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If in doubt, don’t. If still in doubt, do what’s right.

Donald Rumsfeld

The price of being close to the President is delivering bad news. You fail him if you don’t tell him the truth. Others won’t do it.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Deliver Failure President Price Truth
You go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Army War
Be precise. A lack of precision is dangerous when the margin of error is small.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Dangerous Error Lack Margin
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.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Agreement Conclusion Creation Illusion Increase Policy
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 you are not criticized, you may not be doing much.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Criticism Inspirational
What you measure improves.” A corollary rule in the military is that “You get what you inspect, not what you expect.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Expectation Improvement Inspect Measure Military Rule
With the press there is no ‘off the record.’
DONALD RUMSFELD

Media Record
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 RUMSFELD

Ballot Lose Politics Rule Win
Arguments of convenience lack integrity and inevitably trip you up.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Argument Convenience Inevitable Integrity
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
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
The way to do well is to do well.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Inspirational One Liner
Let’s stick something in the ground and not pretend that it’s perfect.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Ground Perfection Pretend
If it were a fact, it wouldn’t be called intelligence.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Fact Intelligence
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

If in doubt, don’t. If still in doubt, do what’s right.

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If in doubt, don’t. If still in doubt, do what’s right.

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