It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership

by Colin Powell

if you want to work for me, don’t surprise me. And when you tell me, tell me everything.

My experience with hundreds of first reports over the years has provided me with a mental checklist for reacting to them: • Does it make common sense? Take a deep breath, rub your eyes. • Does it fit in with everything else that is going on? Is there a context for this event? • How much time do I have to figure this out? • How can I confirm it? Launch the staff! Pick up the phone! • What are the risks, costs, and opportunities lost if the report is true and we delay action? • What are the risks, costs, and missed opportunities if it is false and we act too quickly?

• What are the stakes? • Time’s up! Do something! Keep searching!

Try to let a hot potato cool a bit before you pick it up.

Thucydides: “Of all manifestations of power, restraint impresses men most.”