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Have a sense of humor to break the tension in times of great toil.

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
Tension
Humor
Break
Times
Sense
Great
Toil

More quotes by Colin Powell

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The best leaders are those who break that mission down into the organization's constituent parts, so that everybody understands their role and how it all builds into the whole.
Colin Powell
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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
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I think the Iranians are clearly determined to have a nuclear program. And we have to assume that with a nuclear program they have the capability and the will to create a nuclear weapon.
Colin Powell
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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
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Diplomacy never stops, and, with or without an election, it never stops.
Colin Powell
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Politics is different, because the mission is always to get the necessary votes. A good politician goes through everything in terms of mission and vision, and resourcing, but at the end of the day politicians have to make compromises in order to achieve consensus.
Colin Powell
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With respect to our friends in the [Iraq] region, each has its own system, each will have to make its own judgment as to whether it will change, how fast it will change, and we hope that we can help influence them as to how change comes about and what change might be better for them than other forms of change.
Colin Powell
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One thing the military does far better than business is train its own leaders. I can't go to IBM and hire a battalion commander. They don't have any.
Colin Powell
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I don't know that there is much the United States can do except work with the international community.
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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You should never be so involved with your position/job that when the position is gone your entire self image is gone with it.
Colin Powell
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Many interviewers when they come to talk to me, think they're being progressive by not mentioning in their stories any longer that I'm black. I tell them, 'Don't stop now. If I shot somebody you'd mention it.'
Colin Powell
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I think that military, corporate, and non-political organizations are pretty much similar.
Colin Powell
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Don't let adverse facts stand in the way of a good decision.
Colin Powell
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Effective leaders are made, not born. They learn from trial and error, and from experience.
Colin Powell
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Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.
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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One of the greatest talents of all is the talent to recognize and to develop talent in others.
Colin Powell
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The great leaders that I have worked with are people who have a good sense of empathy with other people. They can walk a factory floor, or walk through a battalion and smell if there's something wrong.
Colin Powell
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Never neglect details. When everyone's mind is dulled or distracted the leader must be doubly vigilant.
Colin Powell