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You know you're a good leader when people follow you out of curiosity.

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
Leadership
Leader
Good
People
Curiosity
Follow

More quotes by Colin Powell

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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
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Good leaders must know how to reward those who succeed and know when to retrain, move, or fire ineffective staff.
Colin Powell
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As I've thought about gay marriage, I don't see any reason not to say that [couples] should be able to get married.
Colin Powell
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Well, the correct answer is he is not a Muslim, he’s a Christian. He’s always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country?
Colin Powell
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We would like to see new leaders come forward who would be accountable and responsible, who would succeed in ending the terror and the violence. And it is up to the Palestinian people to judge who those new leaders should be.
Colin Powell
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In my 35 years in the army I was in school for 6 years. I think corporations should take a look at whether they are investing enough in the development of their human capital.
Colin Powell
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We are not trapped in what the science of management says we can do. We are capable of doing what the art of leadership says is possible.
Colin Powell
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Even the greatest of all strategists must occasionally take into account the presence of an enemy.
Colin Powell
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Preferring members of any one group for no reason other than race or ethnic origin is discrimination for its own sake. This the Constitution forbids.
Colin Powell
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I happen to hold a bachelor of science degree in geology... And my greatest contribution to the field of science is that I never entered it.
Colin Powell
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One of the greatest talents of all is the talent to recognize and to develop talent in others.
Colin Powell
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Maybe we don't put our young people in situations often enough where they're allowed to fail. When you fail you gain experience, and with enough experience, you don't fail as often.
Colin Powell
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There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.
Colin Powell
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War is never a happy solution, but it may be the only solution. We must exhaustively explore other possible solutions before we make the choice for war. Every political and diplomatic effort should be made to avoid war while achieving your objective.
Colin Powell
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Always be looking for the opportunities, and always be optimistic about what you can do with that opportunity.
Colin Powell
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We are not sure to what extent Saddam's [Hussein ] own people were conveying an incorrect picture to him. But this body of evidence was believed not only by President George W. Bush. President Bill Clinton used that same body of intelligence before bombing Iraq in 1998.
Colin Powell
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We have to be on guard that we don't spend so much time worrying about terrorism and guarding ourselves that we start to lose the essence of who we are as an open, freedom-loving people, welcoming to the rest of the world.
Colin Powell
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But just as they did in Philadelphia when they were writing the constitution, sooner or later, you've got to compromise. You've got to start making the compromises that arrive at a consensus and move the country forward.
Colin Powell
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Let it [racism] be a problem to someone else... Let it drag them down. Don't use it as an excuse for your own shortcomings.
Colin Powell
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We know that Saddam Hussein is determined to keep his weapons of mass destruction, is determined to make more.
Colin Powell