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Don’t necessarily avoid sharp edges. Occasionally they are necessary to leadership.

Donald Rumsfeld

Don’t necessarily avoid sharp edges. Occasionally they are necessary to leadership.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Edge Leadership Necessary
Simply because you do not have evidence that something exists does not mean that you have evidence that it doesn’t exist.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Evidence Existence
If you try to please everybody, somebody’s not going to like it.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Please Try
Everyone’s saying you can’t do anything until you can do everything.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Motivational Work Hard
Amidst all the clutter, beyond all the obstacles, aside from all the static, are the goals set. Put your head down, do the best job possible, let the flak pass, and work towards those goals.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Goals Head Obstacle Work
Be precise. A lack of precision is dangerous when the margin of error is small.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Dangerous Error Lack Margin
Politics is human beings; it’s addition rather than subtraction.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Government Human Being Politics
Those who made the decisions with imperfect knowledge will be judged in hindsight by those with considerably more information at their disposal and time for reflection.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Decision Government Imperfection Knowledge Politics Reflection War
Preserve the President’s options. He may need them.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Need Option Preserve President
Be able to resign. It will improve your value to the President and do wonders for your performance.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Improvement Performance President Value Wonder
First rule of politics: you can’t win unless you’re on the ballot. Second rule: If you run, you may lose. And, if you tie, you do not win.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Ballot Lose Politics Rule Win
Agreement can always be reached by increasing the generality of the conclusion; when this is done, the form is generally preserved but only the illusion of policy is created.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Agreement Conclusion Creation Illusion Increase Policy
Don’t speak ill of your predecessors or successors. You didn’t walk in their shoes.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Ill Shoes Speak Success Walk
You go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Army War
If you develop rules, never have more than ten.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Advice Rule
Death has a tendency to encourage a depressing view of war.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Death Encouragement Tendency War

Don’t necessarily avoid sharp edges. Occasionally they are necessary to leadership.

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Don’t necessarily avoid sharp edges. Occasionally they are necessary to leadership.

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