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Quotes by Donald H. 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 H. Rumsfeld
Arguments of convenience lack integrity and inevitably trip you up.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
As you know, you go to war with the Army you have. They're not the Army you might want or wish to have at a later time.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
Be able to resign. It will improve your value to the President and do wonders for your performance.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
Be precise. A lack of precision is dangerous when the margin of error is small.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
Be yourself. Follow your instincts. Success depends, at least in part, on the ability to carry it off.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
Being Vice President is difficult. Don't make it tougher.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
Beware when any idea is promoted primarily because it is bold, exciting, innovative, and new. There are many ideas that are bold, exciting, innovative and new, but also foolish.
– Donald H. 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 H. Rumsfeld
Control your time. If you're working off your in-box, you're working off the priorities of others. Be sure the staff is working on what you move to them from the President, or the President will be reacting, not leading.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
Death has a tendency to encourage a depressing view of war.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
Don't 'over-control' like a novice pilot. Stay loose enough from the flow that you can observe it, modify, and improve it.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
Don't accept the post or stay unless you have an understanding with the President that you're free to tell him what you think with the bark off and you have the courage to do it.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
Don't automatically obey Presidential directives if you disagree or if you suspect he hasn't considered key aspects of the issue.
– Donald H. 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 H. Rumsfeld
Don't begin to think you're the President. You're not. The Constitution provides for only one.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
Don't blame the boss. He has enough problems.
– Donald H. 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 H. Rumsfeld
Don't do or say things you would not like to see on the front page of The Washington Post.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
Don't necessarily avoid sharp edges. Occasionally they are necessary to leadership.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
Don't say the White House wants. Buildings can't want.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
Don't speak ill of your predecessors or successors. You didn't walk in their shoes.
– Donald H. 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 H. Rumsfeld
Enjoy your time in public service. It may well be one of the most interesting and challenging times of your life.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
Find ways to decentralize. Move decision making authority down and out. Encourage a more entrepreneurial approach.
– Donald H. 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 H. Rumsfeld
From where you sit, the White House may look as untidy as the inside of a stomach. As is said of the legislative process, sausage-making and policy-making shouldn't be seen close-up. Don't let that panic you. Things may be going better than they look from the inside.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
Have a deputy and develop a successor. Don't be consumed by the job or you'll risk losing your balance. Keep your mooring lines to the outside world - family, friends, neighbors, people out of government, and people who may not agree with you.
– Donald H. 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 H. Rumsfeld
I don't do quagmires.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
I'm not into this detail stuff. I'm more concepty.
– Donald H. 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 H. Rumsfeld
If in doubt, don't. If still in doubt, do what's right.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
If in doubt, move decisions up to the President.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
If the staff lacks policy guidance against which to test decisions, their decisions will be random.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
If you are not criticized, you may not be doing much.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
If you develop rules, never have more than ten.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
If you foul up, tell the President and correct it fast. Delay only compounds mistakes.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
If you try to please everybody, somebody's not going to like it.
– Donald H. 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 H. 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 H. Rumsfeld
In politics, every day is filled with numerous opportunities for serious error. Enjoy it.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
In the execution of Presidential decisions work to be true to his views, in fact and tone.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
Include others. As Senator Pat Moynihan said, Stubborn opposition to proposals often has no other basis than the complaining question, 'Why wasn't I consulted?'
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
Inspectors do not have the duty or the ability to uncover terrible weapons hidden in a vast country. The responsibility of inspectors is simply to confirm evidence of voluntary and total disarmament. Saddam Hussein has the responsibility to provide that evidence, as directed, and in full.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
It is easier to get into something than to get out of it.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
It is very difficult to spend federal (the taxpayers') dollars so that the intended result is achieved.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
It isn't making mistakes that's critical; it's correcting them and getting on with the principal task.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
Keep your sense of humor. As General Joe Stillwell said, The higher a monkey climbs, the more you see of his behind.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
Know that the amount of criticism you receive may correlate somewhat to the amount of publicity you receive.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
Know that the immediate staff and others in the Administration will assume that your manner, tone and tempo reflect the President's.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
Learn to say I don't know. If used when appropriate, it will be often.
– Donald H. 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 H. 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 H. 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 H. 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 H. 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 H. 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 H. Rumsfeld
Most of the 50 or so invitations you receive each week come from people inviting the President's Chief of Staff, not you. If you doubt that, ask your predecessor how many he received last week.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
Move decisions out to the Cabinet and agencies. Strengthen them by moving responsibility, authority, and accountability their direction.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
Napoleon was asked, Who do you consider to be the greatest generals? He responded saying, The victors.
– Donald H. 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 H. 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 H. 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 H. 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 H. Rumsfeld
Politics is human beings; it's addition rather than subtraction.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
Preserve the President's options. He may need them.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
Presidential leadership needn't always cost money. Look for low- and no-cost options. They can be surprisingly effective.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
Prune - prune businesses, products, activities, people. Do it annually.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
Public servants are paid to serve the American people. Do it well.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
Reduce the layers of management. They put distance between the top of an organization and the customers.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
Reduce the number of lawyers. They are like beavers - they get in the middle of the stream and dam it up.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
Remember where you came from.
– Donald H. 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 H. 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 H. Rumsfeld
Strive to make proposed solutions as self-executing as possible. As the degree of discretion increases, so too does bureaucracy, delay, and expense.
– Donald H. 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 H. 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 H. Rumsfeld
The most underestimated risk for a politician is overexposure.
– Donald H. 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 H. 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 H. Rumsfeld
The way to do well is to do well.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
There are a lot of people who lie and get away with it, and that's just a fact.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
Think ahead. Don't let day-to-day operations drive out planning.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
Treat each federal dollar as if it was hard earned; it was - by a taxpayer.
– Donald H. 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 H. Rumsfeld
Walk around. If you are invisible, the mystique of the President's office may perpetuate inaccurate impressions about you or the President, to his detriment. After all, you may not be as bad as they're saying.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
Watch for the not invented here syndrome.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
Watch the growth of middle level management. Don't automatically fill vacant jobs. Leave some positions unfilled for 6-8 months to see what happens. You will find you won't need to fill some of them.
– Donald H. 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 H. Rumsfeld
When cutting staff at the Pentagon, don't eliminate the thin layer that assures civilian control.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
When someone with a rural accent says, I don't know much about politics, zip up your pockets.
– Donald H. 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 H. Rumsfeld
With the press there is no off the record.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
Work continuously to trim the White House staff from your first day to your last. All the pressures are to the contrary.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld
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 H. Rumsfeld
You're thinking of Eurpoe as Germany and France. I don't. I think that's old Europe.
– Donald H. 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 H. Rumsfeld
Reports that say that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns - - the ones we don't know we don't know. And if one looks throughout the history of our country and other free countries, it is the latter category that tend to be the difficult ones.
– Donald H. Rumsfeld