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Effective leaders are made, not born. They learn from trial and error, and from experience.

Colin Powell

The commander in the field is always right and the rear echelon is wrong, unless proved otherwise.
COLIN POWELL

Command Evidence Prove Right Wrong
Don’t just count your days, make your days count.
COLIN POWELL

Count Days Yourself
Be careful what you choose: You may get it.
COLIN POWELL

Care Choice Yourself
Maybe we don’t put our young people in situations often enough where they’re allowed to fail. When you fail you gain experience, and with enough experience, you don’t fail as often.
COLIN POWELL

Allow Enough Experience Failure People Situation Young Yourself
Treat people kindly. When you are kind to somebody and I don’t mean necessarily “buddy-buddy”, just show kindness and consideration. Show that people are worthy and you respect them and you are glad they’re with you.
COLIN POWELL

Happiness Kindness Necessary People Treat Worth Yourself
None of us can change our yesterdays but all of us can change our tomorrows.
COLIN POWELL

Change Future Inspirational Ourselves Past
There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.
COLIN POWELL

Failure Hard Work Inspirational Learning Preparation Result Secret Success
Don’t be afraid to challenge the pros, even in their own backyard.
COLIN POWELL

Advantage Afraid Challenge
In other words, don’t expect to always be great. Disappointments, failures and setbacks are a normal part of the lifecycle of a unit or a company and what the leader has to do is constantly be up and say ‘we have a problem, let’s go and get it’.
COLIN POWELL

Disappointment Expectation Failure Greatness Himself Problem Word
The chief condition on which, life, health and vigor depend on, is action. It is by action that an organism develops its faculties, increases its energy, and attains the fulfillment of its destiny.
COLIN POWELL

Action Condition Destiny Energy Fulfillment Health Organism
The essence of leadership is building bonds of trust in your organization.
COLIN POWELL

Bond Essence Leadership Organization Trust Yourself
Trust is the essence of Leadership.
COLIN POWELL

Essence Leadership Trust
Don’t be buffaloed by experts and elites. Experts often possess more data than judgment. Elites can become so inbred that they produce hemophiliacs who bleed to death as soon as they are nicked by the real world.
COLIN POWELL

Blood Death Expert Judgement Reality World
If everybody trusts one another, then the person who didn’t prevail will faithfully execute the decision as if it was their idea.
COLIN POWELL

Decision Execution Faith Ideas Oneself Person Trust
The most important thing I learned is that soldiers watch what their leaders do. You can give them classes and lecture them forever, but it is your personal example they will follow.
COLIN POWELL

Follow Forever Important Learning Personal Soldier
One of the fondest expressions around is that we can’t be the world’s policeman. But guess who gets called when suddenly someone needs a cop.
COLIN POWELL

Expression Need Policemen World

Effective leaders are made, not born. They learn from trial and error, and from experience.

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Effective leaders are made, not born. They learn from trial and error, and from experience.

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