Donald Rumsfeld quotes - page 5

Preserve the President's options. He may need them. (Donald Rumsfeld)
You and a few other critics are the only people I've heard use the phrase immediate threat. I didn't, the president didn't. And it's become kind of folklore that that's what's happened. View quote
Donald Rumsfeld
Be yourself. Follow your instincts. Success depends, at least in part, on the ability to "carry it off." View quote
Donald Rumsfeld
If a prospective Presidential approach can't be explained clearly enough to be understood well, it probably hasn't been thought through well enough. If not well understood by the American people, it probably won't "sail" anyway. Send it back for further thought. View quote
Donald Rumsfeld
Don't divide the world into "them" and "us." Avoid infatuation with or resentment of the press, the Congress, rivals, or opponents. Accept them as facts. They have their jobs and you have yours. View quote
Donald Rumsfeld
Reports that say that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don't know we don't know. View quote
Donald Rumsfeld
I would not say that the future is necessarily less predictable than the past. I think the past was not predictable when it started. View quote
Donald Rumsfeld
In unanimity there may well be either cowardice or uncritical thinking. View quote
Donald Rumsfeld
Have a deputy and develop a successor. Don't be consumed by the job or you'll risk losing your balance. Keep your mooring lines to the outside world - family, friends, neighbors, people out of government, and people who may not agree with you. View quote
Donald Rumsfeld
Strive to make proposed solutions as self-executing as possible. As the degree of discretion increases, so too does bureaucracy, delay, and expense. View quote
Donald Rumsfeld
If a person is determined to fight to the death, then they may very well have that opportunity. (Donald Rumsfeld)
Watch the growth of middle level management. Don't automatically fill vacant jobs. Leave some positions unfilled for 6-8 months to see what happens. You will find you won't need to fill some of them. View quote
Donald Rumsfeld
Control your time. If you're working off your in-box, you're working off the priorities of others. Be sure the staff is working on what you move to them from the President, or the President will be reacting, not leading. View quote
Donald Rumsfeld
Walk around. If you are invisible, the mystique of the President's office may perpetuate inaccurate impressions about you or the President, to his detriment. After all, you may not be as bad as they're saying. View quote
Donald Rumsfeld
Being Vice President is difficult. Don't make it tougher. View quote
Donald Rumsfeld
Don't accept the post or stay unless you have an understanding with the President that you're free to tell him what you think with the bark off and you have the courage to do it. View quote
Donald Rumsfeld
Find ways to decentralize. Move decision making authority down and out. Encourage a more entrepreneurial approach. View quote
Donald Rumsfeld
From where you sit, the White House may look as untidy as the inside of a stomach. As is said of the legislative process, sausage-making and policy-making shouldn't be seen close-up. Don't let that panic you. Things may be going better than they look from the inside. View quote
Donald Rumsfeld
Inspectors do not have the duty or the ability to uncover terrible weapons hidden in a vast country. The responsibility of inspectors is simply to confirm evidence of voluntary and total disarmament. Saddam Hussein has the responsibility to provide that evidence, as directed, and in full. View quote
Donald Rumsfeld
Know that the immediate staff and others in the Administration will assume that your manner, tone and tempo reflect the President's. View quote
Donald Rumsfeld
Move decisions out to the Cabinet and agencies. Strengthen them by moving responsibility, authority, and accountability their direction. (Donald Rumsfeld)
Most of the 50 or so invitations you receive each week come from people inviting the President's Chief of Staff, not you. If you doubt that, ask your predecessor how many he received last week. View quote
Donald Rumsfeld
Don't 'over-control' like a novice pilot. Stay loose enough from the flow that you can observe it, modify, and improve it. View quote
Donald Rumsfeld
Control your own time. Don't let it be done for you. If you are working off the in-box that is fed you, you are probably working on the priority of others. View quote
Donald Rumsfeld
We do know, of certain knowledge, that (Bin Laden) is either in Afghanistan or in some other country or dead. View quote
Donald Rumsfeld