black
grey
blue
red
brown
white

Surround yourself with people who take their work seriously, but not themselves, those who work hard and play hard.

Colin Powell

Give me the right people and I don’t much care what organization you give me. Good things will happen. Give me the wrong people and it doesn’t matter what you do with the organization. Bad things will happen.
COLIN POWELL

Care Goodness Organization People Right Yourself
You can’t make someone else’s choices. You shouldn’t let someone else make yours.
COLIN POWELL

Choice Control Yourself
Excellence is not an exception, it is a prevailing attitude.
COLIN POWELL

Attitude Excellence Prevail
Leaders have followers. The primary role of a leader is to convey to those followers a sense of purpose, vision, and mission.
COLIN POWELL

Follow Leadership Mission Primary Purpose Role Vision
Experts often possess more data than judgment.
COLIN POWELL

Data Expert Judgement Possession
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
It takes more courage to send men into battle than to fight the battle yourself.
COLIN POWELL

Battle Courage Fight Man Yourself
The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them.
COLIN POWELL

Day Leadership Problem Soldier Yourself
Be careful what you choose: You may get it.
COLIN POWELL

Care Choice Yourself
Preferring members of any one group for no reason other than race or ethnic origin is discrimination for its own sake. This the Constitution forbids.
COLIN POWELL

Constitution Discrimination Origin Reason
The essence of leadership is building bonds of trust in your organization.
COLIN POWELL

Bond Essence Leadership Organization Trust Yourself
An organization that is not facing up to people who are not getting the job done, is going to have difficulties.
COLIN POWELL

Difficult Face Organization People
Always be looking for that which you do well and that which you love doing, and when you find those two things together — man, you got it.
COLIN POWELL

Love Man Togetherness Yourself
Don’t take counsel of your fears or naysayers.
COLIN POWELL

Advice Counseling Fear Voice Yourself
I want to see policies that encourage every American to vote, not make it more difficult to vote.
COLIN POWELL

Difficult Encouragement Myself Policy
Always show more kindness than seems necessary, because the person receiving it needs it more than you will ever know.
COLIN POWELL

Kindness Necessary Need Yourself

Surround yourself with people who take their work seriously, but not themselves, those who work hard and play hard.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

Surround yourself with people who take their work seriously, but not themselves, those who work hard and play hard.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Colin Powell Quotes