Enjoy your time in public service. It may well be one of the most interesting and challenging times of your life. – 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
If the staff lacks policy guidance against which to test decisions, their decisions will be random. – 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
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
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
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
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
Reduce the layers of management. They put distance between the top of an organization and the customers. – 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
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
In the execution of Presidential decisions work to be true to his views, in fact and tone. – 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
Simply because you do not have evidence that something exists does not mean that you have evidence that it doesn’t exist. – 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
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
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
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
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
