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IT AIN’T AS BAD AS YOU THINK. IT WILL LOOK BETTER IN THE MORNING.
“Lieutenant, you may be starving, but you must never show hunger; you always eat last. You may be freezing or near heat exhaustion, but you must never show that you are cold or hot. You may be terrified, but you must never show fear. You are the leader and the troops will reflect your emotions.”
“Fast Eddie, let’s play some pool.” I may be down, but never out. An infantry officer can do anything.
GET MAD, THEN GET OVER IT.
AVOID HAVING YOUR EGO SO CLOSE TO YOUR POSITION THAT WHEN YOUR POSITION FALLS, YOUR EGO GOES WITH IT.
Loyalty is disagreeing strongly, and loyalty is executing faithfully. The decision is not about you or your ego; it is about gathering all the information, analyzing it, and trying to get the right answer. I still love you, so get mad and get over it.”
“Good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment.”
“hope is a bad supper, but makes a good breakfast.”
“Whenever you place the cause of one of your actions outside yourself, it’s an excuse and not a reason.” This rule works for everybody, but it works especially for leaders.
Purpose is the destination of a vision. It energizes that vision, gives it force and drive. It should be positive and powerful, and serve the better angels of an organization.
Good leaders set vision, missions, and goals. Great leaders inspire every follower at every level to internalize their purpose, and to understand that their purpose goes far beyond the mere details of their job. When everyone is united in purpose, a positive purpose that serves not only the organization but also, hopefully, the world beyond it, you have a winning team.
Naysayers are everywhere. They feel it’s the safest position to be in. It’s the easiest armor to wear
Their fear and cynicism move nothing forward. They kill progress. How many cynics built empires, great cities, or powerful corporations?
Perpetual optimism, believing in yourself, believing in your purpose, believing you will prevail, and demonstrating passion and confidence is a force multiplier.
If you believe and have prepared your followers, the followers will believe.
As the old expression goes, if you take the king’s coin, you give the king his due.
If you take the pay, earn it. Always do your very best. Even when no one else is looking, you always are. Don’t disappoint yourself.
As President Reagan used to frequently observe, “They say hard work never killed anyone, but why take a chance?”
“Don’t run if you can walk; don’t stand up if you can sit down; don’t sit down if you can lie down; and don’t stay awake if you can go to sleep.”
“Always show more kindness than seems necessary, because the person receiving it needs it more than you will ever know.”
Don’t just show kindness in passing or to be courteous. Show it in depth, show it with passion, and expect nothing in return.
Kindness is not just about being nice; it’s about recognizing another human being who deserves care and respect.
Every person in an organization has value and wants that value to be recognized. Every human being needs appreciation and reinforcement. The person who came to clean my office each night was no less a person than the President, a general, or a cabinet member. They deserved and got from me a thank-you, a kind word, an inquiry that let him or her know their value.
“decisively engaged.” (A commander is decisively engaged when he is in a win-or-lose situation and has lost freedom of movement.)
“at the point of decision.” The point of decision can be many places. Because it is important for followers to see and hear from their leader, corporate executives should often visit the factory floor to see what is going on. But then get out of the way so workers, foremen, and line leaders can get on with their jobs. Get back upstairs and work to make sure the guys downstairs get what they need to do the job. That’s what you’re being paid for!
I constantly asked myself where my point of decision was—the best place to see what is really going on, to influence the outcome, and to retain freedom of movement.
There is an old expression attributed to Aesop: “Familiarity breeds contempt.” It might be better said that too much familiarity brings everyone down to the same level.
He should always maintain an aura of unpredictable mystery.
Friendliness is fine, short of familiarity. Never let a follower mistake liberty for license.
“What is a leader?” people ask me. My simple answer: “Someone unafraid to take charge. Someone people respond to and are willing to follow.”
Tell me what you know. • Tell me what you don’t know. • Then tell me what you think. • Always distinguish which from which.
Curveball—for the information about the vans; he was a source whom some of our intelligence people considered flaky and unreliable.
bad news, unlike wine, doesn’t get better with time.
if you want to work for me, don’t surprise me.
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
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Try to let a hot potato cool a bit before you pick it up.
Putting down a reporter makes you look like a bully.
Don’t ever sign my name, or for me.
Never borrow from nor lend money to an assistant.
writing trumps oral.
As we used to say, “After thirty days, you own the sheets.” On day thirty-one any discrepancies or shortages became your problem.
Looking deeply into a mirror and seeing an accurate reflection is therapeutic and healthy.
Every organization needs to be introspective, transparent, and honest with itself.
High-performing, successful organizations build cultures of introspection and trust and never lose sight of their purpose.
“Well,” he said, “they are investing in America, and I’m glad they know a good investment when they see one.”
If Reagan were in the Oval Office today, he’d say the same thing about Chinese investments in America, and then go put out nuts for the squirrels.
Lincoln replied, “I can make a brigadier general in five minutes, but it is not easy to replace one hundred horses.”
Don’t reorganize around a weak follower. Retrain, move, or fire them.
favorite classical maxims, sometimes attributed to Thucydides: “Of all manifestations of power, restraint impresses men most.”
“If you break it, you own it.” It was shorthand for the profound reality that if we take out another country’s government by force, we instantly become the new government,
