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 RUMSFELDThere 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.
More Donald Rumsfeld Quotes
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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.
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Remember where you came from.
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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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If you try to please everybody, somebody’s not going to like it.
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If the staff lacks policy guidance against which to test decisions, their decisions will be random.
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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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With the press there is no ‘off the record.’
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Be precise. A lack of precision is dangerous when the margin of error is small.
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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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Everyone’s saying you can’t do anything until you can do everything.
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Reduce the number of lawyers. They are like beavers – they get in the middle of the stream and dam it up.
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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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Learn to say ‘I don’t know.’ If used when appropriate, it will be often.
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Every day is filled with numerous opportunities for serious error. Enjoy it.
DONALD RUMSFELD