Colin Powell Quotes

Trying to get everyone to like you is a sign of mediocrity.

Butch knew before he walked in that he was entering the lion’s den, and he wasn’t surprised when he got thrown out. Word quickly spread around the Pentagon, as it always does when things like that happen. Not long after I heard about it I ran into Butch in a hallway. As we walked along, I offered him comforting words. “Hey,” he said quietly, “he don’t pay me to give him happy talk.

I was taught to think about mission and people. Mission. What are you trying to accomplish? Don't do anything until you know what the mission is. Drilled into our hearts and into our heads.

The day the soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help them or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.

Perpetual Optimism is a Force Multiplier.

Perpetual optimism is a force leveler

we can solve any problem.

I get over it quickly and never lose control of myself.

Even in the grimmest of enterprises there are tension breakers. At one point, the tabloid National Enquirer ran a story headlined “Bush and Saddam Are Cousins” and offered genealogical “proof” that not only was George Bush related to the queen of England, but “Hussein and President Bush share a common ancestry dating back at least to the crusades.” This news prompted the President to circulate a memo to the national security team that said, “No decisions I make will be affected by my relationship with Saddam Hussein. The Queen and I would have it no other way.

We want to see both sides not take unilateral action that would prejudice an eventual outcome, a reunification that all parties are seeking.

They get to pick the question. You get to pick the answer. 2. You don’t have to answer any question you don’t want to. 3. Never lie or dissemble, of course; but beware of being too candid or open. 4. Never answer hypothetical questions about the future. 5. Never reveal the private advice you have given your superiors. 6. Answers should be directed to the message you want readers/viewers to get. The interviewers are not your audience. 7. They’re doing their job. You’re doing yours. But you’re the only one at risk. 8. Don’t predict or speculate about future events. 9. Beware slang or one-liners unless you are consciously trying to produce a sound bite. 10. Don’t wash dirty linen. 11. Do not answer any question containing a premise you disagree with. 12. Don’t push yourself or be pushed into an answer you don’t want to give. 13. If trapped, be vague and mumble. 14. Never cough or shift your feet.

I believe that when you first take over a new outfit, start out trusting the people there unless you have real evidence not to. If you trust them, they will trust you, and those bonds will strengthen over time. They will work hard to make sure you do well. They will protect you and cover you. They will take care of you.

Surround yourself with people who take their work seriously, but not themselves.

You should never be so involved with your position/job that when the position is gone your entire self image is gone with it.

Being responsible sometimes means pissing people off.