If you are not criticized, you may not be doing much.
DONALD RUMSFELDPolitics is human beings; it’s addition rather than subtraction.
More Donald Rumsfeld Quotes
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Don’t speak ill of your predecessors or successors. You didn’t walk in their shoes.
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Death has a tendency to encourage a depressing view of war.
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Remember where you came from.
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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.
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Arguments of convenience lack integrity and inevitably trip you up.
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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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If in doubt, don’t. If still in doubt, do what’s right.
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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 in doubt, move decisions up to the President.
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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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Presidential leadership needn’t always cost money. Look for low- and no-cost options. They can be surprisingly effective.
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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.
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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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Politics is human beings; it’s addition rather than subtraction.
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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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Everyone’s saying you can’t do anything until you can do everything.
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Let’s stick something in the ground and not pretend that it’s perfect.
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With the press there is no ‘off the record.’
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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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Don’t necessarily avoid sharp edges. Occasionally they are necessary to leadership.
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Prune – prune businesses, products, activities, people. Do it annually.
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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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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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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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Preserve the President’s options. He may need them.
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