the customers.
In the execution of Presidential decisions work to be true to his views, in fact and tone.
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.
Reduce the number of lawyers. They are like beavers – they get in the middle of the stream and dam it up.
Presidential leadership needn’t always cost money. Look for low- and no-cost options. They can be surprisingly effective.
Enjoy your time in public service. It may well be one of the most interesting and challenging times of your life.
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.
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.
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