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If the staff lacks policy guidance against which to test decisions, their decisions will be random.

Donald Rumsfeld

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
Treat each federal dollar as if it was hard earned; it was – by a taxpayer.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Earn Money Tax
Prune – prune businesses, products, activities, people. Do it annually.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Activity Business People Product
Don’t necessarily avoid sharp edges. Occasionally they are necessary to leadership.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Edge Leadership Necessary
Reduce the layers of management. They put distance between the top of an organization and the customers.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Customer Distance Management Organization
Learn to say ‘I don’t know.’ If used when appropriate, it will be often.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Appropriate Learn Often
Know that the amount of criticism you receive may correlate somewhat to the amount of publicity you receive.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Criticism Publicity Receive
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.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Deep Philosophy
Simply because you do not have evidence that something exists does not mean that you have evidence that it doesn’t exist.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Evidence Existence
If we know anything, it is that weakness is provocative.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Knowledge Weakness
Preserve the President’s options. He may need them.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Need Option Preserve President
Don’t speak ill of your predecessors or successors. You didn’t walk in their shoes.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Ill Shoes Speak Success Walk
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
If in doubt, don’t. If still in doubt, do what’s right.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Doubt Inspirational Right
Death has a tendency to encourage a depressing view of war.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Death Encouragement Tendency War
Test ideas in the marketplace. You learn from hearing a range of perspectives. Consultation helps engender the support decisions need to be successfully implemented.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Consult Decision Ideas Market Perspective Test

If the staff lacks policy guidance against which to test decisions, their decisions will be random.

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If the staff lacks policy guidance against which to test decisions, their decisions will be random.

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