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Your performance depends on your people. Select the best, train them and back them. When errors occur, give sharper guidance. If errors persist or if the fit feels wrong, help them move on. The country cannot afford amateur hour in the White House.

Donald Rumsfeld

There are a lot of people who lie and get away with it, and that’s just a fact.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Fact Lie People
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
If you develop rules, never have more than ten.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Advice Rule
Be able to resign. It will improve your value to the President and do wonders for your performance.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Improvement Performance President Value Wonder
Learn to say ‘I don’t know.’ If used when appropriate, it will be often.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Appropriate Learn Often
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
Let’s stick something in the ground and not pretend that it’s perfect.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Ground Perfection Pretend
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
Preserve the President’s options. He may need them.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Need Option Preserve President
Know that the amount of criticism you receive may correlate somewhat to the amount of publicity you receive.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Criticism Publicity Receive
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.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Decision Government Imperfection Knowledge Politics Reflection War
Everyone’s saying you can’t do anything until you can do everything.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Motivational Work Hard
It is easier to get into something than to get out of it.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Bsuiness Motivational Politics Risk
Death has a tendency to encourage a depressing view of war.
DONALD RUMSFELD

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

Dangerous Error Lack Margin
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.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Care Leadership Learm People Position

Your performance depends on your people. Select the best, train them and back them. When errors occur, give sharper guidance. If errors persist or if the fit feels wrong, help them move on. The country cannot afford amateur hour in the White House.

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Your performance depends on your people. Select the best, train them and back them. When errors occur, give sharper guidance. If errors persist or if the fit feels wrong, help them move on. The country cannot afford amateur hour in the White House.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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