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 RUMSFELDIf in doubt, don’t. If still in doubt, do what’s right.
More Donald Rumsfeld Quotes
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Everyone’s saying you can’t do anything until you can do everything.
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If the staff lacks policy guidance against which to test decisions, their decisions will be random.
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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 we know anything, it is that weakness is provocative.
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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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Learn to say ‘I don’t know.’ If used when appropriate, it will be often.
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Let your family, staff, and friends know that you’re still the same person, despite all the publicity and notoriety that accompanies your position.
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If you try to please everybody, somebody’s not going to like it.
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Every day is filled with numerous opportunities for serious error. Enjoy it.
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Don’t necessarily avoid sharp edges. Occasionally they are necessary to leadership.
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Arguments of convenience lack integrity and inevitably trip you up.
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If in doubt, move decisions up to the President.
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If it were a fact, it wouldn’t be called intelligence.
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Those who made the decisions with imperfect knowledge will be judged in hindsight by those with considerably more information at their disposal and time for reflection.
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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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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.
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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.
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There are a lot of people who lie and get away with it, and that’s just a fact.
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You go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time.
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It isn’t making mistakes that’s critical; it’s correcting them and getting on with the principal task.
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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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What you measure improves.” A corollary rule in the military is that “You get what you inspect, not what you expect.
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If you are not criticized, you may not be doing much.
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Remember where you came from.
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Don’t blame the boss. He has enough problems.
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With the press there is no ‘off the record.’
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