“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.”

Fit no stereotypes. Don’t chase the latest management fads. The situation dictates which approach best accomplishes the team’s mission.

The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them.

If everybody trusts one another, then the person who didn’t prevail will faithfully execute the decision as if it was their idea.

We are not trapped in what the science of management says we can do. We are capable of doing what the art of leadership says is possible.

Don’t bother people for help without first trying to solve the problem yourself.

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.

If you get the dirty end of the stick, sharpen it and turn it into a useful tool.

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.

One of the greatest talents of all is the talent to recognize and to develop talent in others.

Don’t let adverse facts stand in the way of a good decision.

Be careful what you choose: You may get it.

Luck tends to come to people who are prepared.

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.

It is not the role of the United States to dictate change, but to enter into discussions with our friends.

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’.

Have a sense of humor to break the tension in times of great toil.