Stone's Rules Quotes

“Stone's Rule #28
Never hold a meeting unless you know what result you want out of the meeting.

In both politics and business, the amount of labor and time wasted in meetings is huge.

It never ceases to shock me when I attend a meeting out to find out halfway into it that the organizers have no agenda and, by the end of it, have reached resolution on absolutely nothing.

A strong leader meticulously plans and methodically orchestrates meetings in order to achieve a desired result, or he doesn't hold them.”
― Roger Stone, Stone's Rules: How to Win at Politics, Business, and Style

“To make the news, often you must create news.”
― Roger Stone, Stone's Rules: How to Win at Politics, Business, and Style

“Emotions cannot simply be erased or ignored, and to believe they can is a suicidally-naive approach to political competition.”
― Roger Stone, Stone's Rules: How to Win at Politics, Business, and Style

“A great pollster may have an ideology, but they must divorce it from his or her analysis or raw polling data. That is never to say a poll should cause a candidate to change a heartfelt position. Rather, it is a question of emphasis and deemphasis that must be examined.”
― Roger Stone, Stone's Rules: How to Win at Politics, Business, and Style

“The same people who tell you they hate negative political TV commercials will also be able to tell you exactly what was in them. A political strategist's job is to exploit negative but memorable ads for the purpose of winning votes. The trick is being able to engage in negative campaigning without being successfully cast, or widely perceived, as running a "negative campaign.”
― Roger Stone, Stone's Rules: How to Win at Politics, Business, and Style

“You would roll it up in your pocket. It doesn't wrinkle. You can se it for emergency meeting in which a tie is de riguer and still look good. It goes with everything. In a pinch, you could use it as a belt. In an emergency, you can use it to tie a broken suitcase closed.

No resourceful gentlemen should be without one. It is truly indispensable.”
― Roger Stone, Stone's Rules: How to Win at Politics, Business, and Style

“I'm sure the American Association of Dry Cleaners would hate me, but the harsh chemicals used in dry cleaning will break down fabrics in the finest garments over time. Fibers that are dyed navy blue, black, or dark gray are already dressed by holding the dye. Dry cleaning dies the fabric out, which is why suits cleaned in this manner begin to shine.

Unless you happen to sweat profusely, suits can be cleaned by dipping a whisk broom in cool water and gently brushing the suit. Put outside in fresh air but not direct sunlight to dry. It is essential that a suit or jacket and trousers be allowed to air out immediately after a wearing. Unless you are a slob, you should only need to clean a suit twice a year if worn in regular rotation.”
― Roger Stone, Stone's Rules: How to Win at Politics, Business, and Style

“It is a mistake to suppose that it is a waste of time to dress well. A well-dressed man need not spend any more time dressing than a badly dressed one does.”
― Roger Stone, Stone's Rules: How to Win at Politics, Business, and Style

“Politics is like theatre. An actor has confidence when he knows he is perfectly constumed, made-up and lit for the boards or film.”
― Roger Stone, Stone's Rules: How to Win at Politics, Business, and Style

“Dramatization is not exaggeration.”
― Roger Stone, Stone's Rules: How to Win at Politics, Business, and Style