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If in doubt, move decisions up to the President.

Donald Rumsfeld

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

Appropriate Learn Often
Remember where you came from.
DONALD RUMSFELD

History One Liner Past Remember
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
Think ahead. Don’t let day-to-day operations drive out planning.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Business Operation Planning Thinking
With the press there is no ‘off the record.’
DONALD RUMSFELD

Media Record
If it were a fact, it wouldn’t be called intelligence.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Fact Intelligence
Presidential leadership needn’t always cost money. Look for low- and no-cost options. They can be surprisingly effective.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Leadership Money Option President
Death has a tendency to encourage a depressing view of war.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Death Encouragement Tendency War
Don’t speak ill of your predecessors or successors. You didn’t walk in their shoes.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Ill Shoes Speak Success Walk
Treat each federal dollar as if it was hard earned; it was – by a taxpayer.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Earn Money Tax
If the staff lacks policy guidance against which to test decisions, their decisions will be random.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Decision Guidance Lack Random
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
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
If you try to please everybody, somebody’s not going to like it.
DONALD RUMSFELD

Please Try
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

If in doubt, move decisions up to the President.

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If in doubt, move decisions up to the President.

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