Quotes By Donald Rumsfeld

Know that the amount of criticism you receive may correlate somewhat to the amount of publicity you receive.

Plan backwards as well as forward. Set objectives and trace back to see how to achieve them. You may find that no path can get you there. Plan forward to see where your steps will take you, which may not be clear or intuitive.

Amidst all the clutter, beyond all the obstacles, aside from all the static, are the goals set. Put your head down, do the best job possible, let the flak pass, and work towards those goals.

When asked for your views, by the press or others, remember that what they really want to know is the President's views.

Politics is human beings; it's addition rather than subtraction.

Many people around the President have sizeable egos before entering government, some with good reason. Their new positions will do little to moderate their egos.

Think ahead. Don't let day-to-day operations drive out planning.

Test ideas in the marketplace. You learn from hearing a range of perspectives. Consultation helps engender the support decisions need to be successfully implemented.

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.

Don't be a bottleneck. If a matter is not a decision for the President or you, delegate it. Force responsibility down and out. Find problem areas, add structure and delegate. The pressure is to do the reverse. Resist it.

Death has a tendency to encourage a depressing view of war.

Be precise. A lack of precision is dangerous when the margin of error is small.

Secretary Powell and I agree on every single issue that has ever been before this administration except for those instances where Colin's still learning.

Prune - prune businesses, products, activities, people. Do it annually.

There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don't know we don't know.

Congress, the press, and the bureaucracy too often focus on how much money or effort is spent, rather than whether the money or effort actually achieves the announced goal.

Let your family, staff, and friends know that you're still the same person, despite all the publicity and notoriety that accompanies your position.

Reduce the layers of management. They put distance between the top of an organization and the customers.

If you foul up, tell the President and correct it fast. Delay only compounds mistakes.

One of your tasks is to separate the "personal" from the "substantive." The two can become confused, especially if someone rubs the President wrong.

See that the President, the Cabinet and staff are informed. If cut out of the information flow, their decisions may be poor, not made, or not confidently or persuasively implemented.

Work continuously to trim the White House staff from your first day to your last. All the pressures are to the contrary.

Visit with your predecessors from previous Administrations. They know the ropes and can help you see around some corners. Try to make original mistakes, rather than needlessly repeating theirs.

Be yourself. Follow your instincts. Success depends, at least in part, on the ability to "carry it off."

In our system leadership is by consent, not command. To lead a President must persuade. Personal contacts and experiences help shape his thinking. They can be critical to his persuasiveness and thus to his leadership.

If in doubt, move decisions up to the President.

If the staff lacks policy guidance against which to test decisions, their decisions will be random.

Your performance depends on your people. Select the best, train them and back them. When errors occur, give sharper guidance. If errors persist or if the fit feels wrong, help them move on. The country cannot afford amateur hour in the White House.

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.

Don't automatically obey Presidential directives if you disagree or if you suspect he hasn't considered key aspects of the issue.