What you measure improves.” A corollary rule in the military is that “You get what you inspect, not what you expect.
DONALD RUMSFELDThere are known knowns, things we know that we know; and there are known unknowns, things that we know we don’t know. But there are also unknown unknowns, things we do not know we don’t know.
More Donald Rumsfeld Quotes
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Be precise. A lack of precision is dangerous when the margin of error is small.
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Remember where you came from.
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Treat each federal dollar as if it was hard earned; it was – by a taxpayer.
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It is easier to get into something than to get out of it.
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Presidential leadership needn’t always cost money. Look for low- and no-cost options. They can be surprisingly effective.
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Let’s stick something in the ground and not pretend that it’s perfect.
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If you are not criticized, you may not be doing much.
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Politics is human beings; it’s addition rather than subtraction.
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Enjoy your time in public service. It may well be one of the most interesting and challenging times of your life.
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If it were a fact, it wouldn’t be called intelligence.
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Be able to resign. It will improve your value to the President and do wonders for your performance.
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Death has a tendency to encourage a depressing view of war.
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There are no “knowns.” There are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say there are things that we now know we don’t know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we do not know we don’t know.
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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.
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If we know anything, it is that weakness is provocative.
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Preserve the President’s options. He may need them.
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Learn to say ‘I don’t know.’ If used when appropriate, it will be often.
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Test ideas in the marketplace. You learn from hearing a range of perspectives. Consultation helps engender the support decisions need to be successfully implemented.
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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.
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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.
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The way to do well is to do well.
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Know that the amount of criticism you receive may correlate somewhat to the amount of publicity you receive.
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There are known knowns, things we know that we know; and there are known unknowns, things that we know we don’t know. But there are also unknown unknowns, things we do not know we don’t know.
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Think ahead. Don’t let day-to-day operations drive out planning.
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Reduce the layers of management. They put distance between the top of an organization and the customers.
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If in doubt, move decisions up to the President.
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