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.”

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

“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 pe...”

“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.”

“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 orga...”

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

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

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

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

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

“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.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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