Leadership is all about people. It is not about organizations. It is not about plans. It is not about strategies. It is all about people-motivating people to get the job done. You have to be people-centered.
COLIN POWELLEvery organization should tolerate rebels who tell the emperor he has no clothes.
More Colin Powell Quotes
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Excellence is not an exception, it is a prevailing attitude.
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If a leader doesn’t convey passion and intensity then there will be no passion and intensity within the organization and they’ll start to fall down and get depressed.
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Failure is a part of life and you have to learn to deal with it. Failure is something that is part of life’s cycle and it’s from failure that you gain life experience.
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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.
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Get mad, then get over it.
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I think whether you’re having setbacks or not, the role of a leader is to always display a winning attitude.
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The essence of leadership is building bonds of trust in your organization.
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Don’t let your ego get too close to your position, so that if your position gets shot down, your ego doesn’t go with it.
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Endeavors succeed or fail because of the people involved.
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When you wrestle with a pig, he has fun, and you just end up dirty.
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Leaders honor their core values, but they are flexible in how they execute them.
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We can seldom get our children to do what we tell them, but they almost never fail to imitate us.
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I regret that the presentation I made at the UN turned out to be wrong. It was wrong on the stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction, but pretty much right on intentions and capabilities.
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We are not going to dwell on those things that divide us. We are going to rejoice in those things that keep us together to make this a better country – to reach down and back to touch every young person in need!
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Fit no stereotypes. Don’t chase the latest management fads. The situation dictates which approach best accomplishes the team’s mission.
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A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.
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My own experience is that you get as much information as you can and then you pay attention to your intuition, to your informed instinct.
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Look for intelligence and judgment and, most critically, a capacity to anticipate, to see around corners. Also look for loyalty, integrity, a high energy drive, a balanced ego and the drive to get things done.
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It takes more courage to send men into battle than to fight the battle yourself.
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My responsibility, our responsibility as lucky Americans, is to try to give back to this country as much as it has given us, as we continue our American journey together.
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Experts often possess more data than judgment.
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An organization that is not facing up to people who are not getting the job done, is going to have difficulties.
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It is good if your enemy underestimates you. The dumber they think you are the more surprised they are when you kill them.
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There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.
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Always be looking for the opportunities, and always be optimistic about what you can do with that opportunity.
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Bad news isn’t wine. It doesn’t improve with age.
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