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If you try to please everybody, somebody’s not going to like it.

Donald Rumsfeld

Presidential leadership needn’t always cost money. Look for low- and no-cost options. They can be surprisingly effective.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Leadership Money Option President
Remember where you came from.
DONALD RUMSFELD

History One Liner Past Remember
Death has a tendency to encourage a depressing view of war.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Death Encouragement Tendency War
Let your family, staff, and friends know that you’re still the same person, despite all the publicity and notoriety that accompanies your position.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Family Friendship Person Position Publicity
There are a lot of people who lie and get away with it, and that’s just a fact.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Fact Lie People
Enjoy your time in public service. It may well be one of the most interesting and challenging times of your life.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Challenge Interesting Life Public Service Time
Reduce the number of lawyers. They are like beavers – they get in the middle of the stream and dam it up.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Lawyer Reduce Stream
Whatever your position, reach out to those who know more than you do, and have been around longer than you have. Find those people. Listen carefully. And learn.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Care Leadership Learm People Position
Be precise. A lack of precision is dangerous when the margin of error is small.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Dangerous Error Lack Margin
Let’s stick something in the ground and not pretend that it’s perfect.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Ground Perfection Pretend
Don’t speak ill of your predecessors or successors. You didn’t walk in their shoes.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Ill Shoes Speak Success Walk
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.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Imagination Knowledge
It isn’t making mistakes that’s critical; it’s correcting them and getting on with the principal task.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Criticism Mistake Principle Task
Arguments of convenience lack integrity and inevitably trip you up.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Argument Convenience Inevitable Integrity
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
Know that the amount of criticism you receive may correlate somewhat to the amount of publicity you receive.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Criticism Publicity Receive

If you try to please everybody, somebody’s not going to like it.

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If you try to please everybody, somebody’s not going to like it.

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