You and a few other critics are the only people I've heard use the phrase immediate threat. I didn't, the president didn't. And it's become kind of f… - Donald Rumsfeld

Talent hits a target no one else can hit. Genius hits a target no one else can see. — Arthur Schopenhauer

Whatever your position, reach out to those who know more than you do, and have been around longer than you have. Find those people. Listen carefully. And learn.

When surprise occurs, such as when the economy enters an unexpected recession or a conflict begins seemingly out the blue, the natural reaction is to immediately ask who made the “obvious” mistake. It is much easier to believe that our leaders are incompetent than to accept the less pleasant reality that ours is a world where uncertainty and surprise are the norm, not the exception.