Donald Rumsfeld Quotes

You will launch many projects, but have time to finish only a few. So think, plan, develop, launch and tap good people to be responsible. Give them authority and hold them accountable. Trying to do too much yourself creates a bottleneck.

- Donald Rumsfeld

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.

- Donald Rumsfeld

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

- Donald Rumsfeld

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.

- Donald Rumsfeld

Don't blame the boss. He has enough problems.

- Donald Rumsfeld

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.

- Donald Rumsfeld

When cutting staff at the Pentagon, don't eliminate the thin layer that assures civilian control.

- Donald Rumsfeld

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

- Donald Rumsfeld

Arguments of convenience lack integrity and inevitably trip you up.

- Donald Rumsfeld

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.

- Donald Rumsfeld

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

- Donald Rumsfeld

If you are not criticized, you may not be doing much.

- Donald Rumsfeld

Look for what's missing. Many advisors can tell a President how to improve what's proposed or what's gone amiss. Few are able to see what isn't there.

- Donald Rumsfeld

Don't necessarily avoid sharp edges. Occasionally they are necessary to leadership.

- Donald Rumsfeld

Presidential leadership needn't always cost money. Look for low- and no-cost options. They can be surprisingly effective.

- 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.

- Donald Rumsfeld

In the execution of Presidential decisions work to be true to his views, in fact and tone.

- Donald Rumsfeld

When you raise issues with the President, try to come away with both that decision and also a precedent. Pose issues so as to evoke broader policy guidance. This can help to answer a range of similar issues likely to arise later.

- Donald Rumsfeld

Leave the President's family business to him. You will have plenty to do without trying to manage the First Family. They are likely to do fine without your help.

- Donald Rumsfeld

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.

- Donald Rumsfeld

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.

- Donald Rumsfeld

The Secretary of Defense is not a super General or Admiral. His task is to exercise civilian control over the Department for the Commander-in-Chief and the country.

- Donald Rumsfeld

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

- Donald Rumsfeld

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

- Donald Rumsfeld

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

- Donald Rumsfeld

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

- Donald Rumsfeld

Don't think of yourself as indispensable or infallible. As Charles De Gaulle said, the cemeteries of the world are full of indispensable men.

- 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.

- Donald Rumsfeld

Imagine, a September 11 with weapons of mass destruction. It's not 3,000. It's tens of thousands of innocent men, women and children.

- Donald Rumsfeld

The Federal Government should be the last resort, not the first. Ask if a potential program is truly a federal responsibility or whether it can better be handled privately, by voluntary organizations, or by local or state governments.

- Donald Rumsfeld

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.

- Donald Rumsfeld

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

- Donald Rumsfeld

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.

- Donald Rumsfeld

Don't say 'the White House wants.' Buildings can't want.

- Donald Rumsfeld

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

- Donald Rumsfeld

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.

- Donald Rumsfeld

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

- Donald Rumsfeld

Public servants are paid to serve the American people. Do it well.

- Donald Rumsfeld

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.

- Donald Rumsfeld

Oh my goodness gracious, what you can buy off the Internet in terms of overhead photography. A trained ape can know an awful lot of what is going on in this world, just by punching on his mouse, for a relatively modest cost.

- Donald Rumsfeld

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.

- Donald Rumsfeld

Make decisions about the President's personal security. He can overrule you, but don't ask him to be the one to counsel caution.

- Donald Rumsfeld

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

- Donald Rumsfeld

If in doubt, move decisions up to the President.

- Donald Rumsfeld

Don't do or say things you would not like to see on the front page of The Washington Post.

- Donald Rumsfeld

Members of the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate are not there by accident. Each managed to get there for some reason. Learn what it was and you will know something important about them, about our country and about the American people.

- Donald Rumsfeld

Reduce the number of lawyers. They are like beavers - they get in the middle of the stream and dam it up.

- Donald Rumsfeld

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.

- Donald Rumsfeld

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

- Donald Rumsfeld

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

- Donald Rumsfeld

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

- Donald Rumsfeld

Be able to resign. It will improve your value to the President and do wonders for your performance.

- Donald Rumsfeld

Preserve the President's options. He may need them.

- Donald Rumsfeld

Treat each federal dollar as if it was hard earned; it was - by a taxpayer.

- Donald Rumsfeld

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

- Donald Rumsfeld

With the press there is no 'off the record.'

- Donald Rumsfeld

You're thinking of Europe as Germany and France. I don't. I think that's old Europe.

- Donald Rumsfeld

I can't tell you if the use of force in Iraq today will last five days, five weeks or five months, but it won't last any longer than that.

- Donald Rumsfeld

Our task, your task... is to try to connect the dots before something happens. People say, 'Well, where's the smoking gun?' Well, we don't want to see a smoking gun from a weapon of mass destruction.

- Donald Rumsfeld

It is easier to get into something than to get out of it.

- Donald Rumsfeld

In politics, every day is filled with numerous opportunities for serious error. Enjoy it.

- Donald Rumsfeld

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

- Donald Rumsfeld

Simply because you do not have evidence that something exists does not mean that you have evidence that it doesn't exist.

- Donald Rumsfeld

First rule of politics: you can't win unless you're on the ballot. Second rule: If you run, you may lose. And, if you tie, you do not win.

- Donald Rumsfeld

Enjoy your time in public service. It may well be one of the most interesting and challenging times of your life.

- Donald Rumsfeld

If you develop rules, never have more than ten.

- Donald Rumsfeld

Don't speak ill of your predecessors or successors. You didn't walk in their shoes.

- Donald Rumsfeld

It isn't making mistakes that's critical; it's correcting them and getting on with the principal task.

- Donald Rumsfeld

If you try to please everybody, somebody's not going to like it.

- Donald Rumsfeld

There are a lot of people who lie and get away with it, and that's just a fact.

- Donald Rumsfeld

Learn to say 'I don't know.' If used when appropriate, it will be often.

- Donald Rumsfeld

If in doubt, don't. If still in doubt, do what's right.

- Donald Rumsfeld

If it were a fact, it wouldn't be called intelligence.

- Donald Rumsfeld