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Be careful what you choose: You may get it.
Colin Powell
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Colin Powell
Age: 87
Born: 1937
Born: April 5
Diplomat
Former United States Secretary Of State
Politician
Soldier
New York City
New York
Colin Luther Powell
May
Careful
Choose
More quotes by Colin Powell
In other words, don't expect to always be great. Disappointments, failures and setbacks are a normal part of the lifecycle of a unit or a company and what the leader has to do is constantly be up and say 'we have a problem, let's go and get it'.
Colin Powell
As a leader you set the tone for your entire team. Communicate your vision.
Colin Powell
It is good if your enemy underestimates you. The dumber they think you are the more surprised they are when you kill them.
Colin Powell
Economy's got to get moving, we've got to get the unemployment rate down. That may be the defining issue of the campaign.
Colin Powell
My responsibility, our responsibility as lucky Americans, is to try to give back to this country as much as it has given us, as we continue our American journey together.
Colin Powell
Don't let adverse facts stand in the way of a good decision.
Colin Powell
Remain calm, be kind.
Colin Powell
Actually, there is no more important task for a leader than to pick people. To make sure you have the very best people working for you.
Colin Powell
That's why the army sends all its future generals to what we call charm school. As soon as you are a general, people think that you know everything. You think yourself that you have become omniscient and omnipotent. Be careful, because people want to do everything they can to please the general, and you need to guard against this.
Colin Powell
It is not our place to decide who should lead the Iraqi people. If Saddam [Hussein] leaves or has to be forced out of power and a new regime brought in, a new leadership brought in, I am confident it will be some combination of people inside the country and outside the country.
Colin Powell
Once the information is in the 40 to 70 range, go with your gut.
Colin Powell
First you train the followers to accomplish the mission. Second, you resource them: Make sure that they have the tools to do the job. Third, you reward them: You give them medals or bonuses.
Colin Powell
How often have we seen politicians take a principle position only to give it up three days later? That is what makes democracy so fascinating.
Colin Powell
When we are debating an issue, loyalty means giving me your honest opinion, whether you think I'll like it or not. Disagreement, at this state, stimulates me. But once a decision is made, the debate ends. From that point on, loyalty means executing the decision as if it were your own.
Colin Powell
Every organization needs to be introspective, transparent, and honest with itself. This only works if everyone is unified on the goals and purposes of the organization and there is trust within the team. High-performing, successful organizations build cultures of introspection and trust and never lose sight of their purpose.
Colin Powell
Don't be afraid to challenge the pros, even in their own backyard.
Colin Powell
Only when you have got a clear statement of what you want to achieve, do you ask yourself how you are going to achieve it. In the military we are taught never to go for a single answer, no matter how obvious that might be.
Colin Powell
I think that military, corporate, and non-political organizations are pretty much similar.
Colin Powell
I would not presume from this distance, nor would America presume to say who should be the leader of the Iraqi nation.
Colin Powell
Generally you should act somewhere between P40 and P70, as I call it. Sometime after you have obtained 40 percent of all the information you are liable to get, start thinking in terms of making a decision. When you have about 70 percent of all the information, you probably ought to decide, because you may lose an opportunity in losing time.
Colin Powell
